The list of rivers of Texas is a list of all named waterways, including

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

s and

streams A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams a ...

that partially pass through or are entirely located within the U.S. state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. Across the state, there are 3,700 named streams and 15 major rivers accounting for over of waterways. All of the state's waterways drain towards the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

, the

Texas Gulf Coast Texas Gulf Coast is an intertidal zone which borders the coastal region of South Texas, Southeast Texas, and the Texas Coastal Bend. The Texas coastal geography boundaries the Gulf of Mexico encompassing a geographical distance relative be ...

, or the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

, with mouths located in seven major

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environme ...

Major waterways

Angelina River The Angelina River is formed by the junction of Barnhardt and Shawnee creeks northwest of Laneville in southwest central Rusk County, Texas. The river flows southeast for and forms the boundaries between Cherokee and Nacogdoches, Angelina an ...

* Blanco River * Bosque River *

Brazos River The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 11th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater ...

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

Concho River The Concho River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas. ''Concho'' is Spanish for "shell"; the river was so named due to its abundance of freshwater mussels, such as the Tampico pearly mussel ('' Cyrtonaias tampicoensis''). Geography The Co ...

* Canadian River * Guadalupe River *

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesap ...

* Lampasas River * Lavaca River *

Leon River The Leon River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas. It has three primary forks - the North, Middle, and South Leon Rivers, which meet near Eastland and then run for around until it meets with the Lampasas River and the Salado Creek to form ...

* Little River * Llano River * Navidad River *

Neches River The Neches River () begins in Van Zandt County west of Rhine Lake and flows for through the piney woods of east Texas, defining the boundaries of 14 counties on its way to its mouth on Sabine Lake near the Rainbow Bridge. Two major reservoirs, ...

* Nolan River *

Nueces River The Nueces River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas, about long. It drains a region in central and southern Texas southeastward into the Gulf of Mexico. It is the southernmost major river in Texas northeast of the Rio Grande. ''Nueces' ...

Frio River The Frio River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas. The word ''frío'' is Spanish for ''cold'', a clear reference to the spring-fed coolness of the river. Geography The Frio River has three primary tributaries; the East, West, and Dry Frio R ...

* Paluxy River *

Pease River The Pease River is a river in Texas, United States. It is a tributary of the Red River that runs in an easterly direction through West Texas . It was discovered and mapped for the first time in 1856 by Jacob de Córdova, who found the river whi ...

* Pedernales River * Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River * Red River *

** Devils River **

Pecos River The Pecos River ( es, Río Pecos) originates in north-central New Mexico and flows into Texas, emptying into the Rio Grande. Its headwaters are on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County north of Pecos, New Mexic ...

* Sabine River *

San Antonio River The San Antonio River is a major waterway that originates in central Texas in a cluster of springs in midtown San Antonio, about 4 miles north of downtown, and follows a roughly southeastern path through the state. It eventually feeds into the ...

** Medina River * San Bernard River * San Gabriel River * San Jacinto River *

San Marcos River The San Marcos River rises from the San Marcos Springs, the location of Aquarena Springs, in San Marcos, Texas. The springs are home to several threatened or endangered species, including the Texas blind salamander, fountain darter, and Texas ...

* San Saba River *

Sulphur River The Sulphur River is a river in northeast Texas and southwest Arkansas in the United States. Geography The Sulphur River begins at the confluence of its north and south forks forming (following earlier meanders) the northern and southern bounda ...

* Trinity River * Wichita River * White River

Seasonal and restrictive waterways

Aransas River The Aransas River is a short river in south Texas in the United States. It drains an area of the south Texas coastal plains into the Gulf of Mexico. It rises in Bee County southwest of Beeville and north of Skidmore, from the confluence of thr ...

