3rd longest river in the world. What is the largest river in the world

Determining the length of rivers is often difficult. The fact is that it is not always known exactly where the river itself begins. That is why the length of the rivers is approximate. For many years, scientists have debated which river is the longest in the world. There were two contenders - the Nile and the Amazon. Most old geography textbooks say that the Nile is the longest river. However, thanks modern technologies and satellite images, scientists have managed to resolve this old dispute.

Amazon won this confrontation. Its length is 6992 kilometers. And the length of the Nile is 6852 kilometers. As you can see, the difference is 140 kilometers. And this is already a significant difference. The area of ​​the Amazon basin, according to various sources, ranges from 6915 thousand square meters. km up to 7180 thousand sq. km. The Amazon is located in South America. Brazil owns most of the Amazon basin. The river also flows through the territories of Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Colombia. The river begins at the confluence of the Ucayali and Marañon rivers and ends in the Atlantic Ocean. The Amazon has many tributaries, but twenty of them are more than 1,500 kilometers long. The most significant of them are Japura, Xingu, Purus, Rio Negro, Tapajos, Jurua and Isa.

The first mention of the Amazon River appeared in a report by Spanish officials Juan de San Martin, who participated in the seizure of what is now Colombia in 1530. Already in 1639, the first European (Portuguese) Pedro Teixeira sailed along the entire length of the Amazon.

List of the longest rivers in the world

The longest river in the world photo

The longest river in the world is the Amazon
The longest river in the world is the Amazon (mouth)

The longest river in the world video

The longest river in the world is the Nile

Nile- the longest river in the world, its length is 6,690 km from the source of the Luvironza River in Burundi, in Central Africa, to its mouth at the confluence with the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile flows from south to north and its basin is about 2,850,000 square meters. km, which is approximately one tenth of the area of ​​Africa, including the territories of Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, and Congo (Kinshasa). Its waters support virtually everything agriculture in the most densely populated parts of Egypt, providing a source of irrigation for almost all of Sudan's food crops, and are widely used throughout the basin for navigation and hydroelectric power.

The deepest river in the world is the Amazon

River Amazon the second longest river in the world by extent. Its length is about 6,296 km, it is formed by the junction in the northern Peruvian Andes of two main sources - the Ucayali and the shorter Maranon. The Amazon flows through northern Brazil and into Atlantic Ocean near the city of Belem. Amazon is the most deep river peace (carries more water than any other river in the world). The basin with tributaries is huge and amounts to 6,475,000 square meters. km, which is approximately 35% of the territory of South America. The Amazon draws water from both hemispheres and flows not only through Brazil, but also through parts of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela. The average depth of the river over its greater length is 50 m. The slope of the river is very small: Manaus, 1,610 km upstream, is only 30 m higher than Belem near the river delta. Sea vessels with a landing of 4 m can reach Iquitos in Peru, which is 3,700 km from the Atlantic Ocean. Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia have international ports on the Amazon.

The following table shows the largest rivers in the world, including their name, source, where they flow and their length:

	Name rivers	Source	Mainland	Where flows into	Length, km
		Tributaries of Lake Victoria		Mediterranean Sea
	Amazon	Glacial lake, Peru	South America	Atlantic Ocean
	Mississippi-Missouri	Red Rock River, Montana, USA	North America	Gulf of Mexico
	Yangtze	Tibetan plateau, China		China Sea
		Altai, Russia		Ob Bay, bay Kara Sea
	Yellow River	Eastern Kunlun Mountains, China		Bohai Bay of the Yellow Sea
	Yenisei	Tannu-Ola mountains, south of Tuva, Russia		Arctic Ocean
	Parana	confluence of the Paranaiba and Rio Grande rivers, Brazil	South America	La Plata Bay of the Atlantic Ocean
	Irtysh	Altai, Russia
	Zaire (Congo)	confluence of the Lualaba and Luapula rivers		Atlantic Ocean
	Amur	confluence of the Shilka and Argun rivers		Tatar Strait of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk
	Lena	Lake Baikal, Russia		Arctic Ocean
	Mackenzie	Head of the Finlay River, British Columbia, Canada	North America	Beaufort Sea (Northern Arctic Ocean)
	Niger	Fouta Djallon, Guinea		Gulf of Guinea Atlantic Ocean
	Mekong	Tibetan plateau		South China Sea
	Mississippi	Lake Itasca, Minnesota, USA	North America	Gulf of Mexico
	Missouri	Confluence of the Jefferson, Gallatin and Madison Rivers, Montana, USA	North America	mississippi river
	Volga	Valdai Hills, Russia		Caspian Sea
	Madeira	Confluence of the Beni and Mamore rivers, border of Bolivia and Brazil	South America	Amazon River
	Purus	Peruvian Andes	South America	Amazon River

