Major Rivers of
the United States
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Major
Rivers |
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| Atlantic Ocean: The second-largest of the world's five oceans. It is located between North and South America and Africa and Europe. It is slightly less than 6.5 times the size of the United States. http://www.cesa10.k12.wi. us / Ecosystems /water/Atlantic/Index.htm | Arkansas River: Begins in central Colorado and flows east through Kansas and Oklahoma and merges in the Mississippi River. Approximately 1,450 miles long. http://www.encyclopedia. com/html /a/arkansr1iv.asp |
| Colorado River: Beginning in the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of California. It is 1,450 miles in length, and has formed numerous canyons along its winding path. The most famous is the Grand Canyon in Arizona. http://www. kaibab.org /misc/gc_coriv.htm | Platte River: Flows east from the mountains of Wyoming and Colorado to the lower Missouri, and Arkansas. Once the location of the Oregon Trail. Approximately 310 miles in length. http://www.encyc lopedia.com/html/P/Platte.asp |
| Columbia River: This wide, fast-flowing river begins in the Canadian Rockies, flowing south through the State of Washington, then forming the natural border between Washington and Oregon. It is 1,152 miles in length. http://www.bpa.gov/Power /PL/Columbia /page5cov.htm | Red River: For many years navigation was difficult due to fallen trees that floated downstream, forming rafts. The Great Raft, a 160-mi log-jam built through the centuries, was cleared from the river in the mid-1800s. http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/R/ RedR1ivC1an.asp |
| Gulf of Mexico: It is to the south of the U.S., to
the west of Cuba, and to the east and north of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico
covers an area of 579,000 feet. It extends from north to south 800 miles,
and from east to west 1,100 feet. http://www.epa.gov/gmpo/edresources/kids.html |
Sacramento River: Flows through oak tree covered hills in the Sacramento Valley. The river has cut a 25 mile-long canyon covered with lava rim-rock upstream of Red Bluff. It is 350 miles in length. http://www.encyclopedia. com/ html/S/SacrmntoR1.asp |
| Great Lakes: Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario--and their connecting channels form the largest fresh surface water system on Earth. These lakes cover more than 94,000 square miles. The Great Lakes and islands within them have more than 10,000 miles of coastline. http://207.177.123.1/00_ 01/BW/kw/kw.htm | Snake River: Early in the nineteenth century, a group of trapper explorers were the first to investigate the stretch of the Snake River below Jackson. Deciding at the time that it was far too treacherous to boat, they called it "The Mad River". The Snake River |
| Mississippi River: It is the major river of North America and the United States (2,339 miles). It flows from Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota south to the Gulf of Mexico. It is a significant transportation route and along with its major tributaries (the Missouri and Ohio rivers) it is the third largest river system in the world. http:// www.east-buc.k12.ia.us/00_01/BW/kwd/kwd.htm | Tennessee: In 1540, Hernando DeSoto’s Spanish expedition traveled the Tennessee River from the present location of Chattanooga to the present location of Guntersville. This was the first recorded exploration by white men. http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/T/Tenn R1.asp; http://www2.una.edu/geography/ tn_web/History/ |
| Missouri River: It begins in southern Montana in the Rocky Mountains, first flowing north then generally southeast across the heart of the United States, ending at the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in the United States (2,500 miles). . http://207.177.123.1/00_01/BW /ay/ay.htm |
Useful maps for these bodies of water: Rivers and Lakes of the United States
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| Pacific Ocean: Located between the Southern Ocean, Asia, Australia, and the Western Hemisphere. The Pacific is about 15 times the size of the US and covers about 28% of the global surface. http://207.177.123.1/00_01/BW/vv/vv.htm |