* Armand Bayou * Arroyo Colorado * Attoyac Bayou * Austin Bayou * Barton Creek * Bastrop Bayou * Bedias Creek * Beech Creek * Big Cow Creek * Big Cypress Bayou * Big Cypress Creek * Big Mineral Creek * Big Pine Creek * Big Sandy Creek * Bois D'Arc Creek *

Buffalo Bayou Buffalo Bayou is a slow-moving body of water which flows through Houston in Harris County, Texas. Formed 18,000 years ago, it has its source in the prairie surrounding Katy, Fort Bend County, and flows approximately east through the Houston Shi ...

*Caney Creek (Red River tributary) * Catfish Creek *

Cedar Bayou Cedar Bayou is a salt water channel on the Texas coast that separates San Jose Island from Matagorda Island. The pass serves as a water exchange between the Gulf of Mexico and the San Antonio, Matagorda and Aransas Bay systems. History Cedar ...

* Chacon Creek *

Cibolo Creek Cibolo Creek is a stream in South Central Texas that runs approximately from its source at Turkey Knob (in the Texas Hill Country) near Boerne, Texas, to its confluence with the San Antonio River in Karnes County. The creek is a tributary of th ...

* Clear Creek * Coffee Mill Creek *

Coleto Creek Coleto Creek is a stream in Texas. It runs through the small town of Yorktown, Texas. It feeds the Coleto Creek Reservoir. Its mouth is at the Guadalupe River. Coleto is a name derived Spanish meaning either "jacket" or "a man's body". Se ...

* Comal River * Buffalo Soldier Draw * Denton Creek * Dickinson Bayou * Double Bayou, East Fork * Garcitas Creek ** Marcado Creek * Highland Bayou *

Hurst Creek Hurst Creek is a tributary of the Colorado River in Central Texas. Hurst Creek flows north through Lakeway and empties into Lake Travis. See also * List of Texas rivers A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: ...

* Keechi Creek * Lake Charlotte Creek (Lake Pass) * Little Cypress Bayou *

Navasota River The Navasota River is a river in east Texas, United States. It is about 125 miles (201 km) long, beginning near Mount Calm and flowing south into the Brazos River at a point where Brazos, Grimes, and Washington counties converge.''Merriam ...

* Onion Creek *

Oso Creek Oso Creek is an approximately tributary of Arroyo Trabuco in southern Orange County in the U.S. state of California. Draining about in a region north of the San Joaquin Hills and south of the Santa Ana Mountains, the creek is Trabuco Creek' ...

* Oyster Bayou * Oyster Creek * Palo Pinto Creek * Pecan Bayou * Pine Island Bayou * Rainwater Creek *

Rincon Bayou Rincon Bayou is in the Nueces River delta, and located northwest of Corpus Christi. The Rincon Bayou is subject to freshwater inundation following seasonal rainfall events farther inland along the Nueces River. The freshwater inundation provides t ...

* Sabinal River *

Salado Creek Salado Creek ( ) is a waterway in San Antonio that runs from northern Bexar County for about to the San Antonio River near Buena Vista.Sanders Creek * Spring Creek * Taylor Bayou * Turkey Creek * Village Creek * Walnut Branch * Zacate Creek

Waterways by drainage basin

This list is arranged by

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

, with tributaries indented under each larger stream's name listed in order from mouth to source.

Mississippi River

*''Mississippi River (LA, AR)'' ** Red River ***

Cross Bayou Cross Bayou is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 3, 2011 river in Texas and Louisiana. It is a tributary of the Red River, part of the Mississippi River watershed. ...

****''Twelvemile Bayou (LA)'' ***** Black Bayou ***** Big Cypress Bayou ****** Little Cypress Bayou ****** Black Cypress Bayou ****** Big Cypress Creek ***

**** White Oak Creek ****North Sulphur River ****South Sulphur River *** Pecan Bayou *** Big Pine Creek *** Sanders Creek *** Bois D'Arc Creek **** Coffee Mill Creek ***Caney Creek (Red River tributary) ***

Washita River The Washita River () is a river in the states of Texas and Oklahoma in the United States. The river is long and terminates at its confluence with the Red River, which is now part of Lake Texoma () on the TexasOklahoma border. Geography The ...

