Rivers are one of the major sources of water for drinking, cooking and cleaning purposes, power systems, easy transportation, and for similar other aspects. Earth, being referred to as the “blue planet”, you will be fascinated to learn about a large number of rivers of the world. They are undoubtedly the key sources of fresh water that ultimately flow towards a sea, or a lake, or an ocean, or any other river. Although there are numerous rivers spread globally, there are some of them which are quite enormous in nature. Read the list of longest rivers in the world to learn about the features of these expansive rivers.
The Nile River
The Nile River is the longest and the biggest river in the world. It flows in the north direction via the tropical environment of the eastern parts of Africa, thus merging into the Mediterranean Sea. It is spread across 4,135 miles, or 6,650 km. Now, can you imagine how big the Nile River is?
This river runs through the beautiful country, Egypt including 11 African nations. Since this river covers such a large area of a whopping population of more than 300 million are able to have access to water supply for domestic and especially for irrigational purposes.
It has its upper basin in White Nile and the Blue Nile, its lower basin in Egypt, and has its drainage system directed to the Mediterranean Sea.
The Amazon River
The Amazon River is known to be the second longest river in the world. Its length of 3,980 miles or 6,400 km is the proof of its longest length. This waterway passes via Brazil, Columbia, and Peru and is the biggest river in South America. It has its upper basin in Peru, its lower basin in Amazon Basin and its drainage flow to the Atlantic Ocean.
It is also referred to as the largest river in the world by volume with a share of 20% of the fresh water sources available on the planet Earth. Along with this, the Amazon River is also considered to be the widest river in the world.
This is because some parts of this river cover more than 120 miles, i.e., 190 km making it much wider during the rainy season. You will be amazed to know that no such bridge has till now been able to span the Amazon.
The Yangtze River
The Yangtze River accounts for the longest river in Asia and the third longest one on the Earth. It has a length of 3,915 miles, or 6,300 km with its basin expanding to nearly 2,000 miles, i.e., 3,200 km from the west to east area and to a space of more than 600 miles, i.e., 1000 km from the north to south direction.
It is basically situated in China and shares its boundaries with more than 10 numbers of provinces. It plays its role in ensuring the blooming of the Chinese economy, thanks to the large number of rainforests, deserts, valleys, and bio-structures that line up its borders. It has its upper basin in Qinghai, its lower basin in Shanghai and its drainage flow to the East China Sea.
Also Check: 9 Longest Rivers In India You should know about
The Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the fourth longest river in the world and is known to be the longest river in North America. This river flows through 31 states of the US and through 2 regions of Canada. Along with its tributaries, it drains an area which is nearly 1.2 million square miles, i.e., 3.1 million square km.
It has a length of nearly 3,710 miles, i.e., 5,971 km and has its upper basin in Lake Itasca, lower basin in Louisiana, and its drainage directed to the Gulf of Mexico. Since it is a part of extensively industrialized states this river has turned out to be one of the highest incorporated waterways globally.
The Yenisei River
The Yenisei River is one of the longest rivers situated in central Russia. In terms of the discharge amount, it is the sixth largest river in the world. The Yenisei River flows from south to the north direction spread across the huge area of central Siberia. This waterway initiates in Mongolia extends further to the Kara Sea, Russia.
It has a length of about 3,442 miles, i.e., 5,539 km with its upper basin located at Dod-Targasyn-Noor, the lower basin at Yenisei Gulf, and its drainage directed towards the Arctic Ocean. This river system in and around the Siberian borders consist of nearly 20,000 tributary and sub-tributary streams.
The Huang He River
Also known as the “Yellow River”, The Huang He River is the primary driver of the Northern China, East-Central, and Eastern Asia regions. It has a length of nearly 3,395 miles, i.e., 5,464 km with its upper basin located at Qinghai, lower basin in Shandong, and its drainage system directed at the Bohai Sea.
