The … In addition, the length of meanders can change significantly over time due to natural or artificial cutoffs, when a new channel cuts across a narrow strip of land, bypassing a large river bend. It has two tributaries, Argun and Kherlen and flows in a northeastern direction until it empties in the Pacific Ocean. Take a look at a map of the United States or of any country in the world. This page was last edited on 2 October 2020, at 19:20. The river eventually drains into the gulf of Mexico. rivers.) Until now, the headwaters of the Apurímac River were considered to be the origin of the Amazon River. The Amazon River has huge discharge basin which is 7,050,000 km long. However, a recent 2014 study claims that the origin of the Amazon can be traced to the Cordillera Rumi Cruz from where Peru’s Mantaro River originates. A river is the greatest wellspring of water. Zaire River) in Africa is the ninth longest river in the world. It spans a mammoth journey of 4,132 miles before the mouth meets the Mediterranean sea in the form of a huge delta in Egypt. One of most important rivers in region, the Parana River is just rivaled only by Amazon River in the terms of the sheer length. The length of the river is not always clear, even when detailed maps are available. The dispute arises from the determination of the origin of the Amazon. Determination of age. Top 12 Longest Rivers in the World. Measuring a total 3,915 miles, the Yangtze is the longest river in Asia. Nearly half of the 20 longest rivers … This Central American river is the second largest and runs through Brazil, Peru, Bolivia,... 3. The Nile River is the longest on Earth while the Amazon River discharges the most amount of water per second in the world. The river basin of the Yangtze houses one-third of the population of China, the most populated country in the world. Amur River. Rivers of the World: World's Longest Rivers. (1995) ", Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Studies from INPE indicate that the Amazon River is 140km longer than the Nile", "Pinpointing the sources and measuring the lengths of the principal rivers of the world", "Amazon Longer Than Nile River, Scientists Say", "Scientists pinpoint sources of four major international rivers", "Impact of Humans on the Flux of Terrestrial Sediment to the Global Coastal Ocean", "The Chilliwack River Valley: An Outdoor Enthusiast's Paradise", "Amazon river flowed into the Pacific millions of years ago", Weichselian palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironment in Europe: Background for palaeogroundwater formation, The Pleistocene evolution of the Thames and Rhine drainage systems in the southern North Sea Basin (abstract), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_rivers_by_length&oldid=981511619, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, Articles needing additional references from August 2010, All articles needing additional references, Articles that may contain original research from May 2017, All articles that may contain original research, Articles that may contain original research from June 2009, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2015, Articles lacking reliable references from June 2009, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, China (52.4%), Myanmar (43.9%), Thailand (3.7%). The Mekong, like the Yellow River and Yangtze River, starts in China, but then it moves south through several other countries. Located in southern section of the Central South America, the Parana River runs through the Brazil, the Paraguay and also theArgentina. The Kagera is formed at the confluence of these two rivers near the Tanzania-Rwanda border. The river system comprising of the Mississippi, Missouri, and Jefferson rivers, is regarded as the world’s fourth longest river system. 1. The Mississippi River begins in northern Minnesota where Lake Itasca is believed to be the origin of the river and drains into the Gulf of Mexico. According to some sources, the Amazon River may be a bit longer. Although most of us recognize the Nile as the lifeline of Egypt, the Nile is, in fact, an international river shared by 11 countries in Africa. The Nile River, located in Africa, is listed as being 6,853 kilometers (4,258 miles) long, and is hence commonly considered to be the longest river … The Amur, or Heilong Jiang, is the world’s longest river, shaping the outskirt between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China (Inner Manchuria). Generally, the age is estimated based primarily upon the age of any … The former hypothesis would have produced a shorter river, some 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) in length. The longest rivers in the world derive from the confluence of two or more tributaries. The longest river in the world is even longer than the distance from New York to Rome and is also known as Marañón and Solimões river. It is about 4,700 km long, and its drainage basin is 3,680,000 kilometers squares by the amount of water released, it is the ninth longest river on earth. One should take the aforementioned discussion into account when using the data in the following table. All maps, graphics, flags, photos and original descriptions © 2020 worldatlas.com, The 10 Coldest Cities In The United States. The primary source of this river is Onon River-Shilka River and the secondary source is Kherlen River-Ergune River. Length: 4,135 miles Where? One of