Rivers

See also Rivers: Longest.

Rivers

In this section, the answer is always the name of a river. For questions where the river's named in the question and the answer is something else, see Places.

Carries most water			Amazon
Russian name for the river – the world's tenth longest – that forms most of its border with China, known as the Heilong Jiang in China			Amur
Sixth longest river in the USA, and a major tributary of the Mississippi: rises in Colorado, and flows through Kansas and Oklahoma before joining the Mississippi in the state to which it gave its name			Arkansas River
Old British word for a river, and a name common to rivers in Bristol, Warwickshire, Hampshire and Devon; Clifton Suspension Bridge spans the first (Wikipedia lists 17 rivers around the world whose names include this word – including two in Scotland and one in Wales)			Avon
Name, derived from the Celtic word for water, shared by two rivers (often confused with each other) in south–west England: one rises near Beaminster, Dorset, and flows into Lyme Bay near Seaton, Devon; the other rises at Wookey Hole in the Mendips, runs through the village of Wookey, and flows into the Bristol Channel. The town of Axminster is on the former			Axe
Flows through Lough Neagh (which divides it into two parts: the Upper feeds the lough, and the Lower drains it)			Bann
Rises in Tibet, where it's known as the Tsangpo, and joins the Ganges at its delta in Bangladesh			Brahmaputra
Gave its name to an Australian state capital			Brisbane
Flows between Huddersfield and Halifax (and through Wakefield)			Calder
The Doom Bar (which gave its name to a popular beer, first produced nearby in the 1990s) is a notorious sandbank at the mouth of the (Cornish river)			Camel
Longest river entirely in North Carolina – takes its name from the coastal feature near which it flows into the Atlantic			Cape Fear River
Body of water into which the Volga flows			Caspian Sea
Rises near Hellidon, Northamptonshire, and joins the Thames (here known as the Isis) at Oxford			Cherwell
Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth and QE2 were built on the			Clyde
Spanned by the Erskine Bridge
Runs through the Grand Canyon, and over the Hoover Dam (another river of the same name flows through Austin, Texas)			Colorado
Second longest river in Africa (known from 1971 to 1997 as the Zaire)			Congo
Tributary of the Weaver: forms parts of Cheshire's boundaries with both Derbyshire and Staffordshire, and flows through Three Shire Heads			Dane
Once a long–standing frontier of the Roman Empire; today flows through 10 countries – more than any other river in the world			Danube
The Iron Gate is a gorge (forming the border between Serbia and Romania) on the
Second longest river in Europe
Rises in the Black Forest (Germany) and flows into the Black Sea (Romania)
Gives its name to the royal estate that includes Balmoral Castle			Dee
Named after the English nobleman who was the first colonial governor of Virginia; gives its name (in turn) to a Native American people, and to the second smallest US state			Delaware
Name shared by four English rivers:			Derwent
1. Rises a few miles from the East Coast, but flows west to join the Yorkshire Ouse
2. Rises at Sprinkling Tarn, underneath Great End of Scafell Pike; flows through Bassenthwaite Lake (as well as the lake that shares its name), and into the sea at Workington; the Greta and the Cocker are tributaries
3. Gives its name to one of the UK's largest reservoirs, and flows into the Tyne near the Metro Centre
4. One of the cradles of the Industrial Revolution (provided the power to Richard Arkwright's cotton spinning mill at Cromford, Derbyshire): rises on Bleaklow, flows through Ladybower Reservoir, Matlock and Derby, and gives its name to the place where it joins the Trent at the same place as the Trent & Mersey Canal; Chatsworth House stands on its east bank
Drains Lake St. Clair and feeds Lake Erie			Detroit River
Rises near Smolensk; flows 1,400 miles southwards through Belarus and Ukraine, and flows into the Black Sea near Odessa			Dneiper (Dnepr)
Joined in Sheffield by the Loxley, Rivelin and Sheaf, and the Porter Brook			Don
Rises in the Massif Central; joins the Garonne to form the Gironde			Dordogne
Rises in Spain, enters the sea at (or just after) Porto in Portugal; forms the border for about 100 km			Douro
