INTRODUCTION

▪ The United States of America has over 250,000 rivers, with a total of
about 3,500,000 miles of rivers.
▪The main stems of 38 rivers in the United States are at least 500 miles
(800 km) long.
▪ Well-known rivers like the Atchafalaya, Willamette, and Susquehanna
are not included in this list because their main stems are shorter than
500 miles.
▪ The longest river in the USA is the Missouri River.
▪ But the biggest in terms of water volume is the deeper Mississippi
River.
 MISSOURI RIVER
▪ The Missouri River is the longest river and ninth largest river of the
United States, after the Mississippi
▪ Rising in the Rocky Mountains. But it is officially starts at the
confluence of the Jefferson and Madison .
▪The river flows to east and south direction and the length the river is
2,341 miles (3,767 km)
▪ watershed of more than half a million square miles
(1,371,000 km2)which includes parts of ten U.S. states and two Canadian
provinces
▪ When combined with the lower Mississippi River, it forms the world's
fourth longest river system.
▪ The Great Falls of the Missouri River are Black Eagle, Colter Falls,
Rainbow Falls, Crooked Falls/Horseshoe Falls.
▪ weather and rainfall -
▪ It is highly variable weather and rainfall patterns, Overall, the
watershed is defined by a Continental climate with warm, wet summers
and harsh, cold winters. In winter Montana, Wyoming and Colorado may
drop as low as −60 °F (−51 °C), while summer highs in Kansas and
Missouri have reached 120 °F (49 °C) at times
▪ Over 95 significant tributaries and hundreds of smaller ones feed the
Missouri River.
▪ Human Impact and Use

▪ Seven major dams (Gavins Point, Fort Randall, Big

Bend, Oahe, Garrison, Fort Peck, and Canyon Ferry) and more than 80
other dams on tributary streams.
▪ In March and April and also the second flood stage that frequently
occurs in June as the snow melts in the remoter mountain regions.
▪ hydroelectric power, irrigation water, transport and recreational
facilities
 MISSISSIPPI RIVER
▪ The Mississippi River is the chief river of the largest drainage
system on the North American continent.
▪The word itself comes from Messipi, the French means Misi-ziibi (Great
River)
▪ Starts at Lake Itasca in north central Minnesota and its mouth at the
Gulf of Mexico.
▪The Mississippi River has the world's fourth largest drainage basin .
▪ The river flows to east and south direction and the length the river is
2,202 mi (3,544 km).
▪ The river is flows from 10 States like
Minnesotas, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois,Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee,
Arkansas,Mississippi, Louisiana.
▪The Mississippi River can be divided into three sections like Upper,
Middle, Lower Mississippi.
▪Watershed Area of the the river is 3,270,000km2.
▪ Human Impact and Uses-

▪ Various Dams are constructed on these river, mostly upper headwater

is use for multiple purposes.
▪ Including power generation and recreation.

▪ Commercial navigation, residential.

 YUKON RIVER
▪ The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North
America.
▪ The source of the river is located in British Columbia, Canada.

▪ The lower half of the river lies in the U.S. state of Alaska.

▪ The river is flows 3,190 kilometers.

▪It was one of the principal means of transportation.

▪ The Yukon River has had a history of pollution from gold mining,
military installations, dumps, wastewater, and other sources.
▪ The Yukon River is home to one of the longest salmon runs in the
world.
▪ Each year Chinook, Coho, and chum salmon return to their terminal
streams in Alaska
 RIO GRANDE
▪ Is one of the principal rivers in the southwest United States and
northern Mexico., Río Grande is Spanish word for "Big River"
▪ The Rio Grande rises from south-central And western part of the Rio
Grande National Forest in the U.S. state of Colorado and flows to
the Gulf of Mexico.
▪ The river serves as part of the natural border between the U.S.
state of Texas.
▪ The Rio Grande's watershed covers 182,200 square miles
(472,000 km2)
▪The river flows through desert. Only in the subtropical lower Rio
Grande Valley does extensive irrigated agriculture exist.
▪Many steamboats from the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers were
requisitioned by the US government and moved to the Rio Grande during
the Mexican War in 1846. They provided transport for the U.S. Army.
▪A number of dams are on the Rio Grande, including Rio Grande
Dam, Cochiti Dam, Elephant Butte Dam, Caballo Dam, Amistad
Dam, Falcon Dam, Anzalduas Dam, and Retamal Dam.
 COLORADO RIVER
▪ The Colorado River is one of the principal rivers of the Southwestern
United States.
▪ Colorado River drains to 1,450-mile (2,330 km)
▪Starting in the central Rocky Mountains in the U.S.
▪ The Colorado is a vital source of water for agricultural and urban
areas in much of the southwestern desert lands.
▪The Colorado is joined by over 25 significant tributaries
▪The river and its tributaries are controlled by an extensive system of
dams, reservoirs, and aqueducts, which in most years divert its entire
flow to furnish irrigation and municipal water supply for almost
40 million people both inside and outside the watershed.
▪Mean monthly high temperatures are 25.3 °C (77.5 °F) in the upper
basin and 33.4 °C (92.1 °F) in the lower basin, and lows average −3.6
and 8.9 °C (25.5 and 48.0 °F), respectively. Annual precipitation
averages 6.5 inches (164 mm)
▪Recreation –

