List of rivers by length 922586 226153320 2008-07-17T01:43:55Z Useight 2910303 Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/131.216.14.1|131.216.14.1]] to last version by 202.133.73.35 (using [[WP:HG|Huggle]]) {{merge|List of rivers by average discharge|Talk:List of rivers by length#Merger proposal|date=June 2008}} [[Image:Nile.jpg|right|thumb|250px|View of the Nile River, from a cruiseboat, between [[Luxor]] and [[Aswan]] in [[Egypt]].]] This is a '''list of the longest rivers on Earth'''. It includes river systems over 1,000 kilometers. == Definition of length == The length of a river is actually very hard to calculate. It depends on the identification of the source, the identification of the mouth, and the precise measurement of the river length between source and mouth. As a result, the length measurements of many rivers are only approximations. In particular, there has for long been disagreement as to whether the [[Amazon River|Amazon]] or the [[Nile]] is the world's longest river. The source of a river may be hard to determine because a river typically has many tributaries. Among the many sources, the one that is farthest away from the mouth is considered as the source of the river, thus giving a maximal river length. In practice, the [[tributary]] with the farthest source is not always the one given the name of the river. For example, the farthest source of the [[Mississippi River]] system is the source of the [[Jefferson River]], a tributary of the [[Missouri River]] which in turn is a tributary of the Mississippi. However, a different (and shorter) tributary is identified as the Mississippi. When the river is measured from mouth to farthest source, it is called the ''Mississippi-Missouri-Jefferson''. Also, it is hard to state exactly where a river begins as very often rivers are formed by seasonal streams, [[swamp]]s, or changing [[lake]]s. In this article, ''length'' means the length of the river system, including all tributaries. The mouth of a river is hard to determine in cases where the river has a large [[estuary]] that gradually widens and opens into the ocean; examples are the [[Río de la Plata|River Plate]] and the [[Saint Lawrence River]]. Some rivers do not have a mouth; instead they dwindle to very low water volume and eventually evaporate, or sink into an aquifer, or get diverted for agriculture. The exact point where these rivers end will vary seasonally. The length of a river between source and mouth may be hard to determine because of a lack of precise [[map]]s. In these cases, the measured length of a river will depend on the scale of the map on which the measurement is based; in general, due to the [[fractal]] quality of a river, the larger the [[scale (map)|scale]], the longer the resulting length measurement. This issue was discovered by [[Lewis Fry Richardson]] and also applies when measuring borders between countries and coastlines. Ideally, length measurements should be based on maps that are of a large enough scale to show the width of the river, and the path measured is the path a small boat would take down the middle of the river. Even when precise maps are available, the length measurement is not always clear. A river may have multiple arms. It may depend on whether the center or the edge of the river is taken as reference point. It may not be clear how to measure the length through a lake: this may also vary by season. These points make it difficult, if not impossible, to get a precise (or comparable ) measurement of the length of a river or stream. ==List of rivers longer than 1000 km== One should take the aforementioned discussion into account when using the data in the following table. For most rivers, different sources provide conflicting information on the length of a river system. The information in different sources is between parentheses. {| border="0" width="100%" |- |align="left"| |align="right"| |- |colspan="2" align="center"| {| class="wikitable" |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" !colspan="6" align="center"| [[Continent]] color key |- |bgcolor="#CCCCFF"|[[Geography of Africa|Africa]] |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|[[Geography of Asia|Asia]] |bgcolor="#CCFF66"|[[Geography of Australia|Australia]] |bgcolor="#FFCCFF"|[[Geography of Europe|Europe]] |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|[[Geography of North America|North America]] |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|[[Geography of South America|South America]] |} |} {| class="wikitable sortable" ! ![[River]] !Length (km) !Length (miles) ![[Drainage area]] (km²) !Average [[Discharge (hydrology)|discharge]] (m³/s) !Outflow ![[country|Countries]] in the drainage basin |- |bgcolor="#CCCCFF"|1.