River names – or names of rivers …

Have you ever noticed the way we refer to rivers? In Europe, we have the River Danube, the River Seine, the River Thames. You could say the Thames River but it’s more usual to put the name second.

In the rest of the world, it is more usual to put the name first, as in the Colorado River, Potomac River, Athabasca River, Volga River, Yangtze River, Murrumbidgee River etc.

So, there’s simple rule of thumb: name first, except in Europe.