The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word COLORADO
C
O
L
O
R
A
D
O
More clues leading to the result COLORADO
- Mountain pass on ring road constructed in state
- Pass ring road, sadly in a state
- Bother after company curtailed lord in US State
- Turn red, having left uni performance in a state
- State protocol or a document containing it
- Black or white in the States – one and the same
- Infirm, old or ancient at the outset, terrible state
- In expression of surprise, peer round a state
- 8 firm ushers in lots of real trouble
- A shade over the pond, a complete state
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "river" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case river = colorado.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.