This river originates from the Bayan Har Mountains in China’s Qinghai region and flows across six provinces and two other regions before draining into the Bohai Sea. It is usually observed that with the formation of the riverbed, there is shift seen in the river stream’s course so as to accommodate a lower level.
The Ob-Irtysh River System
This Ob-Irtysh River System is a centralized river system constituting of the Ob River and the Irtysh River. Ob River is situated in central Russia and flows from north to west through western Siberia. The Irtysh stream initiates from Russia and further amalgamates with the Ob waterway.
This river system has a length of 3,362 miles, i.e., 5,410 km and its waterway courses are defined through the regions of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia. This river system has its upper basin located in the Altai Mountains, lower basin in the Gulf of Ob, and its drainage directed towards the Arctic Ocean.
The Parana Rive
The Parana River is the second longest waterway after Amazon in the South American region. It flows through certain regions of South America, namely Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. With a length of 3,032 miles, i.e., 4,880 km it has its upper basin located at Rio Paranaiba, the lower basin at Rio de la Plata, and its drainage directed at the Atlantic Ocean.
This waterway initiates from the southeast-central part of Brazil and flows in the south direction to mix with the Uruguay River to consolidate the renowned Rio de la Plata estuary which is a part of the Atlantic Ocean. The drainage basin of the Parana River occupies an area of nearly 1,081,000 square miles, i.e., 2,800,000 square km.
The Congo-Chambeshi River
The Congo River is located in the west-central parts of Africa. The Congo River, measuring 2,900 miles, i.e., 4,700 km is the second longest river in Africa, after the Nile River. The Congo River originates from the northeastern parts of Zambia as the Chambeshi River present at an elevation of 5,760 feet or 1,760 meters from the sea level.
The Congo-Chambeshi River has its upper basin located at Kisangani, lower basin at Muanda, and its drainage directed towards the Atlantic Ocean. The drainage basin of this river occupies an area of 1,335,000 square miles, i.e., 3,457,000 square km. A large number of tributaries of the Congo-Chambeshi River adds up to the huge network of navigable river systems in the continent.
Amur River
Amur River is the river of East Asia and is the longest river flowing from the far eastern parts of Russia to the northeastern parts of China. The headwaters of this river originate from Siberia, Mongolia, and some regions of China in the mountains present in the northwest and southeast points.
It has a length of 2,761 miles, i.e., 4,444 km with its upper basin situated at the Khentii province, the lower basin at the Strait of Tartary, and its drainage directed towards the mouth of Russia. This river stream accommodates the largest Kaluga angle species in certain parts.
The Lena River
The Lena River is the easternmost one among all the three Siberian rivers that stream into the Arctic Ocean. It has a length of 2,734 miles, or 4,400 km with its upper basin located at the Siberian plateau, the lower basin at the Laptev Sea, and the drainage system directed towards the Arctic Ocean.
The Lena River basin occupies an area of 961,394 miles, i.e., 2,490,000 square km and its bowl is located completely in the internal parts of Russia. It is the largest waterway that has its catchment located inside the Russian boundaries.
The Mekong River
The Mekong River is known to be the longest river in the Southeast regions of Asia and the seventh longest in the whole of Asia. With a length of nearly 2,700 miles, i.e., 4,350 km, it has its upper basin located at the Yunnan province, the lower basin at Thailand, and the drainage system directed towards the South China Sea.
The Mekong River occupies an area of more than 313,000 square miles, i.e., 810,000 square km while elongating from the Tibet Plateau to the South China Sea part.
The upper Mekong stretches across 1,215 miles or 1,955 km that includes the mountains and terrains of the southwestern part of China. The lower Mekong, on the other hand, occupies a span of 1,485 miles, i.e., 2,390 km in Laos and Vietnam.
In this blog, those looking to the top 10 longest rivers in the world will surely find themselves occupied with the knowledge of these rivers. In addition to this, we have also described the major rivers in the world for your convenience. So, stack up your packing bags and go explore these rivers for an enthralling experience!