*** Big Mineral Creek ***

Little Wichita River The Little Wichita River is a river in Texas. See also *List of rivers of Texas * Geology of Wichita Falls, Texas *Little Red River (Texas) The Little Red River is an intermittent stream about long, formed at the confluence of the North Prong ...

*** Wichita River **** Holliday Creek **** Beaver Creek ****North Wichita River *****Middle Fork Wichita River ****South Wichita River ***

**** Catfish Creek **** North Pease River ***** Quitaque Creek **** Middle Pease River ***** Tongue River *** Wanderers Creek *** Groesbeck Creek *** North Fork Red River **** Elm Fork Red River **** Sweetwater Creek **** McClellan Creek *** Salt Fork Red River *** Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River **** Buck Creek **** Mulberry Creek **** Tule Creek ****

Little Red River (Texas) The Little Red River is an intermittent stream about long, formed at the confluence of the North Prong and South Prong Little Red River in Briscoe County, Texas, and flowing east-northeastward to join the Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River in Hall ...

**** Palo Duro Creek ****

Tierra Blanca Creek Tierra Blanca Creek is an ephemeral stream about long, heading in Curry County, New Mexico, flowing east-northeast across northern portions of the Llano Estacado to join Palo Duro Creek to form the Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River southeast of Ama ...

**''Arkansas River (AR, OK)'' *** Canadian River **** North Canadian River ***** Beaver River ****** Kiowa Creek ****** Palo Duro Creek ****** Coldwater Creek *****

Wolf Creek Wolf Creek may refer to: Bodies of water Missouri * Wolf Creek (Beaver Creek tributary) * Wolf Creek (Cane Creek tributary) * Wolf Creek (Cave Creek tributary) * Wolf Creek (Elkhorn Creek tributary) * Wolf Creek (South Grand River tributary) * ...

**** Punta de Agua Creek *****

Rita Blanca Creek Rita Blanca Creek, also known as Mustang Creek, forms in two branches in Union County, New Mexico. It enters Texas near Texline, and its branches join southeast of that location. It then continues about sixty-two miles generally southeast to fl ...

****** Carrizo Creek (New Mexico/Texas)

Gulf of Mexico Coastal

* Sabine River ** Big Cow Creek ** Big Sandy Creek ** Lake Fork Creek *** Rainwater Creek *

** Pine Island Bayou ** Village Creek *** Beech Creek *** Big Sandy Creek **

***

Ayish Bayou Ayish Bayou is a river in Texas. Ayish Bayou begins about north of San Augustine in northern San Augustine County. The course of the stream runs southeast for through the center of the county, before discharging into the Angelina River The Ang ...

*** Attoyac Bayou *** Mud Creek ** Piney Creek * Taylor Bayou * Oyster Bayou * Double Bayou ** Double Bayou, East Fork **West Fork Double Bayou * Trinity River ** Lake Charlotte Creek (Lake Pass) ** Bedias Creek ** Keechi Creek ** Tehuacana Creek ** Richland Creek *** Chambers Creek ** Cedar Creek *** Kings Creek ** Red Oak Creek **East Fork Trinity River **

White Rock Creek White Rock Creek is a creek occupying a chain of four sub-watersheds within the Trinity River watershed. From its source near Frisco, Texas at , this creek runs south-by-south-east through suburban Dallas for where it widens into White Rock L ...

** Turtle Creek **Elm Fork Trinity River ***

Bachman Branch Bachman Branch (also Bachman Creek) is the name of a medium-sized tributary of the Trinity River with headwaters in northwest Dallas, Texas (USA). The tributary is in length and rises at Forest Lane, west of the Dallas North Tollway. It runs s ...

*** Denton Creek *** Clear Creek *** Furneaux Creek *** Isle du Bois Creek ****

Range Creek Range Creek, rising in the Book Cliffs in Emery County, Utah, is a high tributary of the Green River, a major tributary of the Colorado River. The creek flows year around. It has been nominated for classification as a National Wild and Scenic Ri ...

