All land on the surface of the globe is indented by numerous river systems. Some rivers are very long, crossing almost the entire continent along which they carry their waters. Others are rather short, disappearing into the sands of the desert or flowing in the form of waterfalls into underground caves. In this article, we will consider the longest rivers in the world.
Amazon
The South American river system is the longest in the world, although for a long time it was put in second place after the Nile. A mighty river begins from the Peruvian Andes, crosses the entire continent and carries water to the Atlantic Ocean. The length exceeds 7000 km. Amazona leads not only in length, but also in the possession of the world’s largest river island. The latter is called Marajo.
Nile
Throughout the history of mankind, this river has served as a real source of everything for life. It provided water to the peoples of Ancient Egypt and continues to do so to this day in East Africa. The river begins in the African plateau and flows into the Mediterranean Sea. Length – 6850 km.
Yangtze
This river closes the top three, has a length of 6300 km. The Yangtze begins from the mountains of Tibet and flows down. Many endangered species of flora and fauna live here.
Mississippi
This river has a length of 3245 km. It starts in the Rocky Mountains and crosses the United States.
Recently, experts have been sounding the alarm because of the pollution of the waters of this river. The reason is the use of chemicals in agriculture.
Yenisei
We are talking about a whole river system, consisting of three rivers. The first of them – Selenga – starts in Mongolia and flows into Baikal. The Angara flows out of the lake and flows into the Yenisei. The latter carries its waters to the Kara Sea.
Huanghe
A feature of this river is the characteristic yellow color. It also begins in the mountains of Tibet. The river flows into the Yellow Sea, the waters of which are also painted in a slightly yellow color.
Ob
The river begins in the mountains of Mongolia and flows into the Kara Sea, like the Yenisei. The total length is just over 5000 km.
Congo
A river flows on the African continent. Its peculiarity is that it crosses the equator twice. Also, this river occupies a leading position in terms of the area of flooding during floods.
Amur
We are talking about the river system, which consists of the Amur and Argun. The total length of the system is 4400 km. It begins in China, and flows into the Sea of Okhotsk.
Lena
The river with the name Lena closes the top ten. It has a length of approximately 4300 km. It starts from a small lake near Baikal and flows into the Laptev Sea.
Of course, the list of long rivers is not limited to these ten. There are other river systems as well. Moreover, when compiling ratings, rivers can be considered not only by length, but also by depth, by the number of tributaries, etc.