I am studying some maps of prehistoric cultures in North America, noting the relationship between their villages and the rivers they are near. I notice each civilization seems grouped around rivers that are constrained to a certain area. E.g. culture X has villages all along river A, river B, and river C. Culture Y, just over some mountain range, has villages all along river D and E, but no villages near the river used by culture X. Similarly, Culture Z isn't too far away, yet it has its own rivers entirely, having villages at the headwaters and all along its length.
I'm trying to find if there is some geological connection between the rivers, e.g. A, B, and C are part of the same "watershed" or maybe same "river valley", "river system" or something, but these terms don't seem to fit my searches. The term "river valley" seems closest, but I can't find people using this term in the same context, and also the rivers are 100-200 miles long, hardly seems a valley can be that big. These are rivers flowing into "dips" that are easily 100 miles wide.
Is there any common term and way a geologist will find a connection between several rivers sharing a specific area?