We are always used to reading that in the United States, everything is out of the ordinary. The rivers of this country do not escape the rule. The largest rivers in the United States are among the largest and most powerful rivers in the world.
1. Mississippi, one of the largest rivers in the world
At 3734 kilometers long, Mississippi is the largest river in the United States. But this river has a somewhat unusual feature because one of its tributaries is none other than the Missouri River. An immense flood of more than 4000 kilometers long.
Aside from its length, Missouri is a tributary that brings more than 40% of the flow to the Mississippi River. When we add the length of these two rivers, we reach a total distance of 6 275 kilometers. With such length, Mississippi ranks fourth among the longest rivers in the world.
2. The Yukon
At 3,190 kilometers in length, this river has its source in Canada and ends its course on the banks of Alaska. This North American river comes from a Native American language, Kutchin. Yukon means a big river. The Yukon rises 731 meters above sea level in Lake Altin.
Its average flow is 6,000 cubic meters per second and flows into the Bering Sea. The total area of the Yukon Basin is approximately 850,000 km2. Including 524,000 km2 in the United States and about 324,000 km2 for the Canadian portion.
3. The Rio Grande
This 3060-kilometer-long American river has its source in British Columbia at 4,400 meters above sea level on Mount Elbert. This mountain is in the American mountain range, the Rockies.
4. Arkansas one of the largest rivers in the United States
This river is a tributary of the Mississippi River between the Rockies and the city of Little Rock. It is the fourth largest river in the United States. The length of Arkansas is 2,364 kilometers.
5. The Colorado River
One of the largest rivers in the United States originates at an altitude of 3,101 meters in the Rockies in southwestern United States. And then he finishes his race in the Gulf of California in Mexico at Montague.
The total length of the Colorado River is 2,334 kilometers with an average flow rate estimated at more than 600 cubic meters per second. Colorado River is famous because it is the origin of the loops and splendid erosions of the canyons of Arizona. Today the Colorado River is so exploited that only 9% of the water reaches the mouth.
6. The Red River
The length of this American river is about 2,190 kilometers. The Red River is also a tributary of the Mississippi. The “Red River” has its source in Harmon County and ends in the Mississippi River.
7. The Columbia River
With 2,000 kilometers all around, the Columbia River has its source in Columbia Lake in British Columbia. He ends his race in the Pacific Ocean, the largest ocean in the world.
This river crosses the cities of Portland, Vancouver, and Richland but also the cities of Kennewick, Pasco, and Longview. In Canada, the Columbia crosses British Columbia, and in the United States, it crosses Oregon and the state of Washington. By its flow, the Columbia River is the fourth most powerful river in the United States. Its basin, for example, is nearly 670,000 square kilometers.
8. The Snake
This river has its source in the rocky state of Wyoming and finishes its race in the state of Washington in Pasco. The Snake is a tributary of the Columbia River and is nearly 1,670 kilometers long. It is also the most important tributary of the Columbia River. If this river is called “Snake”, it is thanks to its S-shaped like that of a snake.
9. Ohio
At 1579 kilometers long, this tributary of the great Mississippi has its source in the north of the United States, not far from the great lakes. Not far from the lakes of Michigan and Erie. Two of the largest lakes in the world. The Ohio basin is 500,000 square kilometers.
This river borns at the confluence of the rivers Monongahela and Allegheny. This river flows only on the territory of the United States. This river crosses the cities of Huntington, and Henderson, but also Louisville or Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati. The name of this American river comes from the Iroquois. When you translate Ohio, you get a “good river”. Beyond the geographical aspects of the river, Ohio is a river that has always played an important political role. This river crosses nearly fourteen states, and more importantly, it flows towards the West.
Thus Ohio served as a means of transport for the settlers in the famous conquest of the West. And then this fabulous and long American river served in the 18th century as the border separating the limit between the abolitionist states and the practicing states slavery.