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| an ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba.[1] It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba.[image] |
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The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean.[1][2] It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves.
The Bering Sea is separated from the Gulf of Alaska by the Alaska Peninsula. It covers over two million square kilometers, bordered on the east and northeast by Alaska, on the west by Russia's Siberia and Kamchatka Peninsula, on the south by the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands and on the far north by the Bering Strait, which connects the Bering Sea to theArctic Ocean's Chukchi Sea. |
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| Hudson Bay (Inuktitut: Kangiqsualuk ilua,[1] French: baie d'Hudson), sometimes (usually historically) called Hudson's Bay, is a large body of saltwater in northeastern Canada. It drains a very large area, about 3,861,400 square kilometres (1,490,900 sq mi),[2] that includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, most of Manitoba, southeastern Nunavut, as well as parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana. The southern arm of Hudson Bay is called James Bay. |
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| Lake Champlain (French: lac Champlain) is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of theUnited States (states of Vermont and New York) but partially situated across the Canada-United States border in the Canadianprovince of Quebec. |
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The Great Lakes, sometimes disambiguated as the Laurentian Great Lakes, are a collection of freshwaterlakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada–United States border, which connect to theAtlantic Ocean through the Saint Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes Waterway. Consisting of LakesSuperior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth, containing 21% of the world's surface fresh water.[1][2][3] The total surface is 94,250 square miles (244,106 km2), and the total volume (measured at the low water datum) is 5,439 cubic miles (22,671 km3).[4]The lakes are sometimes referred to as the North Coast or "Third Coast" by some citizens of the United States.
[image]The lakes have been a major source of trade through this area, and they are home to a large number of aquatic species. Many invasive species have been introduced due to trade in the area, and some threaten the biodiversity of the area. |
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| The Mississippi River is the chief river of the largest river system in North America.[3][4] Flowing entirely in the United States (though its drainage basin reaches into Canada), it rises in northern Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for 2,530 miles (4,070 km)[5] to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi'swatershed drains all or parts of 31 US states and 2 Canadian provinces between the Rocky and Appalachian Mountains. The Mississippi ranks as the fourth longest and tenth largest river in the world. The river either borders or cuts through the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. |
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| The Missouri River is the longest river in North America and a major waterway of the central United States. Rising in theRocky Mountains of western Montana, the Missouri flows east and south for 2,341 miles (3,767 km)[7] before entering theMississippi River north of St. Louis, Missouri. The river takes drainage from a sparsely populated, semi-arid watershed of more than half a million square miles (1,300,000 km2), which includes parts of ten U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. |
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| The Ohio River (Seneca: ohi:yó[2]) is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi (Ohio at Cairo: 281,500 cu ft/s (7,960 m3/s);[3] Mississippi at Thebes: 208,200 cu ft/s (5,897 m3/s)[4]) and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream. It is approximately 981 miles (1,579 km) long and is located in the Eastern United States. |
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| The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles (1049 km) long and is located in thesoutheastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names.[2] Its name is derived from the Cherokee village name Tanasi.[5] |
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| The Red River (French: Rivière rouge, German: Roter Fluss, American English: Red River of the North) is a North Americanriver. Originating at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers between the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota, it flows northward through the Red River Valley, forming the border of Minnesota and North Dakota and continuing intoManitoba, Canada. It empties into Lake Winnipeg, whose waters join the Nelson River and ultimately flow into the Hudson Bay, which is considered part of the Arctic Ocean. |
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| The Arkansas River (Pawnee: Kícka [5]) is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in theWestern United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas River Valley where the headwaters derive from the snowpack in theCollegiate Peaks. Then it flows east into the Midwest via Kansas, and finally into the South through Oklahoma and Arkansas. |
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| The Rio Grande (known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte, or simply Río Bravo) is a river that flows from southwesternColorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. According to the International Boundary and Water Commission, its total length was 1,896 miles (3,051 km) in the late 1980s, though course shifts occasionally result in length changes. Depending on how it is measured, the Rio Grande is the fourth or fifth longest river system in North America.[2] |