Thus, the Nile is the longest river in the world, with a length of approximately 6,690 kilometers, and also the most big river in Africa. The second largest river in the world, the Amazon, is also the longest river in South America. The third largest river, the Mississippi River, together with the Missouri River, is the most... big river North America. The fourth largest river, the Yangtze River is the longest river in Asia. And, being only the eighteenth largest in the world, the Volga is the longest river in Europe.

So, we looked at the 20 largest rivers in the world, eight of which flow in Asia, eight in America, three in Africa, and only one of the 20 largest large rivers peace - in Europe.

Water flows are extremely variable quantities. IN different years, and even seasons, their length and volume of water changes. The debate about which river is the longest in the world continues to this day. However, the TOP 10 remains unchanged, only the places change.

South America is an amazing continent, home to the longest river in the world, the Amazon. It flows through several countries - Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru. The area of ​​its basin is approximately 7.05 million km², almost the territory of Australia.

The name of the longest river in the world comes from the legendary Amazon tribes that inhabited its banks, with whom the discoverers of the mainland, the conquistadors, had to fight. Another curious fact: in the past, the Amazon repeatedly changed the direction of its flow until it “settled” on the final version - from west to east, crossing the entire continent.

Nile (6,700 km)

For a long time it was believed that the Nile was the longest river in the world, until a new tributary of the Amazon was discovered. The sources of the Nile are in Rwanda; in total, it passes through 10 African countries. For Egypt, whose territory accounts for a significant part of the river, it is of invaluable importance. It is along its banks that more than 95% of the state’s population lives.

Missouri-Mississippi (6,275 km)

Many Americans still believe that the Mississippi is the longest river in the world. Of course, because it is almost entirely located in the United States. In fact, its length is “only” 3,734 km. And if the Missouri had not turned from a full-fledged river into a tributary of the Mississippi, it would not have seen the top 10, like its ears.

Yangtze (5,800 km)

Translated from Chinese, the name means “long river”. It is the longest in Eurasia and is located in China. The waters of the Yangtze are home to many rare and endangered species, including alligators, sturgeon and river dolphins.

Yellow River (5,464 km)

The name of this river, also located in China, translates as “yellow”. It owes this to clay sediments that wash out from its banks and give the water a yellowish-turbid tint. Moreover, the sea into which the Yellow River flows was also named.

Ob (5,410 km)

The longest river in Russia, located in Western Siberia. It does not have many tributaries and is filled mainly by melting snow. The name most likely came from the translation of the word “snow” in the language of the Komi people.

Lena (5,100 km)

The largest of the rivers located entirely on the territory of the Russian Federation, in Eastern Siberia. For most of the year, the Lena is under a thick layer of ice, so shipping is rather poorly developed, and the banks are practically uninhabited.

Amur (5,052 km)

Next from the top 10 most long rivers in the world is also located, for the most part, in Russia. It also flows through the territory of China and Mongolia. Interestingly, the unofficial name in Chinese sounds like “Heilongjiang” - black dragon river.

Congo (4,700 km)

In terms of flow, this river is second only to the Amazon. In some places its depth exceeds 250 meters. Most of the reservoir is located on the territory of the Republic of Congo. The river crosses the equator twice and flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

Mackenzie (4,240 km)

Canada, it turns out, is not only a country of lakes. The last of the 10 longest rivers in the world is located on its territory. Interestingly, it was originally called “ Disappointment" - a disappointment, but it was later renamed in honor of the discoverer, Alexander Mackenzie.

river in the world. In school educational publications for a long time It was indicated that the first place in terms of length is occupied by the Nile, whose length is 6670 kilometers. But now this championship belongs to the Amazon. There are several explanations for this:

• The Nile has become shorter over the years since a dam was built on it in 1960.
• The Amazon has tributaries: Marañon and Ucayali, due to which its beginning was moved to the Ucayali tributary.