the most famous rivers in the world, located in Africa has been formed by two major tributaries, the Whit… The river is responsible for the formation of a canyon that shares the name same, called the Yarlung Tsangpo canyon, which is both the deepest and the longest canyon in the world. World: Rivers - Map Quiz Game: There are many rivers in the world, but none quite as impressive as the Amazon. The Chang Jiang or rather the Yangzi Jiang spans a length of 6,300 kilometer’s, has a basin length of up to 1,800,000km2 and originates from the Qinghai-Tibet plateau and drains the eastern part of China shanghai. It is also the deepest river with a depth of approximately 230 m on earth, and it was earlier known as Zaire River. Traditionally, the government of China recognizes the Tuotuo tributary located in the Tanggula Mountains as the source of the river. The length may depend on whether the center or the edge of the river is measured. Rate 5 stars Rate 4 stars Rate 3 stars Rate 2 stars Rate 1 star . Music:Call to Adventure. Principal Rivers of the World The following table lists the principal rivers of the world including the name, source location, outflow, and approximate length. While … For example, due to 18 cutoffs created between 1766 and 1885, the length of the Mississippi River from Cairo, Illinois, to New Orleans, Louisiana, was reduced by 351 kilometres (218 miles).[9]. In Asia we get the longest river in the continent from china and basically the third longest river in the world. Of the top 20 longest rivers in the world, only one is in Europe, while three are in Africa. Nile River (7,088 km). However, its position as the second-longest river in the world is highly disputed as the title has for long been granted to the Nile River in Egypt. Traditionally, the Nile is considered longer, but recent information suggests that the Amazon may be longer. Determining the world's longest river is not an easy task. It measures 6,695 kilometres from its source in Burundi, along the White Nile, to its delta on the Mediterranean Sea. The next longest river in Europe, after the Volga, is the Danube, at about 1,771 miles (2,850 km). Also called as Aur river due to the black sediment that is left behind. From its farthest stream in Burundi, it extends 6,695 km (4,160 miles) in length. The river system drains 31 US states and 2 Canadian provinces. The title of oldest continuously functioning democracy is more hotly contested. The Amur river comes Russia and meets Argun to join the Pacific. The Yangtze River is the world’s third longest river and the longest to flow entirely within one country. It is also Asia’s longest river. For most rivers, different sources provide conflicting information on the length of a river system. However, with the discovery of newer sources of such rivers, the ranks might vary in the future. This is a list of the longest rivers on Earth. These points make it difficult, if not impossible, to get an accurate measurement of the length of a river. Amur River is one of the longest rivers in the world which flows down through Russia and China. The third longest river in the world is the Yangtze – or as it's known in China, the Chang Jiang River. However, critics of this measurement point out that the study has not been published. Notice how towns and cities tend to be located next to rivers? Amazon River (6,992 km). Large rivers like the Nile and Amazon have numerous sources and many large and small tributaries. Because the Mississippi river system includes the Missouri river and Red river. There are many factors, such as the source,[1] the identification or the definition of the mouth, and the scale of measurement[2] of the river length between source and mouth, that determine the precise meaning of "river length". The phrase largest river is actually pretty subjective; it could mean the longest river, which could be the Amazon River or the Nile River. Nile River, Africa. It is the longest river in this region of Asia and ranks 12th among the longest rivers in the world. Among a complex system of international waterways, the longest rivers in the world are in many ways the most noteworthy—but some items on this list may surprise you. Two origins of the Yangtze Riverhas been suggested. When the length of a river is followed by an asterisk, it is an average of multiple information sources. According to some reports, Lake Victoria is considered to be the source of the White Nile which is, in turn, fed by the Kagera River whose two major tributaries are the Ruvyironza and the Nyabarongo rivers of Burundi and Rwanda, respectively. [27] There is some debate as to whether this river would have flowed southwest into what is now the English Channel, or flowed north, emerging into the North Sea close to modern Yorkshire. The longest river in the world is even longer than the distance from New York to Rome and is also known as Marañón and Solimões river. This international river has a drainage basin that extends to 11 countries from Tanzania to... 2. Its length has just been measured at over around 4,800 km. This is the world’s fifth-longest river system and the largest draining into the Arctic Ocean. It is the major rivers of the world with measurement of about 220 m (720 ft). 