Rises on Axe Edge Moor, near Buxton; forms the border between Staffordshire and Derbyshire for much of its length, before flowing into the Trent; made famous by its association with Izaak Walton, author of The Compleat Angler (although it's hardly mentioned in the book)			Dove
The longest river that's entirely in Spain: flows into the Mediterranean via a delta at the southernmost extremity of Catalonia; the last major Republican offensive of the Spanish Civil war was fought along it and named after it			Ebro
Name shared by rivers in Cumbria (flowing through Appleby–in–Westmoreland and Carlisle, then into the Solway Firth), Kent (a tributary of the Medway) and Fife (forming an estuary just north of St. Andrews)			Eden
Rises in the Czech Republic, and flows through Germany to the North Sea			Elbe
River on which the Western Allies met with Soviet forces, in April 1945; gave its name to the anniversary of this event; formed much of the border between East and West Germany
Line said to divide upland and lowland Britain: links the mouths of the			Exe and Tees
Rises in the Trossachs; gives its name to the estuary on whose banks the former naval dockyard of Rosyth and Leith, the port of Edinburgh, stand			Forth
Joins the (Yorkshire) Ouse at York			Foss
Sacred river of the Hindus; rises at the foot of the Gangotri Glacier; flows into the Bay of Bengal in the world's biggest delta, also known as the Sundarban			Ganges
Navigable estuary formed by the confluence of the Dordogne and Garonne, in the north of Bordeaux (i.e. downstream from the city centre) – gives its name to the département			Gironde
"The only great navigable river in Spain" (Wikipedia); flows through Cordoba and Seville; name derived from the Arabic for "great valley"			Guadalquivir
Separates Manhattan from The Bronx (which is on the mainland)			Harlem River
Separates the US states of New York and New Jersey, at the point where it flows into the Atlantic Ocean			Hudson River
Formed by the confluence of the (Yorkshire) Ouse and the Trent, at Trent Falls (strictly speaking this is an estuary and not a river)			Humber
Principal river of Burma (Myanmar)			Irrawaddy
Gave its Persian name to a country, a people, and their religion and languages			Indus
Rises in Tibet, and flows south–west for about 1,800 miles, through India and Pakistan and into the Arabian Sea near Karachi; Pakistan's main source of potable (drinkable) water
In Oxford, the Thames is known as the			Isis
Rises in Syria (on Mount Hermon, in the Golan Heights); passes through Lake Tiberias (a.k.a. the Sea of Galilee), flows into the Dead Sea			Jordan
Drains Lake Utah, flows into the Great Salt Lake at Salt Lake City			Jordan
Largest tributary of the Ganges			Jumna (Yamuna)
Rises in Wiltshire, at various sources close to the prehistoric sites of Silbury Hill and Avebury; flows through Marlborough, Hungerford and Newbury, before joining the Thames at Reading			Kennet
Rises near Luton, in Bedfordshire; flows into the Thames at Bromley–by–Bow; features in the early chapters of Isaak Walton's The Compleat Angler			Lea
Formed by the confluence of the Marico and Crocodile rivers; forms the entire South Africa/Zimbabwe border; flows to the sea through Mozambique			Limpopo
French river, famous for the chateaux in the middle and lower reaches of its valley			Loire
Drains the Great Slave Lake and feeds the Beaufort Sea			MacKenzie River
Flows into the Rhine at Wiesbaden			Main
Tributary of the Seine – gave its name to a decisive battle of September 1914			Marne
Almost bisects the Isle of Wight			Medina
Flows into the Thames Estuary at Sheerness – between the Isle of Grain (not really an island!) and the Isle of Sheppey; gives its name to the unitary authority that includes Rochester, Gillingham and Chatham			Medway
Said to separate the Kentish Men from the Men of Kent
Rises in Tibet (China), flowing through Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and finally Vietnam, where it joins the South China Sea; its delta featured prominently in the Vietnam War			Mekong
Formed in Stockport, Greater Manchester (formerly in Cheshire) at the confluence of the Tame, Goyt and Etherow; forms the westernmost part (70 miles) of the border between the historic counties of Lancashire and Cheshire			Mersey
Rises in France, giving its name to a département; flows through Belgium and Holland; important line of battle in both world wars			Meuse (Dutch Maas)
Rises in Lake Itasca, Minnesota			Mississippi