The river is located in South America and is one of the seven wonders of the world. Most of it flows through the outskirts of Brazil and flows into the Atlantic. The total length of the Amazon with all its tributaries exceeds 25 thousand kilometers. In addition, the basin of the majestic river is equal to an entire continent.

Opening

The world learned about the largest river in the world in 1553 from the book of the Spanish historian Cies de Leon. However, even earlier, the Amazon was described by the Spanish conquistador Francisco de Orellana. And in the middle of the 17th century, the expedition of the Portuguese explorer Pedro Teixeira passed along the entire length of the river.

Fresh water

Which river is the largest in the world, We figured it out, but that’s not all Amazon’s successes are. Thanks to heavy rains, the river is recognized as the deepest. It is estimated that the Amazon discharges more than 200 thousand cubic meters of water into the Atlantic Ocean, and a fifth of the world's reserves fresh water falls exactly on this amazing river. “Fresh Sea” - this is the name the Amazon received from the Italian navigator Vicente Pinson. And, in fact, those who first came to the Amazon cannot call it a river, since the width does not allow one to see the opposite bank, which is characteristic only of sea and ocean latitudes.

The depth of the river is not as impressive as its width. In the widest places it is no more than 80 meters, and in the narrowest places it reaches 130 meters.

The Amazon flows parallel to the equator, so it is influenced by the summer season of two hemispheres at once. The water level is constantly changing: first the right and then the left tributaries, of which there are up to one and a half thousand, are filled.

Flora

Even without knowing what the largest river in the world was, the Indians of ancient tribes idolized the Amazon and called it “royal.” Its shores practically merge with those of Ecuador tropical forests, Brazilian bushes and Colombian “floating islands”.

Dense vegetation does not allow even the wind to penetrate deep into the forests, not to mention travelers who cannot break through the road even a couple of meters. Among Amazonian plants, the most common is the liana. It entangles all the banks of the river, so the length of one branch reaches 100 meters. One of the wonders among plants is the Victoria regia liana. It is an aquatic plant with high durability. If a person stands on a regia leaf, he will not plunge into the water.

Palm trees are in second place in terms of prevalence. There are more than 800 varieties of them on the banks of the Amazon. A quarter of all pharmacological preparations include substances extracted from medicinal plants obtained from the Amazon forests.

Fauna

The fact of which river is the largest in the world gives an idea of ​​the fauna of a huge body of water. Among the tangle of palm trees and vines they wait for the victim predatory jaguars and anacondas, monkeys are jumping, and closer to the water you can hear the loud croaking of frogs.

More than 2 thousand species of fish live in the muddy water. Among them are many piranhas, stingrays, river sharks and dolphins. On the shores of the Amazon there are giant turtles, otters and the menace of travelers - alligators. During the rainy season, crocodiles move deep into the forests and swim among the trees in search of food.

The river is surrounded steep banks which are swampy in places. Therefore, aquatic animals cannot simply get out onto land.

Population

Despite the wildness of these places, people live in the Amazon basin. Here you can meet not only civilized settlements, but also ancient tribes, stopped in their development at the primitive level.

Conquer it unusual place have been trying since ancient times. Some people do this out of interest in the world around them, while others do it for selfish purposes. Civilization is actively cutting down the jungle and destroying rare animals, without thinking that such methods deprive the planet of vital energy. If deforestation is not stopped, the Amazon will turn into a dead river, and it already needs protection.

Everyone has known the Amazon since school, but not everyone knows what the largest river in the world is. But a tropical river has a unique ecosystem and from all over globe. However, the climate of the Amazon is very difficult due to high humidity, huge clouds of mosquitoes and dangerous animals, so only professional travelers come here.

What is a river? This is a natural watercourse that flows in a depression created by it, that is, a channel. The watercourse is fed by underground and surface runoff from its basin. Today we will talk about the largest rivers that can be found on our planet.

