Rivers Flashcards
Amstel River
31 km river flowing thru Amsterdam (which takes its name from the river) into the IJ Bay - Famous bridges: Magere Brug (“Skinny Bridge”), Blauwbrug, Hoge Sluis - Name is derived from Aeme-stelle, old Dutch for “water-area”
Amu Darya River
Major river of Central Asia - Flows 2620km north thru Turkmenistan y Uzbekistan, emptying into what remains of the Aral Sea - Known to the Ancient Romans as the Oxus, y was considered the frontier of Persia
Amur River
AKA Heilong Jiang - Forms the border between the Russian Far East y NE China - 10th longest in the world - Flows 2824 km east from 3 sources in Mongolia y Russia thru Khabarovsk y Komsomolsk into the Strait of Tartary near Sakhalin Island - Name comes from the Mongolian word for “rest”
Arkansas River
Major tributary river of the Mississippi - Flows 1469mi SE from Leadville, CO thru Wichita, Tulsa, y Little Rock before reaching Mississippi at Napoleon, AR - 6th longest in US, 45th longest in world - Used to form US-Mexican border until annexation of TX
Arno River
River of central Italy - Flows 241km westward thru Tuscany region, incl. Florence y Pisa, then into Tyrrhenian Sea - Ponte Vecchio bridge crosses it
Brazos River
11th longest in U.S. (1280 mi) - Flows SE thru central TX - Passes thru Waco y College Station before emptying into Gulf of Mex south of Houston
Charles River
80 mi long River in eastern MA - Flows NE before reaching the Atlantic at Boston - Named after Charles I of England
Chattahoochee River
430mi long river in Southern US - Flows south from Blue Ridge Mtns, forming half of AL/GA border, through Atlanta, y into Apalachicola River at FL border
Cumberland River
Major waterway of Southern US - Flows 688 mi thru southern KY y northern TN, including Nashville - Runs west from Appalachians to Ohio River at Paducah, KY
Cuyahoga River
Flows 100 mi in NE Ohio thru Akron y Cleveland, emptying into Lake Erie - Was terribly polluted, and known as “the river that caught fire” in the 60s
Danube River
Europe’s 2nd longest river (after Volga), y longest in the EU - Flows 2860km east thru 10 countries starting in Germany, then thru Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, Belgrade, and into Black Sea at E Romania coast
Delaware River
Major river of US Atlantic Coast - Flows 419 mi S from Catskill Mtns in southern NY into Delaware Bay, thru Trenton, Wilmington, Philadelphia - Forms entire E border of PA y W border of NJ - First visited by Henry Hudson in 1609
Dnieper River
Fourth-longest river in Europe - Flows 2145 km south from Smolensk, Russia through Belarus y Ukraine, incl. Kiev; emptying into the Black Sea at Kherson - Name is derived from Scythian language for “the river on the far side”, as opposed to the smaller Dneister River, on Ukraine’s western border, which means “the close river”
Douro River
Major river of Iberian Peninsula - North of the Tagus - Flows 557 miles through north-central Spain, empties into Atlantic at Porto
Elbe River
Major river of Central Europe - Flows 678 mi NW from Bohemia through East Germany, passing through Dresden und Hamburg, emptying into the North Sea
Euphrates River
Longest river of Western Asia - Flows 2800km from E Turkey, thru Syria then Iraq incl. Fallujah, meeting the Tigris at the Shatt al-Arab confluence - Westernmost of the two rivers of Mesopotamia - Dammed in Syria to create Lake Assad
Ganges River
Flows 2525 km east through northern India y Bangladesh, emptying into Bay of Bengal - 3rd largest by discharge, but 34th by length - Most sacred river to Hindus - Flows thru Varanasi; Delhi and Kolkata are on tributaries
Gila River
649 mi tributary of the Colorado River, flowing westward through central Arizona - Phoenix lies on its tributary, the 200 mi long Salt River - Heavily dammed y diverted, y flow is very low at confluence with Colorado at Yuma
Guadalquivir River
5th longest river on Iberian Peninsula 408 mi in southern Spain - Flows SW thru Córdoba y Seville, emptying into Gulf of Cadiz - Las Marismas marshes at river’s end
Han River
Major river of S Korea - Flows 494 km W from Taebaek Mtns thru Seoul, emptying into Yellow Sea - Mouth is on border of N and S Korea, so is off limits, and river is not used for shipping
