Water is one of the most important parts of our lives. The beginning of the life forms on Earth was possible only with the help of water. Roughly 70% of land is covered by water however, less than 3% of the world’s water is drinkable. Most of the drinkable water comes from small streams and channels into huge rivers that stretch for thousands of miles, quenching the thirst of millions around the globe.
Water typically gathers in a river from precipitation across a drainage basin from surface runoff and other sources including groundwater recharge and springs. Because they supply water for drinking, irrigation, transportation, and the maintenance of numerous ecosystems, rivers are essential to the health of the planet. Rivers are naturally occurring waterways that cut across the landscape. They frequently originate from mountains or springs and flow into lakes, oceans, or other rivers. They supply water for agricultural, drinking, and animal use. People use rivers for transportation, and they are home to a variety of flora and animals.
Interesting Science Videos
Top 10 Longest Rivers in The World
Here in this article we are going to take a brief look at the list of the longest rivers that actually helped to shape out the greatest human civilizations. So, let’s tour around the world and find out which rivers made into the list:
10. Amur River
The tenth longest river in the world, the Amur River, also called the Heilong Jiang, flows along the boundary between northeastern China and Russia. The main border between northeastern China and the far east of Russia is separated by the Amur River. The Strait of Tartary is where the Amur River empties into the ocean. The total length of the river is 4480 km (2800 miles).
- Country of Origin: Mongolia and China
- Total length: 4480 Km (2800 miles)
- Countries Covered: Mongolia, Russia, and China
It contains the tenth-largest watershed at roughly two million square kilometers. It flows through China, Mongolia, and Russia, coming from two sources: the Onon River in Mongolia and the Argun River in China. Fish from 23 families are believed to make up at least 123 species that live in the Amur. The endemic Kaluga fish and Amur sturgeon, which have a maximum length of 5.6 meters, call this river home.
9. Congo River
Congo River is one of the Africa’s longest and most well-known rivers. Originating from the Lualaba River, this river is the second longest in Africa, spanning 4700 km (2922 miles) and passing through several countries including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Angola, Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Cameroon, Zambia, Burundi, and Rwanda before draining into the Atlantic Ocean. With its curved course across Africa, the Congo River holds the unique distinction of being the only river to cross the equator twice. It is also the world’s deepest river, reaching depths of more than 700 feet in some spots.
- Country of Origin: Democratic Republic of Congo
- Total length: 4700 Km (2922 miles)
- Countries Covered: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Angola, Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Cameroon, Zambia, Burundi, and Rwanda
The river also sustains a vast amount of biodiversity as it flows through the Congo rainforest, which is also the world’s second-largest river basin, behind the Amazon. In addition to over 1,700 kinds of birds and fish, this river provides an essential water source for over 400 species of mammals, including gorillas, African bush elephants, bonobos, and many more. This river is also home to 700 different types of fish. Additionally, it releases sediment and water into the Congo Plume in the Atlantic, which happens to be one of the world’s biggest carbon sinks.
8. Parana River (Rio de la Plata)
One of the most amazing rivers in the world, the Paraná River crosses many South American countries. It originates near the Brazilian city of Sete Lagoas at the junction of the Paranaiba and Grande rivers. It then passes through several different countries, including Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil, before draining into the Atlantic Ocean. Due to its considerable length and water volume, it is an essential waterway for local trade, transportation, and hydroelectric power production. With a staggering length of 4,880 km (3,032 miles), it ranks as the eighth longest river in the world.
- Country of Origin: Brazil
- Total length: 4880 Km (3032 miles)
- Countries Covered: Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina
There is a plethora of plant and animal life in the Paraná River, which supports a rich and diversified ecology. This includes different fish, bird, reptile, and mammal species. Many endangered species, like the giant river otter, the maned wolf, and the marsh deer, depend on the river and the wetlands that surround it as their vital habitats. The Paraná River also creates a natural border between Argentina and Paraguay for an extensive stretch of its course.
7. Ob River
Ob is Russia’s longest river at 5410 kilometers (3362 miles), the second longest in Asia, and the seventh longest in the globe. The river flows from the junctions of the Biya and Katun rivers, carrying water from the Altai mountain ice caps. The Ob is located to the west of the three major Siberian rivers, the Ob, the Yenisey, and the Lena, and flows north through Mongolia, China, Kazakhstan and Russia. Following a route to the north, the Ob drains into the Kara Sea, forming the large Gulf of Ob, the world’s longest estuary at over 1,000 kilometers (620 miles).
