Rivers of the US quiz

The 17 rivers in the quiz

The longest is the Missouri (2,540 mi / 4,088 km), followed by the Mississippi (2,340 mi / 3,766 km) and the Yukon (1,980 mi / 3,187 km). The shortest in the quiz is the Hudson, at 492 km / 306 mi. Lengths come from the USGS table of the largest US rivers, in miles.

8 flow into the sea: the Mississippi, Rio Grande and Brazos into the Gulf of Mexico; the Colorado into the Gulf of California; the Columbia into the Pacific Ocean; the Yukon into the Bering Sea…. The rest are tributaries of other rivers on the map.

Tips to learn them

Learn the big ones that reach the sea first, then hang each one’s tributaries on it:

• The Mississippi: the Missouri, Ohio and Arkansas.
• The Missouri: the Platte and Yellowstone.
• The Ohio: the Tennessee.
• The Rio Grande: the Pecos.
• The Columbia: the Snake.

Playing in class

Point mode is the place to start; Type mode marks a river on the map for you to name (accents and small typos are forgiven), and Timed mode gives 6 seconds per question. With Challenge your class, everyone gets the same questions in the same order, no accounts needed.

To practice on paper, the matching blank map prints blank, numbered or labeled.

All 17 rivers

1. Arkansas 1,469 mi / 2,364 km
2. Brazos 1,280 mi / 2,060 km
3. Colorado 1,450 mi / 2,334 km
4. Columbia 1,249 mi / 2,010 km
5. Hudson 492 km / 306 mi
6. Mississippi 2,340 mi / 3,766 km
7. Missouri 2,540 mi / 4,088 km
8. Ohio 1,310 mi / 2,108 km
9. Pecos 926 mi / 1,490 km
10. Platte 990 mi / 1,593 km
11. Potomac 665 km / 413 mi
12. Red 1,290 mi / 2,076 km
13. Rio Grande 1,900 mi / 3,058 km
14. Snake 1,040 mi / 1,674 km
15. Tennessee 886 mi / 1,426 km
16. Yellowstone 692 mi / 1,114 km
17. Yukon 1,980 mi / 3,187 km