Top 10 Longest River in the world 2020

Rivers are one of the greatest gifts from the mother nature. They offer stunning views, support rich ecosystems, and enable efficient transportation. Almost all of the greatest civilizations throughout human history have flourished on the banks of rivers. Here we take a look at the top 10 longest rivers in the world. Experts define a river as a natural watercourse flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river.

The topic of the longest river in the world has been a much-debated issue for the past two decades. The technique of the length measurements varies from one group to another, and therefore we have a range of lengths in which the river’s length lies. Also taken into consideration is the furthest water source which drains into the river. Therefore, it is a much-debated topic.

In this list of rivers, we have taken the longest lengths of the rivers from all the lengths provided. Happy Reading and Discovering some facts about the longest water bodies in the world.

10. Amur-Argun-Kherlen River

Location: Russia, China, Mongolia

Kilometer: 4,444 km

Miles: 2,763

The Amur or Heilong Jiang (as it is known in Chinese) is the tenth longest river and it flows through the nations of Russia, China, and Mongolia. This river is called “Beige” by the Chinese, which means the black river. Along with salmon and Sturgeon, there are about 140 different types of fish found in the waters of Amur, which is more than any Russian River. The water does not enter the rivers through the glaciers but through the monsoon. In addition, the river has breath-taking views and floods annually, like many other Russian Rivers.

9. Congo - Chambeshi River

Location: Central Africa

Kilometer: 4,700 km

Miles: 2,922

The ninth longest river ending in the Atlantic Ocean travels through Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Angola, Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Cameroon, Zambia, Burundi, and Rwanda. The Congo River is not only one of the top 10 longest rivers in the world but also holds the crown of being the deepest river with measured depths of 720 feet in some places. This 2,922 miles long river is also the third largest on the planet by the volume of water discharged. It also happens to be the only river in the world to cross the equator twice. It was previously known as the Zaire River.

8. Rio de la Plata River

Location: Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay

Kilometer: 4,294 km

Miles: 2736

This approximately five thousand kilometres long river runs through five countries- Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Uruguay.It is an important economic resource for these nations. It joins the Uruguay River to form the Rio de la Plata estuary that serves as the core fishing ground. This water body may be considered a river, an estuary, a gulf or a marginal sea. If considered a river, it is the widest river in the world with a width of about 2,000 kilometres. The Rio de la Plata River is the second longest river in South America.

 

7. Ob - Irtysh River

Location: Russia, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia

Kilometer: 5,410 km

Miles: 3,364

This river runs through Russia, Kazakhstan, China, and Mongolia before draining into the Gulf of Ob. This river is an inexhaustible water resource of great importance to the Russian Federation. Moreover, interestingly, this river flows from the South to the North, unlike most Russian Rivers. This river is home to almost fifty kinds of fish. Ob River is frozen for half of the year. It is one of the three great Siberian Rivers – the other two being the Lena and the Yenisei.

6. Yellow River

Location: China

Kilometres: 5,464 km

Miles: 3,398

The Yellow River, also known as Huang He, is one of the longest rivers in China. It is called the Yellow River because the colour of the river turns yellow to the presence of less sediment. It has a very slow flow and is one of the muddiest major rivers in the world. The Hukou Waterfall that originates from his river is the second largest waterfall in China. It is often described as “the cradle of Chinese civilization” because its basin is the birthplace of the ancient Chinese civilization. According to experts, its water is so polluted that it is unhealthy for people to drink. About a third of the fish species in the river are estimated to have gone extinct. It originates in the Bayankala Mountains in Qinghai province and drains into the Bohai Sea.

5. Yenisei - Angara - Selenga River

Location: Russia, Mongolia

Kilometer: 5,539 km

Miles: 3,445

This major part of this river flows through Russia (97%) and the remaining through Mongolia (2.9%). The Yenisei is the longest river in Russia. It flows towards the Arctic Ocean and drains into the Kara Sea. Its tributaries are the Angara River, the Lower Tunguska, and the Tunguska River. Many ancient Siberian nomadic tribes lived on the banks of the Yenisei River. This river is a great source of hydroelectric power. Not only this, an oil refinery lies on one of its tributaries. Salmon and Sturgeon are amongst the most found fish in the river, which makes a brilliant spot for fishing.

4. Mississippi - Missouri River

Location: USA

Kilometer: 6,275 km

Miles: 3917

Ending in the Gulf of Mexico, this river flows mainly through the United States, (98.5%) and the rest through Canada (1.5%). The Mississippi- Missouri river system is the largest in the USA and North America. This River also has the world’s fourth largest drainage basin, which covers more than 3,220,000 square kilometres. In and around the river, more than 260 fish species, 325 bird species, 59 mammal species, and 145 amphibian species have been found.

3. Yangtze River

Location: China

Kilometer: 6300 km

Miles: 3,988

The Yangtze River is also known as Chang Jiang. It originates in the Tibetan Plateau and drains into the East China Sea. Yangtze translates to “child of the ocean.” The Yangtze is also the longest river in Asia and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. The Three Gorges Dam on the river is the biggest hydroelectric dam in the world. It houses various animal, fish and plant species, some of which, including the Chinese Alligator, the Finless Porpoise and the Chinese Paddlefish are endangered.

2. Amazon River

Location: South America

Kilometer: 6,992 km

Miles: 4,345

This Central American river is the second largest and runs through Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Guyana. The river originates from various tributaries and ends in the Atlantic Ocean. It is considered smaller than the Nile because of the way it is defined, and the Para River is technically not a part of it. Anyway, it has the title of holding the largest amount of water at any given point of time. Its average water discharge is higher than the next seven longest rivers combined. There are over 3000 species of fish (including piranhas) found in the waters of this river, along with the giant anacondas.

1. Nile River

Location: North East Africa   

Kilometer: 7,088 km

Miles: 4,404

The Nile River is the longest river in the world, which is about 7,088 km long. This African wonder travels through eleven countries, which include Ethiopia, Eretria, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Egypt, Congo, and South Sudan. The river is the lifeline of South Sudan and Egypt. There are mainly two tributaries of this mighty river- the Blue Nile, which starts in Ethiopia and the White Nile, which starts in South Sudan.

The tributaries merge in the Sudanese city of Khartoum and flow north into the Mediterranean Sea. More than 95% of the Egyptian population lives within a few miles of the banks of Nile. It is also home to wonderful wildlife, and the cause of the annual two-week holiday in Egypt called the ‘Wafaa an-Nil’.