Longest tributary of the Mississippi			Missouri
Joins the Rhine at Koblenz			Mosel(le)
Schengen –; the small town at the 'tripoint' of France, Luxembourg and Germany, best known for the EEC agreement that was signed there in 1985 – is on the
Forms all but 100 miles of the border between New South Wales and Victoria; then enters South Australia, flowing into the sea at Encouter Bay			Murray
Rises in the Czech Republic; forms 198 km (123 m) of the border between Germany and Poland, before flowing into the Oder			Neisse
Drains Lake Ladoga (Europe's largest lake); flows through St. Petersburg and into the Gulf of Finland; only 46 miles (74km) long, but carries more water than any other European river except the Volga and the Danube			Neva
Flows out of Lake Erie, northwards and into Lake Ontario			Niagara
The principal river of western Africa: rises in the Guinea Highlands, flows in a crescent through Mali (passing near Timbuktu), and into the Gulf of Guinea			Niger
Rises in the Czech Republic, forms 187 km (116 m) of the border between Poland and Germany; flows into the Baltic via Poland			Oder
Biggest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi: formed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by the confluence of the Allegheny and the Monongahela			Ohio
Terminates in the world's largest inland delta, in an endorheic basin in the Kalahari Desert (Botswana)			Okavango
The longest river in southern Africa: rises in the Drakensberg mountains in Lesotho, flows westwards through South Africa, forming most of its border with Namibia			Orange
Forms about 270km (170 m) of the border between Colombia and Venezuela, in its middle reaches, before entering the sea via Venezuela; its mouth was discovered by Columbus 1498 – its source not until 1951; gave its name to a Womble and to Enya's biggest hit (UK No. 1, 1988)			Orinoco
Rises in Lebanon, flows through Syria and flows into the Mediterranean in Turkey; mainly unnavigable, but its valley provides a convenient north–south route			Orontes
Second longest river in South America: formed in Brazil by the confluence of the Paranaiba River and the Rio Grande, it joins the Uruguay River to form the River Plate (estuary); the Paraguay River is a major tributary			Paraná
Flows Eastwards through southern Belarus; joins the Dneiper 50 miles north of Kiev; marshes named after it were of strategic importance in both world wars			Pripet (Pripyat)
River in Brittany – gave its name to the world's first tidal power station (opened 1966), sited on its estuary			Rance
Forms a major part of the border between Texas and Oklahoma – gave its name to a 1948 Howard Hawks film			Red River
English name for the river that rises in China and flows through Vietnam, known as the Sông Hồng in Vietnam and the Yuôn Jiāng (Yuan River) in Chinese; Hanoi is on its right bank			Red River
The only river that rises in the Alps and flows into the North Sea; flows through Lake Constance			Rhine
Flows through Lake Geneva, then through France and into the Mediterranean; the Camargue is the area between the two arms of its delta			Rhône
Rises in Yorkshire; estuary separates Southport and Lytham (on the Lancashire coast); the Hodder, Calder, Derwent and Douglas are its major tributaries			Ribble
River that forms the major part of the US/Mexico border	Spanish (Mexican) name		Rio Bravo
	English (US) name		Rio Grande
Estuary formed by the Uruguay River and the Paraná River; separates Uruguay (left bank) from Argentina (right bank); Montevideo and Buenos Aires are both on its banks			River Plate
Joins the Rhine at Duisburg – Europe's largest inland port			Ruhr
Drains Lake Huron and feeds the lake of the same name (which is drained by the Detroit River)			St. Claire River
River and gulf named by Jacques Cartier after the day in 1534 on which he discovered them; the river drains the Great Lakes			St. Lawrence
The Thousand Islands are in the
Flows into the Rhone at Lyon			Saône
Flows through the capitals of Slovenia and Croatia, and into the Danube at Belgrade (capital of Serbia!)			Sava
Flows through Ironbridge Gorge; spanned by the first iron bridge, built by Abraham Darby III in 1779			Severn
Formed by the confluence of the Tigris and the Euphrates; flows into the Persian Gulf			Shat–al –Arab
Tributary of the Potomac, flowing into the latter at Harpers Ferry – site of John Brown's famous raid on the armoury there in October 1859 (during the American Civil War)			Shenandoah