Amazon. The river, which is located in South America and is considered the largest in terms of basin size, length river system and fullness. A few years ago, it was inferior in length to the Nile, but researchers using modern equipment found that the Amazon is still a little longer. It turned out that its length reaches seven thousand kilometers, although this depends on the size of the sources, among other things. However, Amazon great river and, moreover, several years ago it was recognized as one of the natural wonders of the world.

The basin area reaches 7,200 million kilometers, most of which belongs to Brazil, smaller parts to Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia. The Amazon flows into the Atlantic Ocean, forming the largest delta in the world.

By the way, Europeans, according to surviving reports, learned about the river only in the middle of the 16th century, when spanish conquistadors took part in a hike through Colombia.

Nile. It ranks second on our list. A river in Africa that originates on the East African Plateau and flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The length of the entire Nile drainage system today is about 6,700 km, and the basin area is more than three million square kilometers, which covers countries such as Egypt, Sudan, Rwanda, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya.

Neil is the only river V North Africa, which passes through the Sahara, thereby bringing water to the driest and hottest places on Earth. The water flow is ensured not only due to the sources, but also due to precipitation in southern regions precipitation Water from the river has been used primarily for navigation, field irrigation, fishing and water supply for thousands of years. By the way, more than 90 percent of all Egyptians live in the coastal zone.

In the 70s of the last century, the construction of the Aswan hydroelectric complex was completed, which made it possible to get rid of constant flooding. However, local residents were still not happy about these events, since with the floods they received an extremely important natural fertilizer for their lands - silt. However, at present this is no longer a problem.

Mississippi. A river in the United States that originates in Lake Itasca and flows into the Gulf of Mexico. Its length is about 6300 km. Its largest sources are: Arkansas, Ohio, Missouri, Red River, Des Moines. Illinois. By the way, Missouri is considered one of the most major tributaries in the world along with the Irtysh.

The Mississippi flows through ten states at once, and it is along it that the boundaries are determined. Thus, in the middle of the channel the boundaries of states such as Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin were established. However, over a long time, the position of the river has changed, but the state boundaries have remained unchanged. Still no one is going to change them.

The discovery of the river by Europeans supposedly took place in 1541 - it was discovered by the Spanish navigator Hernando de Soto. And at the beginning of the 16th century, Spanish expeditions entered the delta. The first European to sail the Mississippi was Robert de La Salle in 1681.

In 1926, a great flood began, as a result of which the territories of many cities were literally flooded. About 700 thousand people were affected, and the total damage from the disaster was at least $400 million.

Yangtze. The river, which flows in China, has a length of about 6,200 km. The basin area is just under two million square kilometers. The source originates near the Tangla mountain ranges in the eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau. It flows into the East China Sea through two main branches, forming a delta.

In terms of use, the Yangtze is primarily needed by local residents to irrigate fields. In addition, the river is the main shipping route in all of China. The total length of the waterways is about 17 thousand kilometers, along which a huge number of ships constantly travel. By this parameter, by the way, the reservoir is one of the busiest waterways on the planet.

An interesting fact about the Yangtze is that the notorious Chairman Mao Zedong swam here several times, and once swam 15 kilometers in just over an hour.

Ob. Completes our list. Together with the Irtysh, this river in Western Siberia is the longest in Russia - its length reaches 5410 km. It is formed in Altai by the confluence of two rivers - the Katun and the Biya, and flows into the Kara Sea, forming a gulf called the Gulf of Ob.

Unlike many other large rivers, the Ob is fed mainly by snow. During the spring-summer flood it brings the bulk of the annual runoff. The Ob stays under the ice for 6-8 months. Total area Its basin reaches three million square kilometers, while according to this indicator it ranks first in the Russian Federation.

For a long time the Ob was used primarily for fishing. There was a huge amount of all kinds of fish, but over time, some of them simply disappeared. However, the river is now home to about 50 species of fish, many of which are of industrial value: muksun, peled, sturgeon, sterlet, pike, pike perch, perch, crucian carp, and so on.

Some were built on the Ob major cities, including Barnaul, Novosibirsk, Surgut, Salekhard.