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Where there’s a river, you’re sure to see people living on its banks and boats traveling on its waters. You’ll find farms spreading out from its shores and power plants producing electricity along its length.
The world’s earliest civilizations began next to great rivers. These include the Nile in North Africa and the Indus in the Indian subcontinent. Rivers have also been important to the life of our country.
◀ Rivers were key to exploring areas of North America that would become part of the United States. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark learned about some major rivers from 1804 to 1806. They followed the Missouri River and then the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean. Almost 150 years earlier, Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette explored a different river, the northern Mississippi. Meanwhile, Sieur de La Salle tracked the same river to the Gulf of Mexico.
Nevada is the driest state in the country. The shape of the state was originally squared off at the bottom. This left Nevada with no access to water. The 1866 Congress fixed that—and rewarded Nevada for staying with the North during the Civil War. It changed Nevada’s border with Arizona to include the Colorado River. ▶
▲ The steamboat was invented in 1803. It made the Mississippi River a major commercial thoroughfare. By midcentury, up to 1,000 boats had carried a quarter-million tons of goods along the river. Other boats carried passengers as well as freight.
▲ The people of Jamestown, Virginia, were the first of many Europeans to settle along a river. Settlers up and down the East Coast chose riverbanks as homes. They ranged from Savannah in present-day Georgia to Portland in present-day Maine.
There’s nothing like rafting, canoeing, kayaking, or sailing downriver. Ask this man. He’ll tell you! He’s having fun in some white water rapids. ▶
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▲ The Hoover Dam stretches across the Colorado River. It helps control flooding. It also provides water and power to the people of the Southwest. Named for President Herbert Hoover, the dam was a federal project undertaken during the 1930s. Lake Mead, which was created by the dam, is a National Recreation Area.
Explore the Hoover Dam
Fun Facts About U.S. Rivers
The United States has over a quarter of a million rivers. They add up to about 3.5 million miles of waterway.
At more than 2,500 miles, the Missouri is our longest river. However, the Mississippi carries more water.
The Continental Divide is a ridge running through the Rocky Mountains. It separates streams that flow east to the Atlantic Ocean from streams that flow west to the Pacific.
The term downriver refers to the direction that water is flowing. The term upriver refers to the direction of the water source of the river.
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▲ Flowing water can be used to produce hydroelectric power. This type of power is renewable, meaning it can be easily replaced by nature. Millions of gallons pour over Niagara Falls. There’s a power plant downstream from the falls. It produces enough energy to light 24 million 100-watt bulbs at once!
