Lakefullness

Black Butte Lake water level: Black Butte Black Butte Lake 17.6 ft low

Black Butte Lake is 17.6 ft below full pool, about normal for early November. The gauge read 435.73 ft at 5:00 AM PST, November 4, 2026.

Check your dock

Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, SPK district. Agency page.

How Black Butte stands today

In early November Black Butte normally sits near 439.28 ft, 14.0 ft under full pool, so most of today's gap is the usual seasonal drawdown.

432 434 436 438 440 442 444 446 448 450 452 454 Full pool 453.30 ft A year ago 444.90 ft Normal today 439.28 ft Today 435.73 ft Feet above sea level (NGVD29)
USACE Black Butte Dam and Lake
USACE Black Butte Dam and Lake. Photograph by Michael Nevins, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Public domain.

The past year, day by day

The shaded band is where Black Butte usually sits on each date: the middle 80% of years from 1996 to 2025. The blue line is the past 12 months; the sand line is the 12 months before. Hover or use the arrow keys to read any day.

  • Past 12 months
  • The 12 months before
  • Normal range (middle 80% of years)
  • Median
  • Full pool
440 450 460 470 DecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNov Full pool 453.30 Today Year ago
440 450 460 470 DecFebAprJunAugOct Full pool 453.30 Today Year ago

Monthly average since 2006

4404602006200920122015201820212024
44046020062011201620212026
Readings for the last 30 days
DateLevel (ft)Normal (ft)
November 4, 2026435.72439.28
November 3, 2026435.70439.33
November 2, 2026435.68439.27
November 1, 2026435.67439.20
October 31, 2026435.65439.13
October 30, 2026435.64439.05
October 29, 2026435.72439.19
October 28, 2026435.88439.32
October 27, 2026435.99439.38
October 26, 2026435.89439.53
October 25, 2026435.46439.66
October 24, 2026434.93439.80
October 23, 2026434.43439.94
October 22, 2026434.04440.10
October 21, 2026433.78440.26
DateLevel (ft)Normal (ft)
October 20, 2026433.73440.34
October 19, 2026433.71440.43
October 18, 2026433.36440.51
October 17, 2026432.89440.57
October 16, 2026432.48440.62
October 15, 2026432.51440.66
October 14, 2026432.87440.69
October 13, 2026433.41440.72
October 12, 2026433.95440.77
October 11, 2026434.23440.86
October 10, 2026434.43440.99
October 9, 2026434.64441.16
October 8, 2026435.06441.36
October 7, 2026435.60441.56
October 6, 2026436.15441.77

Is the water above your dock?

Enter the elevation of your dock, ramp end or a mark on your shoreline, in feet above sea level (NGVD29, the datum the Army Corps of Engineers uses for this gauge). You will see how far the water is above or below it today, and how often it dipped below it in each month since 2016.

Today the lake is at 435.73 ft.

Typical Black Butte Lake level by month since 2016
MonthLow year (10th %)MedianHigh year (90th %)Days above your mark
January 434.80 442.92 449.91 —
February 440.57 444.36 453.08 —
March 441.97 448.15 458.06 —
April 445.82 459.71 468.17 —
May 449.98 465.00 472.26 —
June 451.98 461.29 471.84 —
July 447.92 457.84 466.86 —
August 443.84 451.50 459.00 —
September 436.53 445.04 450.65 —
October 430.87 440.05 445.03 —
November 432.61 439.44 444.83 —
December 432.78 441.55 444.78 —

Other California lakes, lowest first

Black Butte Lake
Black Butte Lake
California lakes ranked by how full they are
Lake Level (ft) Vs full pool For the date
Eastman Lake 466.13 101.5 ft below Lower than usual
Hensley Lake 453.80 52.0 ft below Lower than usual
Pine Flat Lake 753.30 169.9 ft below About normal
Lake Mendocino 724.23 13.3 ft below About normal
Folsom Lake 398.42 47.0% full About normal
Shasta Lake 972.06 69.3 ft below About normal
Stampede Reservoir 5,919.95 22.2 ft below About normal
Lake McClure 772.24 37.4 ft below About normal
Lake Isabella 2,554.93 5.5 ft below About normal
Millerton Lake 503.57 56.2 ft below About normal
Prosser Creek Reservoir 5,706.20 2.6 ft above About normal
Lake Oroville 734.67 140.2 ft below About normal
New Melones Lake 1,003.78 45.8 ft below About normal
Lake Berryessa 427.42 12.6 ft below About normal

All 25 California lakes →

Black Butte questions

What is full pool at Black Butte Lake?

Full pool at Black Butte Lake is 453.30 ft above sea level today. The agency's own term for it is “top of conservation.”

Is Black Butte Lake full right now?

No. It is 17.6 ft below full pool. In early November Black Butte normally sits near 439.28 ft, 14.0 ft under full pool, so most of today's gap is the usual seasonal drawdown.

Is Black Butte Lake lower than normal for early November?

No, it is close to normal. The median level on Nov 4 across 1996–2025 is 439.28 ft, and today's 435.73 ft is −3.55 ft from it. In 8 of 10 years the level on this date fell between 432.99 and 444.43 ft.

How does Black Butte Lake compare with last year?

A year ago, on November 4, 2025, it stood at 444.90 ft. It is 9.17 ft lower now.

What are the highest and lowest levels since 1995?

In the daily record we hold, which starts in 1995, the highest daily level was 472.67 ft on April 25, 1998 and the lowest was 426.16 ft on February 1, 2014.

How often is this page updated?

We pull new readings from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers several times a day. This page was last rebuilt on Wed, 04 Nov 2026 13:52:28 UTC. Readings are provisional and can be revised by the agency.