USGS Water-Year Summary 2024
03454500 FRENCH BROAD RIVER AT HOT SPRINGS, NC
LOCATION - Lat 35°53'23.7", long 82°49'15.6" referenced to North American Datum of 1983, Madison County, NC, Hydrologic Unit 06010105, on right bank 0.66 mile upstream from Spring Creek, 3.0 miles downstream from Big Laurel River, located in the Town of Hot Springs, Madison County at river mile 119.25.
DRAINAGE AREA - 1,567 mi². (measured on TVA planimetric maps, scale 1:24,000). The basin has a large flood plain area (upper part), the majority of which is in cultivation, with steep, sloped areas covered by hardwood forests and dense undercover. It is sparsely populated except for a number of small towns, villages, and the City of Asheville. Basin is located in a varied rainfall area ranging from about 40 inches (lower part) to 80 inches at Rosman (head).
SURFACE-WATER RECORDS
PERIOD OF RECORD - April 1934 to September 1949, August 2011 to current water year.
GAGE - Data collection platform. Datum of gage is 1311.10 ft above National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1988 (levels by USGS). Satellite telemetry at streamgage.
EXTREMES OUTSIDE PERIOD OF RECORD - Maximum stage observed, 19.3 ft from floodmarks, July 16 or 17, 1916, from floodmarks a quarter of a mile downstream.
EXTREMES FOR PERIOD OF RECORD - Maximum discharge from slope-area computation of peak flow.