Community observatory
Our community-led monitoring network tracks the vital signs of the Rocky Mountain headwaters. From alpine snowpack to riverbed saturation, we archive the data that dictates the future of the West.
Nonpartisan Research Notice
Western Headwaters provides nonpartisan educational and scientific resources. We do not engage in campaign activity, and public-facing research is designed to improve watershed literacy, transparency, and civic understanding.
Scientific practice · Year round
Stream gauges
Daily flow measurements from key tributaries and headwater corridors, paired with stewardship notes and anomaly reports.
Explore live archiveWeather Stations
Snowpack humidity, station pressure, air temperature profiles, and the wind signatures of the season.
Soil moisture
Ground moisture monitors the critical threshold of our soils, recording early signals of wildfire risk and watershed absorption capacity.
Active network
A live cartographic representation of the monitoring stations currently transmitting telemetry from the high Sierra to the Cascades.
Current focus
Canyon Creek #04
Join our team of citizen scientists and field researchers. Whether you donate funds for equipment or volunteer your time in the backcountry, you become the steward of our headwaters.
