“It’s all rivers?”

“Always has been”

ya can get a boat down it

I tried to google this but the definition seems to be quite technical, and legal in nature.

simplest answer, big enough to send boats on it for commercial purposes.

Navigable waters of the United States are those waters that are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide and/or are presently used, or have been used in the past, or may be susceptible for use to transport interstate or foreign commerce. A determination of navigability, once made, applies laterally over the entire surface of the waterbody, and is not extinguished by later actions or events which impede or destroy navigable capacity.

Source

A body of water, such as a river, canal or lake, is navigable if it is deep, wide and calm enough for a water vessel (e.g. boats) to pass safely.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navigability