Rises near St. Quentin, flows into the English Channel; forms part of the same syncline as the Solent; made famous by the battle that was fought along a 12–mile stretch of it from July to November 1916 (in World War I)			Somme
Scotland's third–longest river, after the Tay and the Clyde: important for salmon fishing and whisky production (referenced in the name of one of Scotland's five whisky–producing regions, which accounts for more distilleries than any other)			Spey
Name shared by rivers in Dorset, Kent, Suffolk, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire			Stour
Forms the border between Devon and Cornwall, for most of its (the river's) 60 miles; the Hamoaze, which flows into Plymouth Sound from the north-west, is its estuary; the GWR is carried over it, between Plymouth (Devon) and Saltash (Cornwall), by Brunel's famous Royal Albert Bridge			Tamar
Rises on Ben Lui, on the Perthshire/Argyll border; known locally as the Fillan			Tay
Rises on Cross Fell – the highest mountain in the Pennines – and flows into the North Sea			Tees
Caldron Snout (England's highest waterfall above sea level); High Force, Low Force
Rises at Seven Springs, in the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire			Thames
Mesopotamia is between			Tigris and Euphrates
Flows through Bideford, joins the Taw Estuary at Appledore; home to Tarka the Otter in Henry Williamson's novel			Torridge
Rises in Northamptonshire; flows round (not really through) the town of Towcester; joins the Great Ouse near Milton Keynes			Tove
The longest river entirely in Wales: forms the border between Ceredigion (Cardiganshire) and Powys, for its first 9 or 10 miles; flows through Llandovery and Llandeilo, before flowing into the sea at Carmarthen			Towy
Rises on Biddulph Moor, Staffordshire; joins the Yorkshire Ouse to form the Humber			Trent
The third longest river in the UK (after the Severn and the Thames), and the second longest that's entirely within England
Forms the border between England and Scotland, for its last 17 miles (before flowing into the North Sea)			Tweed
Drains Kielder Reservoir; crossed by the Millennium Bridge, which famously tilts to allow river traffic through – links Newcastle and Gateshead			Tyne
River in Wensleydale			Ure
Rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain, in the Brecon Beacons National Park; flows through Newport (Monmouthshire), joining the Severn Estuary soon afterwards			Usk
Longest river in the Czech Republic: known as the Moldau in German, it joins the Elbe at Melnik; it carries more water than the Elbe, but is considered a tributary because it joins at a right angle. Celebrated in a famous set of six symphonic poems by Smetana			Vltava
African river with Black, Red and White branches			Volta
Forms much of the border between Norfolk and Suffolk; joins the Yare near Great Yarmouth to form Breydon Water			Waveney
Linked to the Trent and Mersey Canal by the Anderton Boat Lift			Weaver
Flows through Norwich, and merges with the Yare on its outskirts			Wensum
Dammed to form Lake Serpentine			Westbourne
Flows through a great swamp (in the Sudan) called the Sudd			White Nile
Flows over 500 miles through central Brazil, meets the Amazon 250 miles from the sea			Xingu
The longest river that's entirely within one country			Yangtse
One of the principal rivers of the Broads: the Bure, Waveney and Wensum are among its tributaries			Yare
English name for the Huang Ho river – China's 2nd longest, and the world's 6th longest			Yellow River
Major river of Alaska, rising in Lake Tagish; important transportation route during the Klondike gold rush			Yukon
Has its headwaters in Angola and Zambia; forms the entire Zambia/Zimbabwe border, before flowing into the Indian Ocean via Mozambique; flows over Victoria Falls and the Kariba Dam; Lake Kariba is a man–made lake on it			Zambesi

Places

Murchison River		Australia
Nelson, Churchill, Peace, MacKenzie: rivers in		Canada
The River Jordan flows into the		Dead Sea
The River Seine flows into the		English Channel
The Rio Grande and the Mississippi flow into the		Gulf of Mexico
The Blue Nile and the White Nile meet at		Khartoum
The Glomma (621 km / 386 miles) is the longest river in		Norway
The river Menderes, known in ancient times as the Maeander (or Meander), is in		Turkey
The Rhine and the Rhône both rise in		Switzerland

© Haydn Thompson 2017–24