Murray River
Australia’s longest river - Flows 2500 km NW from Australian Alps, forming border between New South Wales y Victoria, emptying into Indian Ocean near Adelaide
Neva River
River in NW Russia - Flows 74km west from Lake Ladoga thru St. Petersburg into Neva Bay in the Gulf of Finland - Despite its short length, it has 3rd largest discharge volume in Europe (after Volga y Danube)
Ohio River
Major tributary of Mississippi River - Flows 981 mi SW from Pittsburgh thru Cincinatti y Louisville to mouth at Cairo, IL - Forms southern border of OH y IN, northern border of WV y KY - Larger than the MS River at its confluence
Okavango River
AKA Rio Cubango - River in SW Africa, 4th longest in southern Africa - Flows 1600km SE from Angola thru Namibia y into Botswana, where it empties into an endorheic swamp in the Kalahari Desert called the Okavango Delta
Onyx River
Longest river of Antarctica (32km) - Flows west thru Wright Valley from Lake Brownworth to Lake Vanda during the summer only - Meltwater stream from Wright Lower Glacier
Orinoco River
Major river of S America - Flows 2140km NE through Colombia y Venezuela, emptying into Atlantic at Delta Amacuro - Many tributary rivers
Pearl River
An extensive river system in southern China - The Xi, Bei, and Dong Rivers converge at the Pearl River Delta near Guangzhou - 3rd longest river (from source of the Xi) in China (2400km) - Macau y Hong Kong are at the mouth of the delta
Pecos River
926 mi flowing thru eastern NM into western TX, joining the Rio Grande at Del Rio, TX
Po River
Longest river in Italy -Flows 652km eastward across northern Italy, from hills near Torino to the Adriatic near Venice
Sacramento River
The principal river of Northern CA, y the longest river entirely in the state - Flows 400mi south from Mt. Shasta thru Redding y Sacrmento, emptying into eastern part of San Francisco Bay - Once home to one of the densest Native American populations in CA - Heavily dammed for power y irrigation
Salween River
River of SE Asia - Flows 2815km south thru China, Burma, y Thailand; from Tibetan plateau emptying into Andaman sea - One of the longest undammed rivers in the world, y is only naivagable 90 km up from the mouth
Tagus River
Longest river on Iberian Peninsula (645 mi) - Flows west from Madrid to Lisbon and drains into Atlantic - South of the Douro
Tiber River
3rd longest river in Italy - Flows 406km south from the Appennines, thru Rome, emptying into Tyrrhenian Sea - Called Flavus (“the blonde”) due to its yellow color
Tigris River
Eastern river of Mesopotamia - Flows 1850km from SE Turkey, thru Iraq incl. Mosul y Baghdad, meeting the Euphrates at the Shatt al-Arab in SE Iraq - Easternmost of the two rivers of Mesopotamia - Heavily dammed for farm irrigation
Tocantins River
Major river of Brazil - Flows 2450km north thru central Brazil, emptying into the Atlantic very close to the mouth of the Amazon - Name is from Tupi language for “toucan’s beak”
Trinity River
710 mi long flowing through eastern TX, passing thru Dallas, emptying into Gulf of Mex at Houston - Longest river entirely within TX
Vltava (Moldau) River
Longest river in Czech Republic (430 km) - Flows SE along the Bohemian Forest, then north through Bohemia y Prague, merging into the Elbe River at Melnik - Called “The Bohemian Sea” y “The Czech National River” - Both the Czech name Vltava y the German name Moldau come from Old Germanic for “wild water”
Wabash River
River in midwest USA that drains most of Indiana - Flows 503 mi SW from Fort Recovery, OH thru Terra Haute y Lafayette into Ohio River at Shawneetown, IL
Wailuku River
Longest river in Hawaii - Flows 28 mi east on the Island of Hawaii from Mauna Kea into the Pacific Ocean at Hilo - Descends 10,800 ft during its course - Several waterfalls, incl. Rainbow Falls and the Boiling Pots (pic) - Name is Hawaiian for “River of Destruction”, due to possibility of rapid flooding
Yalu River
AKA the Amnok River - Forms western half of the border between N Korea y China, with the Tumen River forming eastern half - Flows 790 km west from near Heaven Lake on Paektu Mountain into Korea Bay, a northern extension of the Yellow Sea - Name comes from Manchu for “the boundary between two countries”
