What is Flood Stage? Flood stage is the level at which a body of water's surface has risen to a sufficient level to cause sufficient inundation of areas that are not normally covered by water, causing an inconvenience or a threat to life and/or property.
Below are the criteria developed by www.water.weather.gov to determine the different stages of flood in the area of Rio Chama below Abiquiu.
Major Flood Stage: 6.3 ft
Moderate Flood Stage: 5.8 ft
Flood Stage: 5.4 ft
Action Stage: 4.8 ft
Low Stage: 0 ft
These criteria differ from site to site, i.e. Flood Stage Criteria at Rio Chama Below Abiquiu is different from Flood Stage Chama Rio Chama below El Vado dam. One of the conclusion that can be made from the graph above is that no Major Flood have occured, and 6 peak flows were in Action Stage.