** |[[Nile]] |6,650 |4,135 |3,349,000 |5,100 |[[Mediterranean Sea]] |[[Ethiopia]], [[Eritrea]], [[Sudan]], [[Uganda]], [[Tanzania]], [[Kenya]], [[Rwanda]], [[Burundi]], [[Egypt]], [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|2.** |[[Amazon River|Amazon]] |6,400<br> |3,980<br> |6,915,000 |219,000 |[[Atlantic Ocean]] |[[Brazil]], [[Peru]], [[Bolivia]], [[Colombia]], [[Ecuador]], [[Venezuela]], [[Guyana]] |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|3. |[[Yangtze River|Yangtze]]<br><small>(Chang Jiang)</small> |6,300<br> |3,917<br> |1,800,000 |31,900 |[[East China Sea]] |[[People's Republic of China|P.R. China]] |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|4. |[[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] - [[Missouri River|Missouri]] |6,275<br> |3,902<br> |2,980,000 |16,200 |[[Gulf of Mexico]] |[[United States]] (98.5%), [[Canada]] (1.5%) |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|5. |[[Yenisei River|Yenisei]] - [[Angara River|Angara]] - [[Selenga]] |5,539<br> |3,445<br> |2,580,000 |19,600 |[[Kara Sea]] |[[Russia]], [[Mongolia]] |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|6. |[[Yellow River|Yellow]]<br><small>(Huang He)</small> |5,464<br> |3,398<br> |745,000 |2,110 |[[Bohai Sea]]<br><small>([[Balhae]])</small> |P.R. China |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|7. |[[Ob River|Ob]] - [[Irtysh]] |5,410 |3,364 |2,990,000 |12,800 |[[Gulf of Ob]] |Russia, [[Kazakhstan]], P.R. China, Mongolia |- |bgcolor="#CCCCFF"|8. |[[Congo River|Congo]] - [[Chambeshi River|Chambeshi]]<br><small>(Zaire)</small> |4,700<br> |2,922<br> |3,680,000 |41,800 |[[Atlantic Ocean]] |Democratic Republic of the Congo, [[Central African Republic]], [[Angola]], [[Republic of the Congo]], [[Tanzania]], [[Cameroon]], [[Zambia]], [[Burundi]], [[Rwanda]] |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|9. |[[Amur]] - [[Argun River|Argun]]<br><small>(Heilong Jiang)</small> |4,444 |2,763 |1,855,000 |11,400 |[[Sea of Okhotsk]] |Russia, P.R. China, Mongolia |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|10. |[[Lena River|Lena]] |4,400<br> |2,736<br> |2,490,000 |17,100 |[[Laptev Sea]] |Russia |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|11. |[[Mekong]]<br><small>(Lancang Jiang)</small> |4,350 |2,705 |810,000 |16,000 |[[South China Sea]] |[[Laos]], [[Thailand]], P.R. China, [[Cambodia]], [[Vietnam]], [[Myanmar]] |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|12. |[[Mackenzie River|Mackenzie]] - [[Peace River (Canada)|Peace]] - [[Finlay River|Finlay]] |4,241<br> |2,637<br> |1,790,000 |10,300 |[[Beaufort Sea]] |Canada |- |bgcolor="#CCCCFF"|13. |[[Niger River|Niger]] |4,200<br> |2,611<br> |2,090,000 |9,570 |[[Gulf of Guinea]] |[[Nigeria]] (26.6%), [[Mali]] (25.6%), [[Niger]] (23.6%), [[Algeria]] (7.6%), [[Guinea]] (4.5%), [[Cameroon]] (4.2%), [[Burkina Faso]] (3.9%), [[Côte d'Ivoire]], [[Benin]], [[Chad]] |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|14. |[[Paraná River|Paraná]]<br><small>([[Río de la Plata]])</small> |3,998<br> |2,486<br> |3,100,000 |25,700 |Atlantic Ocean |Brazil (46.7%), [[Argentina]] (27.7%), [[Paraguay]] (13.5%), Bolivia (8.3%), [[Uruguay]] (3.8%) |- |bgcolor="#FFCCFF"|15. |[[Volga]] |3,645 |2,266 |1,380,000 |8,080 |[[Caspian Sea]] |Russia (99.8%), Kazakhstan (minor) |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|16. |[[Shatt al-Arab]] - [[Euphrates]] |3,596<br> |2,236<br> |884,000 |856 |[[Persian Gulf]] |[[Iraq]] (40.5%), [[Turkey]] (24.8%), [[Iran]] (19.7%), [[Syria]] (14.7%) |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|17. |[[Purus]] |3,379 |2,101 |63,166 |8,400 |Amazon |Brazil, Peru |- |bgcolor="#CCFF66"|18. |[[Murray River|Murray]] - [[Darling River|Darling]] |3,370<ref>http://www.ga.gov.au/education/facts/landforms/longrive.htm GeoScience Australia</ref><br> |2,094<br> |1,061,000 |767 |[[Indian Ocean]] |[[Australia]] |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|19. |[[Madeira River|Madeira]] - [[Mamoré River|Mamoré]] |3,239 |2,014 |850,000 |17,000 |Amazon |Brazil, Bolivia, Peru |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|20. |[[Yukon River|Yukon]] |3,184 |1,980 |850,000 |6,210 |[[Bering Sea]] |United States (59.8%), Canada (40.2%) |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|21. |[[Indus River|Indus]]<br><small>(Sindhu)</small> |3,180 |1,976 |960,000 |7,160 |[[Arabian Sea]] |[[Pakistan]] (93%), [[India]], P. R. China, disputed territory ([[Kashmir]]), [[Afghanistan]] |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|22. |[[São Francisco River|São Francisco]] |3,180*<br>(2,900) |1,976*<br>(1,802) |610,000 |3,300 |Atlantic Ocean |Brazil |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|23. |[[Syr Darya]] - [[Naryn River|Naryn]] |3,078 |1,913 |219,000 |703 |[[Aral Sea]] |Kazakhstan, [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Uzbekistan]], [[Tajikistan]] |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|24. |[[Salween River|Salween]]<br><small>(Nu Jiang)</small> |3,060 |1,901 |324,000 |3,153<ref>{{cite web | title = Impact of Humans on the Flux of Terrestrial Sediment to the Global Coastal Ocean | coauthors = Syvitski, James P. M., Vörösmarty, Charles J., Kettner, Albert J., Green, Pamela | publisher = | date = | url =http://instaar.colorado.edu/deltaforce/papers/global_sediment_flux.html | accessdate = 2006-02-27}}</ref> |[[Andaman Sea]] |P.R. China (52.4%), Myanmar (43.9%), Thailand (3.7%) |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|25. |[[Saint Lawrence River|Saint Lawrence]] - [[Niagara River|Niagara]]-[[Detroit River|Detroit]]-[[St. Clair River|Saint Clair]]-[[St. Marys River (Michigan-Ontario)|Saint Marys]]-[[Saint Louis River|Saint Louis]] |3,058 |1,900 |1,030,000 |10,100 |[[Gulf of Saint Lawrence]] |Canada (52.1%), United States (47.9%) |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|26. |[[Rio Grande]] |3,057<br>(2,896) |1,900<br>(1,799) |570,000 |82 |Gulf of Mexico |United States (52.1%), [[Mexico]] (47.9%) |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|27. |[[Lower Tunguska]] |2,989 |1,857 |473,000 |3,600 |Yenisei |Russia |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|28. |[[Brahmaputra River|Brahmaputra]] |2,948* |1,832* |1,730,000 |19,200<ref>{{cite web | title = River and Drainage System of Bangladesh | url=http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/R_0208.htm | accessdate = 2007-02-27 }}</ref> |[[Bay of Bengal]] |India (58.0%), P.R. China (19.7%), [[Nepal]] (9.0%), [[Bangladesh]] (6.6%), Disputed India/P.R. China (4.2%), [[Bhutan]] (2.4%) |- |bgcolor="#FFCCFF"|29. |[[Danube]] |2,850* |1,771* |817,000 |7,130 |[[Black Sea]] |[[Romania]] (28.9%), [[Hungary]] (11.7%), [[Austria]] (10.3%), [[Serbia]] (10.3%), [[Germany]] (7.5%), [[Slovakia]] (5.8%), [[Bulgaria]] (5.2%), [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] (4.8%), [[Croatia]] (4.5%), [[Ukraine]] (3.8%), [[Moldova]] (1.7%). |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|30. |[[Tocantins River|Tocantins]] |2,699 |1,677 |1,400,000 |13,598 |Atlantic Ocean, Amazon |Brazil |- |bgcolor="#CCCCFF"|31. |[[Zambezi]]<br><small>(Zambesi)</small> |2,693* |1,673* |1,330,000 |4,880 |[[Mozambique Channel]] |[[Zambia]] (41.6%), [[Angola]] (18.4%), [[Zimbabwe]] (15.6%), [[Mozambique]] (11.8%), [[Malawi]] (8.0%), [[Tanzania]] (2.0%), [[Namibia]], [[Botswana]] |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|32. |[[Vilyuy]] |2,650 |1,647 |454,000 |1,480 |[[Lena]] |Russia |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|33. |[[Araguaia River|Araguaia]] |2,627 |1,632 |358,125 |6,172 |[[Tocantins River|Tocantins]] |Brazil |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|34. |[[Amu Darya]] |2,620 |1,628 |534,739 |1,400 |[[Aral Sea]] |[[Uzbekistan]], [[Turkmenistan]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Afghanistan]] |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|35. |[[Japurá River|Japurá]]<br><small>(Rio Yapurá)</small> |2,615* |1,625* |242,259 |6,000 |Amazon |Brazil, Colombia |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|36. |[[Nelson River|Nelson]] - [[Saskatchewan River|Saskatchewan]] |2,570 |1,597 |1,093,000 |2,575 |[[Hudson Bay]] |Canada, United States |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|37. |[[River Paraguay|Paraguay]]<br><small>(Rio Paraguay)</small> |2,549 |1,584 |900,000 |4,300 |[[Paraná River|Paraná]] |Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|38. |[[Kolyma River|Kolyma]] |2,513 |1,562 |644,000 |3,800 |[[East Siberian Sea]] |Russia |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|39. |[[Ganges River|Ganges]] |2,510 |1,560 |907,000 |12,037<ref>[http://www.grdc.sr.unh.edu/html/Polygons/P2846800.html Ganges - Farakka<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> |[[Brahmaputra]], [[Bay of Bengal]] |India, Bangladesh |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|40. |[[Pilcomayo River|Pilcomayo]] |2,500 |1,553 |270,000 | |[[Paraguay River|Paraguay]] |[[Paraguay]], Argentina, Bolivia |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|41. |Upper [[Ob River|Ob]] |2,490 |1,547 | | |[[Ob River|Ob]] |Russia |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|42. |[[Ishim River|Ishim]] |2,450 |1,522 |177,000 |56 |[[Irtysh]] |Kazakhstan, Russia |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|43. |[[Juruá]] |2,410 |1,498 |200,000 |6,000 |Amazon |Peru, Brazil |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|44. |[[Ural River|Ural]] |2,428 |1,509 |237,000 |475 |[[Caspian Sea]] |Russia, Kazakhstan |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|45. |[[Arkansas River|Arkansas]] |2,348 |1,459 |505,000<br><small>(435,122)</small> |1,066 |[[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] |United States |- |bgcolor="#CCCCFF"|46. |[[Ubangi River|Ubangi]] - [[Uele River|Uele]] |2,300 |1,429 | |4,003 |[[Congo River|Congo]] |Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|47. |[[Olenyok River|Olenyok]] |2,292 |1,424 |219,000 |1,210 |[[Laptev Sea]] |Russia |- |bgcolor="#FFCCFF"|48. |[[Dnieper River|Dnieper]] |2,287 |1,421 |516,300 |1,670 |[[Black Sea]] |Russia, [[Belarus]], [[Ukraine]] |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|49. |[[Aldan River|Aldan]] |2,273 |1,412 |729,000 |5,060 |[[Lena River|Lena]] |Russia |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|50. |[[Rio Negro (Amazon)|Negro]] |2,250 |1,450 |720,114 |26,700 |Amazon |Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|51. |[[Columbia River|Columbia]] |2,250 (1,953) |1,450 (1,214) |415,211 |7400 |[[Pacific Ocean]] |United States, Canada |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|52. |[[Colorado River|Colorado]] (western U.S.) |2,333 |1,450 |390,000 |1,200 |[[Gulf of California]] |United States, Mexico |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|53. |[[Pearl River (China)|Pearl]] - [[Xijiang River|Xi Jiang]] |2,200 |1,376 |437,000 |13,600 |South China Sea |P.R. China (98.5%), [[Vietnam]] (1.5%) |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|54. |[[Red River (Mississippi watershed)|Red]] |2,188 |1,360 |78,592 |875 |[[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] |United States |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|55. |[[Ayeyarwady River|Ayeyarwady]]<br/><small>(Irrawaddy)</small> |2,170 |1,348 |411,000 |13,000 |[[Andaman Sea]] |Myanmar |- |bgcolor="#CCCCFF"|56. |[[Kasai River|Kasai]] |2,153 |1,338 |880,200 |10,000 |[[Congo River|Congo]] |[[Angola]], Democratic Republic of the Congo |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|57. |[[Ohio River|Ohio]] - [[Allegheny River|Allegheny]] |2,102 |1,306 |490,603 |7,957 |[[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] |United States |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|58. |[[Orinoco]] |2,101 |1,306 |880,000 |30,000 |Atlantic Ocean |Venezuela, Colombia |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|59. |[[Tarim River|Tarim]] |2,100 |1,305 |557,000 | |[[Lop Nur]] |P. R. China |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|60. |[[Xingu River|Xingu]] |2,100 |1,305 | | |Amazon |Brazil |- |bgcolor="#CCCCFF"|61. |[[Orange River|Orange]] |2,092 |1,300 |&nbsp; |&nbsp; |Atlantic Ocean |[[South Africa]], [[Namibia]], [[Botswana]], [[Lesotho]] |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|62. |Northern [[Salado River|Salado]] |2,010 |1,249 | | |[[Paraná River|Paraná]] |Argentina |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|63. |[[Vitim River|Vitim]] |1,978 |1,229 | | |[[Lena River|Lena]] |Russia |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|64. |[[Tigris]] |1,950 |1,212 | | |[[Shatt al-Arab]] |[[Turkey]], [[Iraq]], [[Syria]], [[Iran]] |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|65. |[[Songhua River|Songhua]] |1,927 |1,197 | | |[[Amur River|Amur]] |P. R. China |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|66. |[[Tapajós]] |1,900 |1,181 | | |Amazon |Brazil |- |bgcolor="#FFCCFF"|67. |[[Don River, Russia|Don]] |1,870 |1,162 |425,600 |935 |[[Sea of Azov]] |Russia |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|68. |[[Stony Tunguska]] |1,865 |1,159 |240,000 | |[[Yenisei River|Yenisei]] |Russia |- |bgcolor="#FFCCFF"|69. |[[Pechora River|Pechora]] |1,809 |1,124 |322,000 | |[[Barents Sea]] |Russia |- |bgcolor="#FFCCFF"|70. |[[Kama River|Kama]] |1,805 |1,122 |507,000 | |[[Volga River|Volga]] |Russia |- |bgcolor="#CCCCFF"|71. |[[Limpopo River|Limpopo]] |1,800 |1,118 |413,000 | |[[Indian Ocean]] |[[Mozambique]], [[Zimbabwe]], [[South Africa]], [[Botswana]] |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|72. |[[Guaporé]] <small>(Itenez)</small> |1,749 |1,087 | | |[[Mamoré]] |Brazil, Bolivia |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|73. |[[Indigirka River|Indigirka]] |1,726 |1,072 |360,400 |1,810 |[[East Siberian Sea]] |Russia |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|74. |[[Snake River|Snake]] |1,670 |1,038 |279,719 |1,611 |[[Columbia River|Columbia]] |United States |- |bgcolor="#CCCCFF"|75. |[[Senegal River|Senegal]] |1,641 |1,020 |419,659 | |Atlantic Ocean |[[Senegal]], [[Mali]], [[Mauritania]] |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|76. |[[Uruguay River|Uruguay]] |1,610 |1,000 |370,000 | |Atlantic Ocean |[[Uruguay]], Argentina, Brazil |- |bgcolor="#CCCCFF"|77. |[[Blue Nile]] |1,600 |994 | | |[[Nile]] |[[Ethiopia]], [[Sudan]] |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|77. |[[Churchill River (Hudson Bay)|Churchill]] |1,600 |994 | | |[[Hudson Bay]] |[[Canada]] |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|77. |[[Khatanga River|Khatanga]] |1,600 |994 | | |[[Laptev Sea]] |Russia |- |bgcolor="#CCCCFF"|77. |[[Okavango River|Okavango]] |1,600 |994 | | |[[Okavango Delta]] |[[Namibia]], [[Angola]], [[Botswana]] |- |bgcolor="#CCCCFF"|77. |[[Volta River|Volta]] |1,600 |994 | | |[[Gulf of Guinea]] |[[Ghana]], [[Burkina Faso]], [[Togo]], [[Côte d'Ivoire]], [[Benin]] |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|82. |[[Beni River|Beni]] |1,599 |994 | | |[[Madeira River|Madeira]] |Bolivia |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|83. |[[Platte River|Platte]] |1,594 |990 | | |[[Missouri River|Missouri]] |United States |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|84. |[[Tobol River|Tobol]] |1,591 |989 | | |[[Irtysh]] |Kazakhstan, Russia |- |bgcolor="#CCCCFF"|85. |[[Jubba River|Jubba]] - [[Shebelle River|Shebelle]] |1,580* |982* | | |[[Indian Ocean]] |[[Ethiopia]], [[Somalia]] |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|86. |[[Içá River|Içá]] <small>(Putumayo)</small> |1,575 |979 | | |Amazon |Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|87. |[[Magdalena River|Magdalena]] |1,550 |963 | | |[[Caribbean Sea]] |Colombia |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|88. |[[Han River (Hanshui)|Han]] |1,532 |952 | | |[[Yangtze River|Yangtze]] |P. R. China |- |bgcolor="#CCCCFF"|89. |[[Lomami River|Lomami]] |1,500 |932 | | |[[Congo River|Congo]] |Democratic Republic of the Congo |- |bgcolor="#FFCCFF"|89. |[[Oka River|Oka]] |1,500 |932 | | |[[Volga River|Volga]] |Russia |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|90. |[[Pecos River|Pecos]] |1,490 |926 | | |[[Rio Grande]] |United States |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|91. |Upper [[Yenisei River|Yenisei]] |1,480 |920 | | |[[Yenisei River|Yenisei]] |Russia, Mongolia |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|92. |[[Godavari River|Godavari]] |1,465 |910 | | |[[Bay of Bengal]] |India |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|93. |[[Colorado River (Texas)|Colorado]] (Texas) |1,438 |894 | | |Gulf of Mexico |United States |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|94. |[[Río Grande (Bolivia)|Río Grande]] <small>(Guapay)</small> |1,438 |894 | | |[[Ichilo]] |Bolivia |- |bgcolor="#FFCCFF"|95. |[[Belaya River|Belaya]] |1,420 |882 | | |[[Kama River|Kama]] |Russia |- |bgcolor="#CCFF66"|96. |[[Cooper Creek|Cooper]] - [[Barcoo River|Barcoo]] |1,420 |880 | | |[[Lake Eyre]] |[[Australia]] |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|97. |[[Marañón River (Peru)|Marañón]] |1,415 |879 | | |Amazon |Peru |- |bgcolor="#FFCCFF"|98. |[[Dniester]] |1,411 (1,352) |877 (840) | | |[[Black Sea]] |[[Ukraine]], [[Moldova]] |- |bgcolor="#CCCCFF"|99. |[[Benue River|Benue]] |1,400 |870 | | |[[Niger River|Niger]] |[[Cameroon]], [[Nigeria]] |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|99. |[[Ili River|Ili]]<br><small>(Yili)</small> |1,400 |870 | | |[[Lake Balkhash]] |P. R. China, Kazakhstan |- |bgcolor="#CCFF66"|99. |[[Warburton Creek|Warburton]] - [[Georgina River|Georgina]] |1,400 |870 | | |[[Lake Eyre]] |[[Australia]] |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|102. |[[Yamuna]] |1,376 |855 | | |[[Ganges River|Ganges]] |India |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|103. |[[Sutlej]] |1,370 |851 | | |[[Chenab River|Chenab]] |China, India, Pakistan |- |bgcolor="#FFCCFF"|103. |[[Vyatka River|Vyatka]] |1,370 |851 | | |[[Kama River|Kama]] |Russia |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|105. |[[Fraser River|Fraser]] |1,368 |850 | |7,900 |[[Pacific Ocean]] |Canada |- |bgcolor="#FFCCFF"|106. |[[Kura River|Kura]] |1,364 |848 | | |[[Caspian Sea]] |[[Azerbaijan]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Armenia]], [[Turkey]], [[Iran]] |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|107. |[[Grande River|Grande]] |1,360 |845 | | |[[Paraná River|Paraná]] |Brazil |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|108. |[[Brazos River|Brazos]] |1,352 |840 | | |Gulf of Mexico |United States |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|109. |[[Liao River|Liao]] |1,345 |836 | | |[[Bo Hai]] |P. R. China |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|110. |[[Yalong River|Yalong]] |1,323 |822 | | |[[Yangtze River|Yangtze]] |P. R. China |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|111. |[[Iguassu River|Iguaçu]] |1,320 |820 | | |[[Paraná River|Paraná]] |Brazil, Argentina |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|111. |[[Olyokma River|Olyokma]] |1,320 |820 | | |[[Lena River|Lena]] |Russia |- |bgcolor="#FFCCFF"|111. |[[Rhine]] |1,320 |820 |198,735 |2330 |[[North Sea]] |[[Germany]], [[France]], [[Switzerland]], [[Netherlands]], [[Austria]], [[Belgium]], [[Luxembourg]], [[Liechtenstein]], [[Italy]] |- |bgcolor="#FFCCFF"|114. |[[Northern Dvina]] - [[Sukhona River|Sukhona]] |1,302 |809 |357,052 |3332 |[[White Sea]] |[[Russia]] |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|115. |[[River Krishna|Krishna]] |1,300 |808 | | |[[Bay of Bengal]] |India |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|115. |[[Iriri River|Iriri]] |1,300 |808 | | |[[Xingu River|Xingu]] |Brazil |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|117. |[[Narmada River|Narmada]] |1,289 |801 | | |[[Arabian Sea]] |India |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|118. |[[Ottawa River|Ottawa]] |1,271 |790 | | |[[Saint Lawrence River|Saint Lawrence]] |Canada |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|119. |[[Zeya River|Zeya]] |1,242 |772 | | |[[Amur River|Amur]] |Russia |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|120. |[[Juruena River|Juruena]] |1,240 |771 | | |[[Tapajós]] |Brazil |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|121. |Upper [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] |1,236 |768 | | |[[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] |United States |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|122. |[[Athabasca River|Athabasca]] |1,231 |765 | | |[[Mackenzie River|Mackenzie]] |Canada |- |bgcolor="#FFCCFF"|122. |[[Elbe]] - [[Vltava]] |1,231 |765 |148,268 |711 |[[North Sea]] |[[Germany]], [[Czech Republic]] |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|124. |[[Canadian River|Canadian]] |1,223 |760 | | |[[Arkansas River|Arkansas]] |United States |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|125. |[[North Saskatchewan River|North Saskatchewan]] |1,220 |758 | | |[[Saskatchewan River|Saskatchewan]] |Canada |- |bgcolor="#CCCCFF"|126. |[[Vaal River|Vaal]] |1,210 |752 | | |[[Orange River|Orange]] |[[South Africa]] |- |bgcolor="#CCCCFF"|127. |[[Shire River|Shire]] |1,200 |746 | | |[[Zambezi]] |[[Mozambique]], [[Malawi]] |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|128. |[[Nen River|Nen]] <br><small>(Nonni)</small> |1,190 |739 | | |[[Songhua River|Songhua]] |P. R. China |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|129. |[[Green River (Utah)|Green]] |1,175 |730 | | |[[Colorado River|Colorado]] (western U.S.) |United States |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|130. |[[Milk River (Montana-Alberta)|Milk]] |1,173 |729 | | |[[Missouri River|Missouri]] |United States, Canada |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|131. |[[Chindwin River|Chindwin]] |1,158 |720 | | |[[Ayeyarwady River|Ayeyarwady]] |Myanmar |- |bgcolor="#CCCCFF"|132. |[[Sankuru River|Sankuru]] |1,150 |715 | | |[[Kasai River|Kasai]] |Democratic Republic of the Congo |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|133. |[[James River (Dakotas)|James (Dakotas)]] |1,143 |710 | | |[[Missouri River|Missouri]] |United States |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|133. |[[Kapuas River|Kapuas]] |1,143 |710 | | |South China Sea |[[Indonesia]] |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|135. |[[Helmand River|Helmand]] |1,130 |702 | | |[[Hamun-i-Helmand]] |[[Afghanistan]], [[Iran]] |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|135. |[[Madre de Dios River|Madre de Dios]] |1,130 |702 | | |[[Madeira River|Madeira]] |Peru, Bolivia |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|135. |[[Tietê River|Tietê]] |1,130 |702 | | |[[Paraná River|Paraná]] |Brazil |- |bgcolor="#FFCCFF"|135. |[[Vychegda River|Vychegda]] |1,130 |702 | | |[[Northern Dvina]] |Russia |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|139. |[[Sepik]] |1,126 |700 |77,700 | |[[Pacific Ocean]] |[[Papua New Guinea]], [[Indonesia]] |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|140. |[[Cimarron River|Cimarron]] |1,123 |698 | | |[[Arkansas River|Arkansas]] |United States |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|141. |[[Anadyr River|Anadyr]] |1,120 |696 | | |[[Gulf of Anadyr]] |Russia |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|142. |[[Jialing River]] |1,119 |695 | | |[[Yangtze River|Yangtze]] |P. R. China |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|143. |[[Liard River|Liard]] |1,115 |693 | | |[[Mackenzie River|Mackenzie]] |Canada |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|144. |[[White River (Arkansas)|White]] |1,102 |685 | | |[[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] |United States |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|145. |[[Huallaga River|Huallaga]] |1,100 |684 | | |[[Marañón River (Peru)|Marañón]] |Peru |- |bgcolor="#CCCCFF"|145. |[[Kwango River|Kwango]] |1,100 |684 |263,500 |2,700 |Kasai |Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo |- |bgcolor="#CCCCFF"|147. |[[Gambia River|Gambia]] |1,094 |680 | | |Atlantic Ocean |[[The Gambia]], [[Senegal]], [[Guinea]] |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|148. |[[Chenab River|Chenab]] |1,086 |675 | | |[[Indus River|Indus]] |India, Pakistan |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|149. |[[Yellowstone River|Yellowstone]] |1,080 |671 | | |[[Missouri River|Missouri]] |United States |- |bgcolor="#FFCCFF"|150. |[[Seversky Donets|Donets]] |1,078 (1,053) |670 (654) | | |[[Don River, Russia|Don]] |[[Ukraine]], Russia |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|151. |[[Bermejo River|Bermejo]] |1,050 |652 | | |[[Paraguay River|Paraguay]] |Argentina, Bolivia |- |bgcolor="#FFCBCB"|151. |[[Fly River|Fly]] |1,050 |652 | | |[[Gulf of Papua]] |[[Papua New Guinea]], [[Indonesia]] |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|151. |[[Guaviare River|Guaviare]] |1,050 |652 | | |[[Orinoco]] |Colombia |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|151. |[[Kuskokwim River|Kuskokwim]] |1,050 |652 | | |[[Bering Sea]] |United States |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|155. |[[Tennessee River|Tennessee]] |1,049 |652 | | |[[Ohio River|Ohio]] |United States |- |bgcolor="#FFCCFF"|156. |[[Daugava]] |1,020 |634 | | |[[Gulf of Riga]] |[[Latvia]], [[Belarus]], Russia |- |bgcolor="#CCFFFF"|157. |[[Gila River|Gila]] |1,015 |631 | | |[[Colorado River|Colorado]] (western U.S.) |United States |- |bgcolor="#FFCCFF"|158. |[[Vistula]] |1,014 |630 | | |[[Baltic Sea]] |[[Poland]] |- |bgcolor="#FFCCFF"|159. |[[Loire River|Loire]] |1,012 |629 | | |Atlantic Ocean |[[France]] |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|160. |[[Essequibo River|Essequibo]] |1,010 |628 | | |Atlantic Ocean |[[Guyana]] |- |bgcolor="#FFCCFF"|160. |[[Khoper River|Khoper]] |1,010 |628 | | |[[Don River, Russia|Don]] |Russia |- |bgcolor="#FFCCFF"|162. |[[Tagus]]<br><small>(Tajo/Tejo)</small> |1,006 |625 | | |Atlantic Ocean |[[Spain]], [[Portugal]] |- |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|163. |[[Colorado River (Argentina)|Colorado]] (Argentina) |1,000 |620 | | |Atlantic Ocean |Argentina |- |} ===Notes=== *When the length of a river is followed by an asterisk , it is an average of multiple information sources. If the difference in lengths between given information sources is significant, all lengths are listed. Likewise, if the lengths from secondary information sources are similar, they are averaged and that figure has an asterisk. *Most scientists have considered the Nile to be the longest river on Earth, and some believe a fair statement is that the Nile is the longest in the world and the Amazon is the strongest. The big differences in the recorded length of the Amazon depends on whether or not it is valid to take a course south of the [[Ilha de Marajó]] at the Amazon's mouth. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6759291.stm New evidence], (dated Saturday 16 June 2007) obtained from a high-altitude scientific venture in the [[Andes]], claims that "''the Amazon is longer than the Nile by 100km, with its longest [[headwater]] being the Carhuasanta stream originating in the south of Peru on the [[Nevado Mismi]] mountain's northern slopes and flowing into the [[Río Apurímac]], and not from a place in the north of Peru as was thought before: this adds about 284 km = 176 miles to the length of the Amazon.''"<ref>[[Daily Telegraph]], Monday 18 June 2007, page 18</ref>; but this is likely a confused re-description of what was known before, as [[atlas]] maps made long before this show Amazon headwaters in this position. *Generally, the most commonly used/anglicised name of the river is used. The name in a native language or alternate spelling may be shown. *The exact percentage of each river in countries may be disputed (including the effects of political frontier disputes) or unknown. *Nile: **Formerly [[Lake Tanganyika]] drained northwards into the [[Albert Nile]], making the [[Nile]] somewhere around 700 miles longer, until in the [[Miocene]] the [[Virunga Volcanoes]] arose and blocked its course. **While the [[Mediterranean Sea]] was dry during the [[Messinian Salinity Crisis]], the Nile extended northwards over the dry seabed and thus may have gained 100 miles or more in length. {| border="0" width="100%" |- |align="left"| [[Image:Miss_R_dam 27.jpg|250px|left|thumb|The Mississippi River just north of [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]].]] |align="right"| [[Image:DSCN4262 rmosesspstlawrence e.jpg|250px|right|thumb|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. <ref>{{cite web | url = http://news.mongabay.com/2006/1024-amazon.html | title = Amazon river flowed into the Pacific millions of years ago | accessdate = 2006-02-27 | publisher = mongabay.com}}</ref> The [[Congo River|Congo]] basin is completely surrounded by high land, except for its long narrow exit valley past [[Kinshasa]], including [[waterfall]]s around [[Manyanga]]. That gives the impression that most of the Congo basin was formerly on a much higher land level and that it was [[Rejuvenation (river)|rejuvenated]] by much of its lower course being removed. In [[Permian]] and early [[Triassic]] times [[Africa]] and [[South America]] were close against each other with no sea between (see [[continental drift]] and [[plate tectonics]]), and the Congo probably drained into the Amazon basin and eventually into the Pacific.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} Including part of its course that was completely lost when the South Atlantic opened, its total course may have been anything up to approximately 12,000 km (7,500 miles) long. ===West Siberian Glacial Lake drainage=== This river would have been about 6000 miles = 10000 km long, in the last [[Ice Age]]. See [[West Siberian Glacial Lake]]. 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]]. ==See also== *[[D River]] and [[Roe River]], both of which are claimed to be the world's shortest river. *[[Lake]] *[[Ocean]] *[[River]] *[[Waterway]] *[[List of drainage basins by area]] *[[List of rivers by average discharge]] *[[Eridanos (geology)]] (a big river flowing between 40 million and 700 thousand years ago from [[Lapland]] to the [[North Sea]] through where the [[Baltic Sea]] is now) ==References== <div class="references-small"> * [[Time (magazine)|Time]] Almanac 2004 * [http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0001779.html Principal Rivers of the World] * [http://earthtrends.wri.org/maps_spatial/watersheds/index.php EarthTrends Watersheds of the World] World Resources Institute * [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6759291.stm Amazon river 'longer than Nile'] (BBC) </div> ==Notes== {{reflist}} [[Category:Rivers]] [[Category:Lists of rivers| ]] [[bg:Списък на реки по дължина]] [[cs:Seznam nejdelších řek]] [[da:Verdens længste floder]] [[de:Liste der längsten Flüsse der Erde]] [[eu:Ibaien zerrenda luzeraren arabera]] [[fa:فهرست رودخانه‌های جهان]] [[fr:Liste des plus longs cours d'eau]] [[ko:길이순 강 목록]] [[hr:Popis rijeka]] [[it:Lista dei fiumi più lunghi del mondo]] [[he:הנהרות הארוכים בעולם]] [[kn:ಪ್ರಪಂಚದ ದೊಡ್ಡ ನದಿಗಳು]] [[ml:ലോകത്തിലെ നീളം കൂടിയ നദികള്‍]] [[ja:長さ順の川の一覧]] [[no:Liste over verdens lengste elver]] [[pt:Anexo:Lista dos rios mais extensos do mundo]] [[sa:नदी-सूची-प्रमुख]] [[sl:Seznam rek po velikosti]] [[fi:Luettelo joista pituuden mukaan]] [[vi:Danh sách các sông dài nhất thế giới]] [[uk:Список річок за довжиною]] [[zh:世界河流列表]]