Rivers in the USA

Rivers in the USA

Definition:

First of all, what is a river?

According to the Real Academia Española a river is a continuous and more or less mighty stream of water that is going to end in another, in a lake or in the sea.

Today, we are going to talk about one of the most important countries around the world, the USA of which it stands out for its geography, being more specific: Its rivers.  

The USA has around 49 rivers, a lot, right? so…

For this, we would like to classify them by its length and their importance:

Classification by their length:

Let’s divided this group in two: long rivers and short rivers:

Let’s start with: Long rivers:

Today, we will mention 6 of them:

1. Mississippi River:

It is a long river located in North America that runs through the central part      of the United States. It flows south through ten states—Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. You might think that the state where it arises is Mississippi, but this is not the case, this river occurred at the northern end of Lake Itasca, north of Minnesota. Its length is 3,770 km.

1. Yukon River:

The Yukon River is the main river of North America which flows in north and west directions through the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Yukon, and the US state of Alaska, emptying into the Bering Sea. At its mouth forms an almost semicircular fan-shaped delta, with a larger arm and a few much smaller ones.

Its length is 3185 km.

1. Missouri River:

Measuring approximately 4,090 km (for thousand ninety kilometres), it is the longest river in North America and the 4th longest in the entire continent. Its watershed has a surface area of ​​2,980,000 (two million nine hundred eighty thousand square kilometres) km2 and is considered the sixth largest watershed in the world. The Missouri River is one of the most important sources of livelihood, transportation, and resources for the state's cross. It flows through 7 states of the United States and empties into the Mississippi River. Some points of this important river have been designated for recreation and tourism, which is why it receives hundreds of visitors every day.

1. Bravo River:

It is born in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado and empties into the Gulf of Mexico. It is 3,034 (Three thousand thirty-four) km long and irrigates an area of ​​607,965 km². This river, starting in 1848, has served as the border between Mexico and the United States from the cities of El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, to the Gulf of Mexico.

1. Colorado River:

The Colorado River (Colorado River) is one of the main rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Its length is approximately 2333 (Two thousand three hundred thirty-three) km.

This river rises at the foot of the Rocky Mountains in the state of Colorado. It empties into the Gulf of California; Currently the Colorado River delta is within the ecological area protected by the Mexican government. This river is the main supplier of water to the arid areas of the watersheed that it runs through; in some cases, it represents the only source of water available.

6) Arkansas River:

It is a large river in the central-southern United States that flows southeast through the states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas until it drains into the Mississippi River. It has a length of 2,364 km, making it the fourth longest river in North America.

In old Spanish and Mexican maps, it appears as Nexpentle (even the Spanish called it Napeste) and is one of the main tributaries of the Mississippi River.

This river originates in the Rocky Mountains, in Lake County, Colorado.

One of the shortest river is the

1. Roe River:

That flows between Giant Springs, the largest freshwater spring in the United States, and the Missouri River. According to the Guinness Book Records, it is the shortest river on Earth, only 61 meters long. This exceptional spring originates in the nearby mountains, where rain and melting snow seep through cracks in the limestone. It is calm waters, except at the beginning, where the bubbling of Giant Springs flows creating a small waterfall effect.

Most important rivers and curiosities:

According to their impact in the USA, the following rivers are considered as the most important:

1. Mississippi River:

We already talked about its length, now we will explain more information that make it important.

Mississippi River Biodiversity.

The Mississippi favors the development of an ideal habitat for a wide variety of animals and plants. Some of the species that live thanks to the waters of the Mississippi River are the Louisiana black bear, the American alligator, the ringed map turtle and the dancing fish.

History:

The Mississippian civilization was known for its large earthen mound constructions, which the Natchez were still using at the time of the French colonization of Louisiana (New France). But the largest city was Cahokia.

Literature:

The American writer Mark Twain, in his autobiographical novel Vida en el Mississippi (Life on the Mississippi) he begins with a brief story of Hernando de Soto's discovery of the river in 1541 and his popular book, ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’.

1. Missouri River:

The Missouri River rises in the Rocky Mountains of Montana and Wyoming at the confluence of the Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin rivers. Its length includes parts of ten US states and two Canadian provinces. The Missouri is one of the major waterways in the central United States. Several sections have been declared as a wild river and national landscape.

1. Tennessee River:

The length of the Tennessee River is a little over a thousand kilometers, it is specifically 1049 kilometers. The surface of the Tennessee River watersheed is about 105,870 square kilometers, a watersheed of a fairly moderate surface also according to its route and length.

1. San Lorenzo River:

It is born in Lake Ontario, next to Kingston (New York). It flows into the Atlantic after crossing the homonymous estuary of San Lorenzo, in Quebec, after a journey of more than 3058 km. North. It crosses the interior of the continent and provides the main drainage of the Great Lakes Watersheed. The “Great Lakes-St. Lawrence" extends approximately 4,000 kilometers.

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