Water

Arkansas River

Rocky Mountain river crossing the plains to the Mississippi

Atchafalaya Basin

The largest river swamp in the United States, in south Louisiana

Brazos River

The River of the Arms of God, crossing the heart of Texas

Burney Falls

Spring-fed falls in California’s volcanic northeast, flowing even in drought

Chesapeake Bay

The largest estuary in the United States

Connecticut River

New England’s longest river, from the Canadian border to Long Island Sound

Crater Lake

The deepest lake in the United States

Delaware River

Undammed main stem from the Catskills to Delaware Bay

Galveston Bay

The shallow estuary at the heart of the Houston coast

Grand Coulee Dam

The largest power plant in the United States, on the Columbia River

Great Dismal Swamp

A Virginia-North Carolina swamp that sheltered freedom seekers for generations

Great Falls of the Potomac

Rapids where the Potomac crosses the fall line above Washington

Great Salt Lake

The largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere

Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)

The warm ocean basin that shapes America’s southern coast

ʻAkaka Falls

A 442-foot plunge into a rainforest gorge on Hawaiʻi Island

Iliamna Lake

The largest lake in Alaska

Lake Champlain

A long, deep lake sometimes called the sixth Great Lake

Lake Erie

The shallowest and warmest of the Great Lakes

Lake Huron

The Great Lake with the longest shoreline

Lake Mead

Hoover Dam's reservoir on the Colorado River, now at record lows

Lake Michigan

The only Great Lake entirely within the United States

Lake Oahe

A 231-mile Missouri River reservoir across the Dakotas

Lake Okeechobee

The vast, shallow "Lake O" at the heart of Florida

Lake Ontario

The smallest Great Lake by area, last before the Atlantic

Lake Pontchartrain

The broad brackish lake on the edge of New Orleans

Lake Powell

Glen Canyon Dam's reservoir on the Colorado River in Utah and Arizona

Lake Sakakawea

The Garrison Dam reservoir on the Missouri River in North Dakota

Lake Superior

The largest freshwater lake in the world by area

Lake Tahoe

A deep, clear alpine lake in the Sierra Nevada

Long Island Sound

The tidal estuary between Long Island and Connecticut

Lower Falls of the Yellowstone

The 308-foot falls at the head of Yellowstone’s Grand Canyon

Mobile Bay

Alabama's gateway to the Gulf of Mexico

Multnomah Falls

Oregon’s tallest waterfall, a two-tier plunge in the Columbia River Gorge

Niagara Falls

The famous falls on the Niagara River

Okefenokee Swamp

A peat-filled blackwater swamp on the Georgia-Florida line

Platte River

Braided Nebraska river that guided the westward trails

Potomac River

The Nation’s River, flowing past Washington to Chesapeake Bay

Prairie Pothole Region

Glacier-made wetlands of the northern plains that raise much of America's ducks

Puget Sound

The deep glacial inlet of western Washington

Red Lake

The largest lake entirely within Minnesota

Red River of the South

Rust-colored border river between Texas and Oklahoma

Sacramento River

California’s largest river, the backbone of its Central Valley water system

San Francisco Bay

The great natural harbor of Northern California

Savannah River

Border river between Georgia and South Carolina, reaching the sea at Savannah

Shasta Lake

California's largest reservoir, behind Shasta Dam on the Sacramento River

Shoshone Falls

The Niagara of the West, on the Snake River in Idaho

Snoqualmie Falls

Sacred Snoqualmie site and early hydropower landmark east of Seattle

Susquehanna River

Longest river on the East Coast, feeding half of Chesapeake Bay

Taughannock Falls

A 215-foot plunge in a Finger Lakes gorge near Cayuga Lake

Tennessee River

The Ohio’s largest tributary, harnessed by the Tennessee Valley Authority

The Colorado River

The river that carved the Grand Canyon

The Columbia River

The great river of the Pacific Northwest

The Everglades

Florida's slow-moving river of grass, from Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay

The Great Lakes

The largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth

The Hudson River

The tidal river that made New York the gateway of a continent

The Mississippi River

The great river that drains the American heartland

The Missouri River

The longest river in North America

The Ohio River

The Mississippi's largest tributary by volume

The Rio Grande

The river border between the U.S. and Mexico

The Salton Sea

California's largest lake, created by accident and shrinking

The Snake River

The Columbia's largest tributary, carver of Hells Canyon

Yosemite Falls

Three-tiered waterfall dropping 2,425 feet into Yosemite Valley

Yukon River

Alaska’s longest river, flowing from British Columbia to the Bering Sea