Rivers and Lakes

The Mississippi River, along with its tributary, the Missouri, is one of the world's longest rivers. One of its folk names is "father of waters.

Like the Mississippi, the many shorter rivers that rise east of the Appalachian Mountains empty into the Atlantic Ocean. Among them are the Hudson River, the Delaware and the Potomac.

Three great river systems drain the region west of the Rocky Mountains. They empty into the Pacific Ocean. In the north, the Columbia River and its chief tributary, the Snake River. The Sacramento. The Colorado River. These three river systems have great value as sources for irrigation and hydroelectric power

The Rio Grande, about 3,200 kilometers long, forms a natural boundary between Mexico and the United States and is an important source of irrigation projects to the benefit of both countries.

The Yukon River in the north rises in the Canadian Rockies flows westward across Alaska and empties into the Bering Sea. North America has more lakes by far than any other continent. The largest of these are the Great Lakes. They are the greatest collection of fresh water lakes in the world. Lakes Superior, Huron, Erie, and Ontario form a natural border between northeastern United States and Canada. Only Lake Michigan lies entirely inside the United States. Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes. the Niagara Falls, one of the natural wonders of the world.