- Country of Origin: Russia
- Total length: 5410 Km (3032 miles)
- Countries Covered: Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China
The Ob river basin is largely made up of steppe, taiga, marshes, tundra, and semi-desert topography. The basin has an area of 2,990,000 square kilometers (1,150,000 square miles). In addition to hydroelectric power, the Ob offers drinking water, irrigation, and fishing (with over 50 different species found in the river). A number of hydroelectric power facilities, the biggest of which is Novosibirskaya GES, are located along the Ob River. A significant part of the Ob is frozen from early November to the end of April in southern Barnaul and from late October to the beginning of June in northern Salekhard each year.
6. Yellow River
The Huang He River, sometimes referred to as the “Mother River” or Yellow River in China, is a 5464 km (3,395 miles) waterway that runs across the country’s northern region. Seven present provinces are crossed by the river as it travels from west to east. The Tibet-Qinghai plateau is the source of the Yellow River, which flows through the provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, and Shandong. Its route comes to a conclusion in the Yellow Sea’s Bo Hai Gulf. The Yangtze River, which flows south of it, is the other major river in China. This river is the second longest in China and the sixth longest in the world.
- Country of Origin: China
- Total length: 5464 Km (3395 miles)
- Countries Covered: China
There are reportedly over 160 native fish species in the river’s basin, 19 of which are unique to this region of the globe. The Yellow River is also home to Chinese pond turtles and Chinese softshell turtles. You can also find the Chinese giant salamander in its waters. The Yellow River is less appropriate for aquaculture than central and southern China’s rivers, such as the Yangtze or Pearl rivers, although it is still done in certain areas along the river.
5. Yenisei River
The Yenisey is the world’s fifth-longest river, extending 5,539 kilometers (3,445 miles) north through Mongolia and Russia. It is the largest river to flow into the Arctic Ocean. The Selenga River is considered to be the source of this river system. The Selenga River is 992 kilometers long and flows into Lake Baikal. The Angara River originates in Lake Baikal near Listvyanka, travels through Russia’s Irkutsk Oblast, and eventually meets the Yenisei River near Strelkovka. The Yenisei eventually empties into the Arctic Ocean.
- Country of Origin: Russia
- Total length: 5539 Km (3445 miles)
- Countries Covered: China
During the winter, the Yenisey is home to the Taimyr tundra reindeer herd, the world’s largest herd of its kind. Over one million reindeer have been known to move to grazing pastures along the river in the winter. The Yenisey basin (excluding Lake Baikal and the Khantayka headwaters lakes) has 55 native fish species, including two endemics: Gobio sibiricus (a gobionine cyprinid) and Thymallus nigrescens. According to studies, the Yenisey is contaminated by radioactive discharges from a facility that produces bomb-grade plutonium.
4. Mississippi River
The Mississippi River, which originates at Lake Itasca and flows 2,350 miles through the middle of the continental United States to the Gulf of Mexico, is the second-longest river in North America. A tributary of the Mississippi River, the Missouri River is approximately 100 miles longer. The combined length of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers is fourth longest in the world 5,970 km (3,710 miles). The water’s surface speed in the Mississippi headwaters is usually 1.2 miles per hour.
- Country of Origin: United States
- Total length: 5970 Km (3710 miles)
- Countries Covered: United States
Agriculture has dominated land use in the Mississippi basin for about 200 years, transforming the region’s water cycle and energy balance. The agricultural products and agribusiness industry that has grown in the basin account for 92% of the nation’s agricultural exports, 78% of global feed grain and soybean exports, and the majority of national livestock and hog production. Sixty percent of all grain exported from the United States is shipped on the Mississippi River using the Ports of New Orleans and South Louisiana.
The Mississippi basin is home to a diverse range of reptiles, including American alligators, various turtle species, aquatic amphibians, as well as cambarid crayfish. Furthermore, roughly 40% of migratory birds in the United States use the Mississippi River corridor during spring and fall migrations, while 60% of all migratory birds in North America (326 species) use the river basin as a flyway. The Mississippi River is home to at least 260 fish species, which account for 25% of all North American fish species.
3. Yangtze River
The Yangtze River, also known as Cháng Jiāng (long river) in Chinese, is the longest river in China, spanning 6,300 kilometers (3915 miles). Furthermore, it’s the world’s third-longest river system. The river originates from multiple tributaries in the Tibetan Plateau’s eastern region. Over 400 million people, or one-third of China’s population, reside in the region that the Yangtze River basin covers. Its basin, which stretches about 600 miles from north to south and almost 2,000 miles from west to east, drains a significant amount of South China. Approximately half of China’s fish and two thirds of its rice come from the Yangtze basin.
