List of river systems by length

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The Nile as seen from a cruise boat between Luxor and Aswan in Egypt

This is a list of the longest rivers on Earth. It includes

river systems
over 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) in length.

Definition of length

There are many factors, such as the identification of 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". As a result, the length measurements of many rivers are only approximations (see also coastline paradox). In particular, there seems to exist disagreement as to whether the Nile[3] or the Amazon[4] is the world's longest river. The Nile has traditionally been considered longer, but in 2007 and 2008 some scientists claimed that the Amazon is longer[5][6][7] by measuring the river plus the adjacent Pará estuary and the longest connecting tidal canal.[8] A peer-reviewed article published 2009 in the International Journal of Digital Earth concludes that the Nile is longer.[9]

Even when detailed maps are available, the length measurement is not always clear. A river may have multiple channels, or

New Orleans, Louisiana, was reduced by 351 kilometres (218 miles).[10]

These points make it difficult, if not impossible, to get an accurate measurement of the length of a river. The varying accuracy and precision also makes it difficult to make length comparisons between different rivers without a degree of uncertainty.

List of river systems longer than 1,000 km

For most rivers, different sources provide conflicting information on the length of a river system. The information in different sources is between parentheses.

Legend of colors used in main table, by continent
Continent color key
Africa Asia Australia Europe North America South America

Notes

St. Louis
Saint Lawrence River along the New York-Quebec border

River systems that may have existed in the past

Amazon–Congo

The Amazon basin formerly drained westwards into the Pacific Ocean, until the Andes rose and reversed the drainage.[34]

The

Gondwanaland broke up due to continental drift, and before that, the Congo would likely have flowed into the Amazon,[34]
producing a river around 6000 miles or 10,000 km long.

West Siberian Glacial Lake drainage

This river would have been about 10,000 km (6,200 mi) long, in the last ice age. 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.

Lobourg

During the last

Straits of Dover.[36]

See also

Notes and references

Notes
  1. ^ a b The Nile is usually said to be the longest river in the world, with a length of about 6,650 km,[3] and the Amazon the second longest, with a length of at least 6,400 km.[4] In 2007 and 2008, some scientists claimed that the Amazon has a length of 6,992 km and was longer than the Nile, whose length was calculated as 6,853 km.[6][11][7] They achieved this result by adding the waterway from the Amazon's southern outlet through tidal canals and the Pará estuary of the Tocantins.[citation needed] The dispute is: "Is the channel south of Isla de Marajó to be treated as part of the Amazon, or as part of the Rio Tocantins?"[citation needed] A peer-reviewed article, published in 2009, states a length of 7,088 km for the Nile and 6,575 km for the Amazon, measured by using a combination of satellite image analysis and field investigations to the source regions.[9] According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, as of 2020, the length of the Amazon remains open to interpretation and continued debate.[4][8] Note that disputed values have been put in parentheses.
References
  1. ^ "Where Does the Amazon River Begin?". National Geographic News. 2014-02-15. Archived from the original on February 15, 2014. Retrieved 2018-12-25.
  2. ^ for more on this, see coastline paradox
  3. ^ a b c d "Nile River". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2020. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Amazon River". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2020. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  5. ^ Amazon Longer Than Nile River, Scientists Say Archived 15 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ a b "Amazon river 'longer than Nile'". BBC News. 16 June 2007. Archived from the original on 26 September 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  7. ^ a b "Studies from INPE indicate that the Amazon River is 140km longer than the Nile". Brazilian National Institute for Space Research. Archived from the original on 11 April 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  8. ^ a b "How Long Is the Amazon River?". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 2018-12-24. Retrieved 2018-12-24.
  9. ^ from the original on 2018-12-23. Retrieved 2018-12-24.
  10. ^ a b c d J.C. Kammerer (1 September 2005). "Largest Rivers in the United States". US Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 13 May 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  11. ^ Roach, John (18 June 2007). "Amazon Longer Than Nile River, Scientists Say". National Geographic. Archived from the original on August 22, 2007. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  12. ^ "Río de la Plata". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  13. ^ "Scientists pinpoint sources of four major international rivers". Xinhua News Agency. 22 August 2011. Archived from the original on December 30, 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  14. ^ "Brahmaputra River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 2020-04-26. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
  15. ^ a b c d "Longest Rivers". Geoscience Australia. 15 May 2014. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  16. S2CID 11382265. Archived from the original on 2006-09-19. Retrieved 2006-02-27.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  17. ^ "The Mighty Colorado River – Once Known as Merely Grand". Colorado LegiSource. 2021-05-06. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  18. . Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  19. ^ "Ganges–Farakka". Archived from the original on 2018-03-10. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
  20. from the original on 2023-11-10. Retrieved 2016-10-28.
  21. ^ a b "The Columbia River and Its Tributaries". USGS Volcanoes. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
  22. ^ Kammerer, J.C. (1987). "Largest Rivers in the United States". United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 2020-05-13. Retrieved 2006-07-15. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  23. ^ "Uruguay River". Comisión Técnica Mixta de Salto Grande. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  24. ^ "Longest Rivers". Murray Darling Basin Authority. 24 November 2015. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  25. ^ a b "USGS Water Resources: About USGS Water Resources". water.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
  26. ^ "USGS Gage #12472800 on the Columbia River below Priest Rapids Dam, WA (Water-Data Report 2013)" (PDF). National Water Information System. U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  27. ^ "Chari River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 21 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  28. ^ "The Chilliwack River Valley: An Outdoor Enthusiast's Paradise". Camping & RVing BC. Camping and RVing British Columbia Coalition. 10 October 2017. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  29. ^ "Narmada Basin" (PDF). India WRIS. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 November 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  30. ^ .
  31. ^ If the Meuse is considered a tributary, the Rhine basin is 218,300 km2.
  32. ^ Rogers, Aaron W. "White River - Encyclopedia of Arkansas". www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net. Archived from the original on 27 October 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  33. Daily Telegraph
    , Monday 18 June 2007, page 18
  34. ^ a b "Amazon river flowed into the Pacific millions of years ago". mongabay.com. 24 October 2006. Archived from the original on 2017-12-12. Retrieved 2017-12-11.
  35. ^ Vaikmäe, R., Edmunds, W. M., and Manzano, M., (2001) "Weichselian palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironment in Europe: Background for palaeogroundwater formation Archived 2023-12-21 at the Wayback Machine", in "Palaeowaters in Coastal Europe: Evolution of Groundwater Since the Late Pleistocene" (W. M. Edmunds and C. J. Milne (eds)). London:The Geological Society. p. 177
  36. ^ Bridgland, D. R., and D'Olier, B. (1995) "The Pleistocene evolution of the Thames and Rhine drainage systems in the southern North Sea Basin (abstract) Archived 2022-06-27 at the Wayback Machine", Geological Society, London, Special Publications, v. 96, p. 27–45, in Lyell Collection. Retrieved 12 November 2015.

External links