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| The Colorado River is the principal river of the southwestern United States and northwest Mexico. The 1,450-mile (2,330 km) river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. and two Mexican states. Rising in the central Rocky Mountains in the U.S., the river flows generally southwest across the Colorado Plateau before reaching Lake Mead on theArizona–Nevada line, where it turns south towards the international border. After entering Mexico, the Colorado forms a large delta, emptying into the Gulf of California between Baja California and Sonora. |
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| The Saint Lawrence (French: fleuve Saint-Laurent; Tuscarora: Kahnawáʼkye;[3] Mohawk: Kaniatarowanenneh, meaning "big waterway") is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin. The river traverses theCanadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and forms part of the international boundary between Ontario and New York in theUnited States. |
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| The Mackenzie River (Dene: Deh-Cho, big river) is the largest river system in Canada. It flows through a vast, isolated region of forest and tundra entirely within the country's Northwest Territories, although its many tributaries reach into four other Canadian provinces and territories. The river's mainstem runs 1,738 kilometres (1,080 mi) in a northerly direction to the Arctic Ocean, draining a vast area nearly the size of Indonesia. It is the largest river flowing into the Arctic from North America, and with its tributaries is one of the longest rivers in the world. |
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| The Hudson River is a 315-mile (507 km) watercourse that flows from north to south through eastern New York State in the United States. The river begins at the confluence of Calamity Brook and Indian Pass Brook near Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York. The river flows southward past the state capital at Albany and then eventually forms the boundary between New York City and the U.S. state of New Jersey at its mouth before emptying into Upper New York Bay. Its lower half is a tidal estuary,[3] which occupies the Hudson Fjord. This formed during the most recent North American glaciation over the latter part of the Wisconsin Stage of the Last Glacial Maximum, 26,000 to 13,300 years ago.[4] Tidal waters influence the Hudson's flow as far north as Troy, New York. |
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| The Chesapeake Bay ([image] /ˈtʃɛsəpiːk/ chess-ə-peek) is the largest estuary in the United States.[2] It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers 64,299 square miles (166,534 km2) in theDistrict of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.[3] More than 150 rivers and streams drain into the bay.[2] |
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| The Susquehanna River ([image] /ˌsʌskwəˈhænə/) (Lenape: Siskëwahane [3]) is a river located in the northeastern United States. At 464 miles (747 km) long,[4] it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershedit is the 16th largest river in the United States,[5][6] and the longest river in the continental United States without commercial boat traffic.[7] It flows through three states: New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. It forms from two main branches, with the "North Branch", which rises in upstate New York, regarded by federal mapmakers as the main branch.[1] The shorter West Branch, which rises in western Pennsylvania, joins the main stem near Northumberland in central Pennsylvania. |
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| Delaware Bay is a major estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the Northeast seaboard of the United States whose fresh water mixes for many miles with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It is 782 square miles (2,030 km2) in area.[1] The bay is bordered by the State of New Jersey and the State of Delaware. It was the first site classified in the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. |
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The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America.[9] The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. It flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state of Oregon before emptying into the Pacific Ocean. The river is 1,243 miles (2,000 km) long, and its largest tributary is the Snake River. Its drainage basin is roughly the size ofFrance and extends into seven U.S. states and a Canadian province.
By volume, the Columbia is the fourth-largest river in the U.S., and it has the greatest flow of any North American river draining into the Pacific. The river's heavy flow and its relatively steep gradient gives it tremendous potential for the generation of electricity. The 14 hydroelectric dams on the Columbia's main stem and many more on its tributaries produce more hydroelectric power than those of any other North American river. |
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| The American River (Río de los Americanos during the Mexican-ruled period before 1846) is a California watercourse river system which runs from the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range to its confluence with the Sacramento River inSacramento, California. The Sacramento River continues to eventually empty into the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean at San Francisco, California. The American River flows entirely within California. |
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