▪Its Famous dramatic rapids and canyons, the Colorado is one of the
most desirable whitewater rivers in the United States
 ARKANSAS RIVER
▪ The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River.
▪ The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses
the US states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.
▪ It is the sixth-longest river in the United States and the second-longest
tributary in the Mississippi–Missouri system.
▪ Its origin is in the Rocky Mountains in Lake County, Colorado.
▪ the river valley passes through high, isolated, flat-topped
 COLUMBIA RIVER
▪ The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific
Northwest region of North America.
▪ The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada.
▪ It flows northwest and then south into the US state of Washington.
▪ The river is 1,243 miles (2,000 km) long, and its largest tributary is
the Snake River.
▪ The river's heavy flow and relatively steep gradient gives it
tremendous potential for the generation of electricity.
▪ The14 hydroelectric dams on the Columbia's main stem and many
more on its tributaries produce more than 44% of total
U.S. hydroelectric generation much more hydroelectric power than
those of any other North American river.
▪ Its tributaries have been central to the region's culture and economy
for thousands of years.
▪ They have been used for transportation since ancient times, linking the
many cultural groups of the region.
▪ Today the main stem of the Columbia River has 14 dams, of which
three are in Canada and 11 in the US.
▪ The dams address a variety of demands, including flood control,
navigation, stream flow regulation, storage and delivery of stored
water and the generation of hydroelectric power.
▪ focused on the generally dry region of central Washington known as
the Columbia Basin
 RED RIVER
▪ The Red River, or sometimes the Red River of the South, is a
major tributary of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers in the
southern United States of America.
▪ The Red River rises near the edge of the northwestern dip slope of
the Llano Estacado mesa (commonly known as the Staked Plain) in
two forks in northern Texas and southwestern Oklahoma.
▪ River is flows from Oklahomas, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana states.
▪ The Red River's watershed covers 65,590 square miles
(169,900 km2).
 SNAKE RIVER
▪It is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United
States.

▪At 1,078 miles (1,735 km) long, it is the largest tributary of

the Columbia River.

▪A pioneer trail of which a major portion followed the Snake River,

had been established by aspiring settlers and traders.

▪Steamboats and railroads moved agricultural products and minerals

along the river throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries.

▪The powerful, steep flow of the Snake River has been used since the
1890s to generate hydroelectricity, enhance navigation, and provide
irrigation water from fifteen major dams built on the lower river,
transforming it into a series of reservoirs.
▪ Important purpose for people living in the Snake's drainage
basin and trade of agricultural products to Pacific seaports.

▪ Animals
▪ Aside from aquatic species, much of the Snake River
watershed supports larger animals including numerous species
of mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles.
▪ Especially in the headwaters and the other mountainous areas
strewn throughout the watershed, the gray wolf, grizzly
bear, wolverine, mountain lion and Canada lynx are common.
 OHIO RIVER
▪ The upper Ohio River formed when one of the glacial lakes
overflowed into a south-flowing tributary of the Teays River.
▪ The Ohio River, which streams westward
from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Cairo, Illinois, is the
largest tributary
▪ Length 981 mi (1,579 km).
▪ Uses – Industrial
➢ Reference

• Wikipedia & Encyclopedia Of United State of

America.
▪ Book.
• G.H.Dary and Mathieacu (1970) : United States and
Canada.