Major U.S. Rivers with State Names

Name the rivers that share their name with a U.S. state, and are at least 1,000 kilometers long.

Some of these rivers are tributaries

Quiz by

Featured Quiz

Rate:

Last updated: January 27, 2017

You have not attempted this quiz yet.

More quiz info >>

First submitted	May 2, 2016
Times taken	39,482
Average score	66.7%
Rating	4.49

Quiz and answer stats >>

Friends stats >>

1:00

Enter answer here:

/ 6 guessed

The quiz is paused. You have remaining.

Copied!

Scoring

You scored / = %

This beats or equals % of test takers also scored 100%

The average score is

Your high score is

Your fastest time is

more stats >>

friends stats >>

Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...

Length	River
3,768 km	Missouri
3,544 km	Mississippi
2,330 km	Colorado
2,322 km	Arkansas
1,575 km	Ohio
1,504 km	Tennessee

Save Your Stats

Your Next Quiz

U.S. States Closest to Tokyo

Can you name the states of the U.S. which have the shortest distance to Tokyo as the crow flies?

Click a Valid Country A-Z

In one minute, can you match each set of highlighted countries with the letter they start with?

Click a Valid US State A-Z

In 60 seconds, can you match each letter with the US states that start with it?

Presidential Middle Initial Letters - Whammies

For each given president, type the initial of their middle name. But three wrong guesses and the quiz will end.

33 Comments

+13

Level 69

Jan 27, 2017

This is so simple yet clever. Being from the northeast, I immediately thought of Delaware and Connecticut, but I suppose each of those are rather short in comparison. Are there any other "major" rivers that just aren't long enough to be well known?

Level 56

Jun 30, 2024

I thought of the Delaware too, as that's the one Washington crossed, so I figured it'd be famous enough for this list.

+24

Level 86

Jan 27, 2017

There are 15 rivers named after a state. The ones under 1,000km in length are:

Wisconsin 692km,

Connecticut 653km,

Minnesota 596km,

Alabama 512km,

Delaware 484km,

Illinois 439km,

Iowa 439km,

Kentucky 417km,

Kansas 238km

Level 63

May 21, 2022

I suppose the states are named after the rivers, but this is some real cool stuff nonetheless!

Level 75

Jan 27, 2017

Are the rivers named after the states? Or were some, maybe all, of the rivers named first?

Level 78

May 11, 2017

actually, from what I remember, most of the states/rivers here were named after native american tribes living there. (kansas, arkansas, missouri...) I have no idea which ones were named first, however.

Level 68

Jan 26, 2024

I'm pretty sure Mississippi and Ohio, don't know about the others though

Level 86

Jan 27, 2017

"The state's name is derived from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary. "

"The state takes its name from the Ohio River"

"The state was named for the Colorado River"

"The state is named for the Missouri River"

The quiz was easy but the title is quite wrong.

Level ∞

Jan 27, 2017

Tweaked the title for accuracy.

Level 86

Jan 29, 2017

Good.

Level 88

Jan 28, 2017

kilometers? I can see using km for the rest of the world; but for a quiz about rivers in the US, miles seem more appropriate.

Level 78

Jan 28, 2017

it could be in fathoms or cubits or chains or microns...doesn't matter. Doesn't change the answers or their order.

Level 93

May 8, 2017

I'd like to see the lengths in parsecs.

Level 58

May 11, 2017

what's wrong with simply kilometers?

Level 59

Aug 18, 2020

Lame. Smoot is the only acceptible unit of measurement. :-D

Level 78

May 11, 2017

I prefer it in Planck lengths.

Level 63

May 19, 2018

Perhaps light years?

Level 87

Feb 16, 2017

Looks like the picture may be the old Chain of Rocks Bridge over the Mississippi at St. Louis.

Level ∞

May 11, 2017

It is!

Level 72

Nov 9, 2022

St Louis represent!

Level 73

May 11, 2017

Thanks for the easy points. (55 seconds left) It helps that five of these are within a three-hour drive of my home and I've been over their bridges many times.

Level 46

May 11, 2017

The name of the Arkansas river is pronounced differently in Kansas

They pronounce it Ar- Can-sus

The Rest of the country pronounces It Ar-Can-Saw

Level 78

May 11, 2017

no, we say it that way in california too.

Level 67

Oct 17, 2021

Then the Californians, as well as the Kansans, are wrong.

Level 47

May 11, 2017

Think I did okay. Only missed Arkansas and I am from Australia and know little on U.S rivers.

Level 72

Sep 22, 2018

Oops, I thought it was alphabetical and started guessing all the N states after I got Missouri and Ohio. Turns out there is no New Jersey River.

Level 92

Jan 11, 2020

No Rhode Island And Providence Plantations River either.

Level 75

Jun 8, 2021

I knew all the answers so it took me 5 seconds

Level 73

Aug 31, 2021

How did I get all of them BUT Mississippi... smh

Level 88

Sep 3, 2022

Quiz about U.S. rivers...measured in kilometers.

Level 63

Feb 15, 2023

i got 4/6 but was distracted at one point

Level 65

Oct 27, 2025

Can you specify long or geographically major? I saw major and thought historically important might count, and couldn't figure out where I was misspelling Delaware before realizing that Delaware was just wrong.

Level 71

Feb 4, 2026

I'm a little disappointed that there turned out to only be US rivers represented. Obviously, that's the most likley outcome but I half-hoped there was, say, a Rio Florida somewhere in South America.