- Country of Origin: China
- Total length: 6300 Km (3915 miles)
- Countries Covered: China
The largest hydroelectric power plant, the Three Gorges Dam, is located on the river as well. With more planned, the Yangtze basin has seen the construction of over 50,000 dams since 1950. With one of the planet’s most biologically rich temperate regions, Yunnan Protected Areas’ Three Parallel Rivers is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Chinese alligator and the narrow-ridged finless porpoise are unique species found strictly in the river. Over 14,000 distinct species of vegetation, 280 mammals (including giant pandas), 166 reptiles, 145 amphibians, 350 fish species, and 762 bird species can all be found in the Yangtze and its river basin.
2. Amazon River
The Amazon River is the world’s second-longest river, measuring over 6400 Km (3977 miles). The mighty Amazon flows through northern South America, passing through Peru, Colombia, and Brazil. It is believed that one-sixth of all fresh water that drains into the world’s oceans flows through the Amazon’s 320-kilometer-wide delta, where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. The Amazon River discharges so much freshwater into the Atlantic Ocean that it affects sea levels in the Caribbean. The Andean headwaters of the Amazon River are home to 142 dams, with another 160 planned. The Amazon includes approximately 1,100 tributaries, 12 of which are more than 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) long.
- Country of Origin: Peru
- Total length: 6400 Km (3977 miles)
- Countries Covered: Peru, Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil
Since the Amazon River has no bridges, the 10 million residents who live along its banks have to cross the freshwater river by boat. The Amazon rainforest is home to more than one-third of all known species on the globe. In terms of biodiversity, it is the world’s richest tropical forest. The river is home to thousands of fish species as well as crabs, algae, and turtles. The Amazon is one of the primary habitats for the boto, also known as the Amazon river dolphin, along with the Orinoco. The largest species of river dolphin is this one. The Amazon basin’s shallow waters are home to anacondas.
Neotropical fishes, like the neon tetra and freshwater angelfish, which are common aquarium species, are mostly found in the Amazonian aquatic fauna. As of 2011, there were about 5,600 species recognized, and roughly fifty new species are identified annually.
1. Nile River
With a length of 6,695 kilometers (4,160 miles) from the point of origin to its drainage, the Nile is the longest river in the world. Much of East Africa is connected by the Nile as it flows north, passing through 11 countries which includes Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Egypt. The river has two main tributaries: the White and the Blue Niles. It’s Africa’s second-biggest basin. The basin occupies over 10% of the African continent, with an area of approximately 3.2 million km2.
- Country of Origin: Peru
- Total length: 6695 Km (4160 miles)
- Countries Covered: Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Egypt
For thousands of years, the river has served as a source of irrigation, transforming the deserted terrain around it into fertile agricultural land. Today, the river remains a critical freshwater resource for millions of northeast Africans who rely on it for farming, drinking water, fishing, and hydroelectric power. The Nile is extremely important in the economies of the Nile Basin countries, particularly in the agricultural sector. Farmers in the Nile Basin countries rely on water to cultivate their crops. Cotton, wheat, sugar cane, dates, legumes, and citrus fruits are a few of the most prominent crops.
Numerous fish species can be found in the Nile, such as the tigerfishes, bolti, barbel, catfish, elephant-nose fish, and Nile perch. Hippos, lungfish, and monitor lizards are among the other species that inhabit the Nile. It is also the home to the Nile crocodile which is one of the largest crocodiles in the world.
Conclusion
Hope you liked the list of top 10 longest river systems in the world. You can also read our other articles related to the science and the list of top 10s.
Also Don’t Forget to Check the list of
Top 10 Fastest Land Animals in the World
Top 10 Richest Countries in the World
Top 10 Poorest Countries in the World
Top 10 Happiest Countries in the World
Top 10 Fastest Flying Birds in the World
Top 10 Largest Snakes in The World
Video Reference
Other References
- https://www.nps.gov/miss/riverfacts.htm
- https://www.wwf.org.uk/where-we-work/places/yangtze-asias-longest-river
- https://www.careerpower.in/longest-river-in-the-world.html
- https://journals.openedition.org/cybergeo/4141?lang=es
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00207233.2015.1039285
- https://angusadventures.com/adventurer-handbook/yeniseyriver/
- https://www.internationalrivers.org/where-we-work/africa/congo/
