Top 50 Largest Rivers in the United States
Checkout the list of Top 50 Largest Rivers in the United States. The United States is home to hundreds of rivers, and with a land area of 9.834 million km2, the country can have many huge rivers.
About half of the rivers on the list are tributaries of the other rivers on the list; The remaining rivers flow directly into the oceans, seas, creeks or creeks.
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Mississippi River
The Mississippi is one of the largest river in the United States, with an average discharge of 593,000 CFS (cubic feet per second) from its mouth. Calculation of release excluding Atchafalaya-Lal river basin.
- Discharge (CFS): 593,000
- Drainage area: 1,150,000 square miles in the U.S. & Canada
- Source is: Lake Itasca
- Source Location is: Itasca State Park, Clearwater County, Minnesota.
- Ohio River
The Ohio River is located in the southern United States, is the second largest river by discharge. Its drainage basin covers a portion of 14 states.
The depth of the river was about 3 to 20 feet. It has a network of dams and reservoirs. (Largest Rivers in the United States)
- Discharge (CFS): 281,500
- Drainage area: 203,000 square miles
- Source: Allegheny River
- Source Location: Allegheny Township, Potter County, Pennsylvania.
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St. Lawrence River
It is the second largest river in the United States, with a water withdrawal rate of 2,75,000 CFS at the US-Canada border, making it the second largest river in the country.
The Saint Lawrence River flows next to Gananoque, Brockville, Morristown, Ogdensburg, Massena, Cornwall, Montreal, Trois-Rivieres and Quebec City before flowing into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. (Largest Rivers in the United States)
- Discharge (CFS): 275,000
- Drainage area: 258,000 square miles
- Source is: Lake Ontario
- Source Location is: Kingston, Ontario / Cape Vincent, New York.
- Columbia River
The Columbia is one of the largest and longest rivers in the United States. The river originates in Rocky Mountains of British Columbia.
It runs northwest and south into Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and Oregon before flowing into the Pacific Ocean.
Its largest tributary is the Nag River. Its drainage basin spans seven U.S. states and one Canadian province.
- Discharge (CFS): 273,000
- Drainage area: 258,000 square miles
- Source is: Columbia Lake
- Source Location is: British Columbia, Canada. 50°13′35″N 115°51′05″W
- Yukon River
It runs in the Canadian territory of Yukon., (Yukon is the territory of Canada named after the river). The Yukon River is the longest in Alaska and the Yukon Territory. 75% of the river flows westward through the state of Alaska in the United States. (Largest Rivers in the United States)
- Discharge (CFS): 227,000
- Drainage area: 328,000 sq miles
- Source: Llewellyn Glacier
- Source Location: Atlin District, British Columbia, Canada. 59°10′N 133°50′W
Largest Rivers in the United States
No – River – Length (km) – Average – Discharge – (CFS) (ft3/s) – Mouth
1 Mississippi River 3,730 593,500 Gulf of Mexico (Pilottown, Plaquemines Parish, LA)
2 Ohio River 1,575 284,500 Mississippi River (Cairo, Illinois / Ballard County, Kentucky)
3 Saint Lawrence River 965 245,000 (On U.S. side) Gulf of Saint Lawrence (Quebec, Canada)
4 Columbia River 2,000 275,000 Pacific Ocean (The Pacific Ocean, at Clatsop County, Oregon)
5 Yukon River 3,185 225,000 Bering Sea (Kusilvak, Alaska, U.S.)
6 Atchafalaya River 220 220,000 Gulf of Mexico (Morgan City, Louisiana)
7 Niagara River 58 204,500 Lake Ontario
8 Detroit River 51 188,200 Lake Erie
9 St. Clair River 63 183,200 Lake St. Clair
10 Missouri River 3,767 86,400 Mississippi River
11 St. Marys River 120 75,200 Lake Huron-Lake Michigan
12 Tennessee River 1,049 68,100 Ohio River
13 Mobile River 72 67,100 Gulf of Mexico
14 Kuskokwim River 1,130 67,200 Bering Sea
15 Red River 2,190 58,100 Atchafalaya River
16 Copper River 470 57,430 Gulf of Alaska
17 Snake River 1,674 55,100 Columbia River
18 Stikine River 610 56,200 Pacific Ocean
19 Susitna River 504 51,200 Gulf of Alaska
20 Arkansas River 2,322 44,600 Mississippi River
21 Tanana River 940 41,700 Yukon River
22 Susquehanna River 747 38,300 Chesapeake Bay
23 Willamette River 301 37,400 Columbia River
24 Wabash River 810 34,600 Ohio River
25 Alabama River 512 32,600 Mobile River
26 Nushagak River 450 32,200 Bering Sea
27 Alsek River 386 31,200 Gulf of Alaska
28 Cumberland River 1,120 32,000 Ohio River
29 Black River-Ouachita River 974 28,800 Red River
30 White River 1,159 29,600 Mississippi River
31 Pend Oreille River 210 27,200 Columbia River
32 Tombigbee River 320 26,400 Mobile River
33 Koyukuk River 684 25,200 Yukon River
34 Illinois River 439 24,200 Mississippi River
35 Sacramento River 719 23,400 Pacific Ocean
36 Porcupine River 916 23,200 Yukon River
37 Colorado River 2,330 22,200 Gulf of California
38 Clark Fork River 500 21,800 Pend Oreille River
39 Hudson River 507 21,800 Atlantic Ocean
40 Yentna River 121 21,500 Susitna River
41 Chitina River 180 20,500 Copper River
42 Allegheny River 523 19,800 Ohio River
43 Apalachicola River 80 19,605 Gulf of Mexico
44 Connecticut River 655 18,450 Atlantic Ocean
45 Kvichak River 80 17,950 Bering Sea
46 Klamath River 423 17,330 Pacific Ocean
47 Santee River 230 17,200 Atlantic Ocean
48 Skagit River 240 16,400 Pacific Ocean
49 Kootenai (Kootenay) River 781 27,700 Columbia River
50 Coosa River 450 16,200 Alabama River
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