It is a tributary of the North Canadian River, draining an area of 11,690 square miles (30,300 km2)[4] in a watershed that extends to northeastern New Mexico and includes most of the Oklahoma Panhandle.

[9] Currently, the Beaver River and its tributaries flow with water intermittently, in part because the underground source of the river, the Ogallala Aquifer, being the water table beneath far western Oklahoma and parts of seven other Western states, as well, has been subject to depletion in recent decades due to increased irrigation and drinking-water withdrawals.

The area drained by the Beaver River in the high plains of northeastern New Mexico and the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles is semi-arid, receiving an average of 20 inches (51 cm) of precipitation annually.

It was reported on April 18, 2016, that the river was flowing near Guymon for the first time in decades following two days of intense rains that caused Texas County to be declared a disaster area.

[13] In June 2024, the Guymon area received 7.61 inches of rain in one night which left the Beaver River with fast-moving water.