**West Fork Trinity River *** Johnson Creek ***Clear Fork Trinity River *** Big Sandy Creek *

* San Jacinto River **

*** Vince Bayou *** Whiteoak Bayou *** Brays Bayou ** East Fork San Jacinto River *** Peach Creek **** Caney Creek (San Jacinto River tributary) ** West Fork San Jacinto River *** Spring Creek **** Cypress Creek *** Lake Creek * Clear Creek ** Armand Bayou * Dickinson Bayou * Highland Bayou *Chocolate Bayou * Bastrop Bayou *

Cow Bayou Cow Bayou is a bayou in Orange County and Japser County in the U.S. state of Texas. It was formed by the Gum Slough and Dognash Gully. The bayou runs through the cities of Buna, Mauriceville Vidor, and Bridge City. There are 3 tributaries o ...

** Austin Bayou * Oyster Creek *

** Mill Creek **

** Yegua Creek ** Nolan River **Little Brazos River ** Little River *** San Gabriel River **** Brushy Creek ***

*** Lampasas River **** Cowhouse Creek **** Sabana River ** Tehuacana Creek ** Bosque River ***North Bosque River ****East Bosque River **** Mustang Creek ***South Bosque River ****Middle Bosque River ** Aquilla Creek ** Paluxy River ** Palo Pinto Creek **

Clear Fork Brazos River The Clear Fork Brazos River is the longest tributary of the Brazos River of Texas. It originates as a dry channel or draw in Scurry County about northeast of Hermleigh and runs for about through portions of Scurry, Fisher, Jones, Shackelford ...

***

Hubbard Creek Hubbard Creek is a river that flows through Callahan, Shackelford and Stephens counties in Texas. The creek rises three miles north of Baird, flowing sixty-two miles northeast, through Shackelford County before meeting the Clear Fork of the B ...

*** Paint Creek *** Elm Creek *** Sweetwater Creek ** Elm Creek ** Millers Creek **

Double Mountain Fork Brazos River The Double Mountain Fork Brazos River is an ephemeral, sandy-braided stream about long, heading on the Llano Estacado of West Texas about southeast of Tahoka, Texas, flowing east-northeast across the western Rolling Plains to join the Salt Fork ...

*** North Fork Double Mountain Fork Brazos River **** Blackwater Draw **** Yellow House Draw ****

Yellow House Canyon Yellow House Canyon is about long, heading in Lubbock, Texas, at the junction of Blackwater Draw and Yellow House Draw, and trending generally southeastward to the edge of the Llano Estacado about east of Slaton, Texas; it forms one of three maj ...

** Salt Fork Brazos River ***

Croton Creek Croton Creek is a river in Texas. See also *List of rivers of Texas The list of rivers of Texas is a list of all named waterways, including rivers and streams that partially pass through or are entirely located within the U.S. state of Texas. ...

*** Duck Creek *** White River **** Running Water Draw * San Bernard River *

Caney Creek (Matagorda Bay) Caney Creek (Matagorda Bay) is a river in Texas that begins northwest of Wharton, flows generally southeast, and empties into the Gulf of Mexico near Sargent. The major waterway to the west is the Colorado River while the next major waterway to ...

** Cummins Creek ** Bull Creek ** Onion Creek ** Barton Creek ** Pedernales River ** Llano River *** Gentry Creek ***North Llano River ***South Llano River ** San Saba River *** Brady Creek ** Pecan Bayou *** Jim Ned Creek **Home Creek *** Loss Creek **

*** Kickapoo Creek ***

North Concho River The North Concho River is a river in west-central Texas and one of three tributaries of the Concho River. The river is long. The other two tributaries are the Middle Concho and South Concho Rivers. The Concho River flows into the Colorado Rive ...

*** South Concho River ****Spring Creek (Tom Green County, Texas) ****Middle Concho River ** Beals Creek ***Mustang Draw **** Johnson Draw **** McKenzie Draw ****

Monument Draw Monument Draw is either of two ephemeral streams that rise in New Mexico and flow into Texas. Both take their name from Monument Springs, west-northwest of Monument, New Mexico. One rises west of Monument Springs and flows generally south into t ...

