10 longest rivers · Missouri and Mississippi about 2,340 mi each · 31 states drain to the Gulf
US rivers map
The longest rivers in the United States, from the Missouri and Mississippi down to the Ohio, with their lengths and the states each one crosses or borders.
The ten longest rivers
Lengths are rounded and measured within the US where the river is shared; published figures differ by tens of miles depending on the source, so the order of the middle entries varies between lists.
| # | River | Length (miles) | Source | Mouth | States crossed or bordered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Missouri | about 2,340 | Three Forks, MT | Mississippi River, MO | MT, ND, SD, NE, IA, KS, MO |
| 2 | Mississippi | about 2,340 | Lake Itasca, MN | Gulf of Mexico, LA | MN, WI, IA, IL, MO, KY, TN, AR, MS, LA |
| 3 | Yukon | about 1,980 (about 1,300 in the US) | British Columbia | Bering Sea, AK | AK |
| 4 | Rio Grande | about 1,900 | San Juan Mountains, CO | Gulf of Mexico, TX | CO, NM, TX |
| 5 | Arkansas | about 1,470 | Leadville, CO | Mississippi River, AR | CO, KS, OK, AR |
| 6 | Colorado | about 1,450 | Rocky Mountain NP, CO | Gulf of California, Mexico | CO, UT, AZ, NV, CA |
| 7 | Red (of the South) | about 1,290 | Texas Panhandle | Atchafalaya/Mississippi, LA | TX, OK, AR, LA |
| 8 | Columbia | about 1,240 | Columbia Lake, BC | Pacific Ocean, OR/WA | WA, OR |
| 9 | Snake | about 1,080 | Yellowstone NP, WY | Columbia River, WA | WY, ID, OR, WA |
| 10 | Ohio | about 980 | Pittsburgh, PA | Mississippi River, IL | PA, OH, WV, KY, IN, IL |
The Brazos of Texas (about 1,280 miles) and the Platte–North Platte (about 990 miles) are often listed as well; if the Ohio is measured from the head of the Allegheny it grows to about 1,310 miles and moves up the table.
One system drains most of the country
The Missouri, Arkansas, Red and Ohio all end in the Mississippi, and the Mississippi drains all or part of 31 states, from Montana to New York and New Mexico to North Carolina. Everything between the Rockies and the Appalachians flows to the Gulf of Mexico. West of the Continental Divide the Columbia–Snake system drains the Northwest and the Colorado drains the Southwest. The Yukon, the third-longest, is entirely separate: it crosses Alaska from the Canadian border to the Bering Sea.
Rivers that draw state borders
- Mississippi — ten states, the longest boundary river.
- Ohio — Kentucky's whole northern edge; Ohio, Indiana, Illinois to the north, West Virginia to the east.
- Missouri — Nebraska–Iowa, Nebraska–South Dakota, Kansas–Missouri, Nebraska–Missouri.
- Columbia — Washington–Oregon for about 300 miles.
- Snake — Idaho–Oregon (Hells Canyon) and Idaho–Washington.
- Colorado — Arizona–Nevada and Arizona–California.
- Rio Grande — Texas–Mexico for about 1,250 miles.
- Red — Texas–Oklahoma, Texas–Arkansas.
- Delaware — Pennsylvania–New Jersey, New York–Pennsylvania, New Jersey–Delaware.
- Potomac — Maryland–Virginia, Maryland–West Virginia.
- Savannah — Georgia–South Carolina. Sabine — Texas–Louisiana. Wabash — Indiana–Illinois. St. Croix — Minnesota–Wisconsin. Connecticut — Vermont–New Hampshire. Chattahoochee — Georgia–Alabama.
Shorter rivers with big cities
Length is not the same as importance. The Hudson is only about 315 miles but ends at New York City. The Potomac (about 400 miles) passes Washington, DC; the Delaware (about 300 miles) passes Philadelphia; the Sacramento (about 400 miles) passes Sacramento; the Tennessee (about 650 miles) passes Knoxville and Chattanooga; and the Chicago River was reversed in 1900 to send Chicago's waste away from Lake Michigan.
Related maps
- Printable rivers map — trace six rivers on a blank sheet.
- Great Lakes and Largest US lakes.
- Continental Divide — which way each river flows.
- All geography maps.