Rivers in North America Ranked by Discharge

Name: Rivers in North America Ranked by Discharge
Creator: Wikidata
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Rivers recorded in Wikidata, ranked by Average discharge. Figures for long rivers vary between sources, depending on where the source and mouth are measured. Only items Wikidata places in North America (directly or through their country) are included. Source: Wikidata (CC0 1.0 (public domain)).

Summary

Colorado River ranks #1 with 21,700 m³/s. That is 1.7 times Mississippi River in second place (12,743 m³/s). The top five are Colorado River, Mississippi River, Mackenzie River, St. Lawrence River and Ohio River. The median across all 50 is 1,395 m³/s; Illinois River is last at 657 m³/s.

#1: Colorado River · 21,700 m³/s
Median: 1,395 m³/s
Coverage: 50 rivers in North America
Data year: As recorded in Wikidata
Last updated: 2026-11-14

Top 10: Average discharge (m³/s). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. Colorado River 21,700; 2. Mississippi River 12,743; 3. Mackenzie River 10,700; 4. St. Lawrence River 10,400; 5. Ohio River 7,973; 6. Columbia River 7,500; 7. Yukon River 6,428; 8. St. Clair River 5,200; 9. Fraser River 3,475; 10. Nelson River 2,800.

Full ranking

Rivers in North America Ranked by Discharge
Rank	River	Location	Average discharge (m³/s)
1	Colorado River	United States	21,700
2	Mississippi River	United States	12,743
3	Mackenzie River	Canada	10,700
4	St. Lawrence River	Canada, United States	10,400
5	Ohio River	United States	7,973
6	Columbia River	Canada, United States	7,500
7	Yukon River	Canada, United States	6,428
8	St. Clair River	Canada, United States	5,200
9	Fraser River	Canada	3,475
10	Nelson River	Canada	2,800
11	Grijalva River	Mexico	2,750
12	Missouri River	United States	2,478
13	Liard River	Canada	2,434
14	Skeena River	Canada	2,157
15	St. Marys River	Canada, United States	2,135
16	Peace River	Canada	2,110
17	Tennessee River	United States	1,998
18	Long Sault	Canada	1,950
19	Red River	United States	1,900
20	Mobile River	United States	1,900
21	Kuskokwim River	United States	1,897
22	Stikine River	Canada, United States	1,580
23	Snake River	United States	1,550
24	Saguenay River	Canada	1,470
25	Albany River	Canada	1,420
26	Moose River	Canada	1,370
27	Lavaca River	United States	1,295
28	Churchill River	Canada	1,200
29	Rivière Nottaway	Canada	1,190
30	Cimarron River	United States	1,147
31	Susquehanna River	United States	1,135
32	Penobscot River	United States	1,048
33	Wabash River	United States	1,001
34	Copper River	United States	1,000
35	Saint John River	Canada, United States	990
36	Tehuantepec River	Mexico	950
37	Alabama River	United States	950
38	Rivière Rupert	Canada	900
39	Willamette River	United States	900
40	Cumberland River	United States	862
41	Thelon River	Canada	840
42	Kootenay River	Canada, United States	782
43	Thompson River	Canada	773
44	Pend Oreille River	Canada, United States	745
45	White River	United States	741
46	Saskatchewan River	Canada	700
47	Winisk River	Canada	694
48	Great Whale River	Canada	680
49	Sacramento River	United States	665
50	Illinois River	United States	657