****

Seminole Draw Seminole Draw is a river in Texas. See also *List of rivers of Texas The list of rivers of Texas is a list of all named waterways, including rivers and streams that partially pass through or are entirely located within the U.S. state of Texas ...

*** Sulphur Springs Draw * Tres Palacios Creek * Garancahua Creek * Lavaca River ** Navidad River *** Sandy Creek * Garcitas Creek * Guadalupe River **

***

**** Martinez Creek ***** Woman Hollering Creek *** Kicaster Creek *** Calaveras Creek *** Medina River **** Coker Creek ***

Salado Creek Salado Creek ( ) is a waterway in San Antonio that runs from northern Bexar County for about to the San Antonio River near Buena Vista.Coleto Creek Coleto Creek is a stream in Texas. It runs through the small town of Yorktown, Texas. It feeds the Coleto Creek Reservoir. Its mouth is at the Guadalupe River. Coleto is a name derived Spanish meaning either "jacket" or "a man's body". Se ...

**Sandies Creek **Peach Creek (Guadalupe River tributary), Peach Creek **

*** Blanco River ** Comal River *Capano Creek *Mission River **Blanco Creek **Medio Creek *

***Atascosa River ***San Miguel Creek (Texas), San Miguel Creek ***Leona River ***Hondo Creek ****Tehuacana Creek (Hondo Creek tributary), Tehuacana Creek *** Sabinal River ** Turkey Creek **West Nueces River **

*Petronila Creek *San Fernando Creek **Santa Gertrudis Creek **Carreta Creek *Los Olmos Creek * Arroyo Colorado

Rio Grande

**Brownsville Ship Channel ** Devils River ***Dry Devils River **

***Howard Draw ***Independence Creek ***Tunas Creek ***Coyansa Draw ***Toyah Creek ****Barilla Draw ****Salt Draw ***Delaware River (Texas), Delaware River **San Francisco Creek **Maravillas Creek **Terlingua Creek ***Calamity Creek **Alamito Creek ** Chacon Creek ***San Ygnacio Creek ** Zacate Creek **San Ildefonso Creek **Sombrerillito Creek **Santa Isabel Creek

10 longest rivers

Of the following 10 rivers, all empty into the Gulf of Mexico. Four of the rivers are tributaries: The Pecos River, Pecos flows into the

, the Red River of the South, Red into the

, and the Sabine River (Texas-Louisiana), Sabine and Neches River, Neches flow into Sabine Lake which is connected to the Gulf of Mexico by Sabine Pass. The Canadian is a tributary of a tributary and flows into the Arkansas River which is itself a tributary of the Mississippi. #

– , of which are in Texas (although technically on the border between Texas and Mexico) # Red River – of which are in Texas #

– of which are in Texas, making it the longest section of river in Texas #

– most of which is in New Mexico #

– almost entirely in Texas of which are not dry # Canadian River – of which are in Texas # Trinity River – entirely in Texas #Sabine River (Texas-Louisiana), Sabine River – of which are in Texas #

– entirely in Texas #

– entirely in Texas The Trinity River is the longest river with its entire

. The Colorado is the longest river with both its source (river or stream), source based on river name and its river delta, mouth in the state. The actual longest source of the Colorado is in New Mexico.

Shortest river

The Comal River is the shortest river in the state of Texas and the fifth-shortest river in the United States. Located entirely within the city limits of New Braunfels in Central Texas, its Comal Springs (Texas), spring-fed waters run a distance of 2.5 miles (4 kilometers).

External links

''The Handbook of Texas Online:'' Texas History Quiz -- Texas Rivers

References

*
USGS Geographic Names Information Service
*USGS Hydrologic Unit Map - State of Texas (1974) * {{Texas Lists of rivers of the United States by state, Texas rivers Rivers of Texas, * Texas geography-related lists, Rivers