3. These tributaries, and more join to form the mighty Yangtze River which finally drains into the East China Sea at Shanghai. At 17,526 ft above sea-level, it is definitely the highest source of the Yangtze. [7] A peer-reviewed article published in the International Journal of Digital Earth comes to the conclusion that the Nile is longer. The Nile is 4,135 miles in length and has two sources, one in Uganda called the White Nile and the other in Ethiopia called the Blue Nile. The world’s 6th largest river in terms of discharge, the Yenisey ranges from southern to north across the terrific area of main Siberia. 1. [8], Even when detailed maps are available, the length measurement is not always clear. According to new data, however, the source of the Yangtze River is located in the Jari Hill from where the headwaters of the Dam Qu tributary originate. The difficulty in declaring a unanimous winner lies in the fact that the determination of the headwaters or the origin of a river is often quite challenging. The Selenge River is regarded as the headwaters of this river system. The Yellow River, however, is prone to devastating floods that wreck havoc in the country. MONUSCO/Myriam Asmani [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons The Congo River is not only one of the top 10 longest rivers in the world but also holds the crown of being the deepest river with measured depths of 720 feet in some places.This 2,922 miles long river is also the third largest on the planet by the volume of water discharged. 5. Scientists debate whether the Amazon or the Nile is the longest river in the world. The waterway goes through Brazil, Colombia, and Peru; and is the biggest and longest stream in South America. It is providing many beneficial services to the nearby people. The Nile has traditionally been considered longer, but in recent years two unpublished studies[5][6] have suggested that the Amazon is longer by measuring the river plus the adjacent Pará estuary and the longest connecting tidal canal. these factors are weather, flooding, dams, channelization, etc. The Orinoco is the fourth largest river in the world and also one of the longest rivers in South America. The total length covered is 3,442 miles. Its longest headwater was the Selenga river of Mongolia: it drained through ice-dammed lakes and the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea. Of the top 20 longest rivers in the world, three are in Africa. SHARES. When combined with the lower Mississippi River, it forms the world's fourth longest river … The Amazon River is a heck of a big tributary. 10. Here, we mention the five longest rivers/river systems of the world as per the accepted standards. The Nile Delta is approximately 100 miles (161 km) long from north to south, and it spreads out a… The Amazon is the longest river in the world, and its name comes from the many native female warriors that attacked the expedition of Francisco de Orellana in the river in 1541; they reminded him of the Amazon warrior women of ancient Greece. Although for most of us, the answer would be the Nile River, there is a section of scholars who regard the Amazon River as the true winner of this title. For years, the river actually came second to the Nile River, which runs from the mountains of Burundi to Egypt, where it spills into the Mediterranean Sea. Officially, the shortesr river is the D River, Oregan, USA, which is just 37 metres long. And it is without a doubt among the world’s most picturesque rivers. The river is so vast that there is a different climate over its course. The Nile is usually said to be the longest river in the world, with a length of about 6,650 km, CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (, If the Meuse is considered a tributary, the Rhine basin is 218,300 km, Vaikmäe, R., Edmunds, W. M., and Manzano, M., (2001) ", Bridgland, D. R., and D'Olier, B. Not only is it the world’s longest river, it has the largest drainage area and the fastest discharge rate. Total Length: 6,650 km (4,132 miles) This African... 2. 4.Mississippi-Missouri-Jefferson. The Yangtze is 6,380 kilometers (3,964 miles) in length, making it the longest river in Asia. In early Chinese history, this river gave sustenance to a lot of civilizations. A river may have multiple channels, or anabranches. Besides being the sixth longest river in the world, it is also the second longest in Asia with an approximate length of 5,464 kilometers. In recent decades debate has intensified over the true source and therefore the length of the Amazon River. This river is actually one of the largest in the world by discharge volume. Locally, it is sometimes called the Yangzi or Chan Jiang. River length is not certain. When combined with the lower Mississippi River, it forms the world's fourth longest river … The process is far more complicated than finding the source and the mouth then measuring the distance between them. It is the longest river in the world as well as the longest river in Africa. Flowing northward through the tropical climate of eastern Africa and into the Mediterranean Sea, the Nile river is the longest river in the world at … The river takes drainage from a sparsely populated, semi-arid watershed of more than half a million square miles (1,300,000 km2), which includes parts of ten U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. During the last glacial maximum, much of what is now the southern part of the North Sea was land, known to archaeologists as Doggerland. The Blue Nile has a more defined origin in Lake Tana in Ethiopia. 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