Four U.S. States Sharing Names with Major Rivers

Several U.S. states share names with significant rivers that flow through or border them. Four prominent examples:

1. Colorado River / Colorado — River originates in state's Rocky Mountains, flows 1,450 miles to Gulf of California
2. Hudson River / New York — River flows 315 miles through eastern New York (including NYC) to New York Harbor
3. Missouri River / Missouri — Longest U.S. river (2,341 miles) flows across state from west to east
4. Ohio River / Ohio — Forms state's southern border 451 miles; also borders IN, IL, KY, WV, PA

Additional State-River Name Pairs

• Arkansas River / Arkansas
• Tennessee River / Tennessee
• Delaware River / Delaware
• Connecticut River / Connecticut
• Kansas River / Kansas
• Minnesota River / Minnesota
• Wisconsin River / Wisconsin

Note: In most cases, the river was named first (often from Indigenous names), and the territory/state adopted the river's name. The Hudson is an exception—named for Henry Hudson (1609), with New York named earlier for the Duke of York.