A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2010) |
This is a list of the longest rivers on Earth. It includes river systems over 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) in length.
Definition of length
There are many factors, such as the identification of the source,[1] the identification or the definition of the mouth, and the scale of measurement[2] of the river length between source and mouth, that determine the precise meaning of "river length". As a result, the length measurements of many rivers are only approximations (see also coastline paradox). In particular, there seems to exist disagreement as to whether the Nile[3] or the Amazon[4] is the world's longest river. The Nile has traditionally been considered longer, but in 2007 and 2008 some scientists claimed that the Amazon is longer[5][6][7] by measuring the river plus the adjacent Pará estuary and the longest connecting tidal canal.[8] A peer-reviewed article published 2009 in the International Journal of Digital Earth concludes that the Nile is longer.[9]
Even when detailed maps are available, the length measurement is not always clear. A river may have multiple channels, or anabranches. The length may depend on whether the center or the edge of the river is measured. It may not be clear how to measure the length through a lake or reservoir. Seasonal and annual changes may alter both rivers and lakes. Other factors that can change the length of a river include cycles of erosion and flooding, dams, levees, and channelization. In addition, the length of meanders can change significantly over time due to natural or artificial cutoffs, when a new channel cuts across a narrow strip of land, bypassing a large river bend. For example, due to 18 cutoffs created between 1766 and 1885, the length of the Mississippi River from Cairo, Illinois, to New Orleans, Louisiana, was reduced by 351 kilometres (218 miles).[10]
These points make it difficult, if not impossible, to get an accurate measurement of the length of a river. The varying accuracy and precision also makes it difficult to make length comparisons between different rivers without a degree of uncertainty.
List of river systems longer than 1,000 km
For most rivers, different sources provide conflicting information on the length of a river system. The information in different sources is between parentheses.
 |
| Continent color key | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | Asia | Australia | Europe | North America | South America |
| Rank | River | Length (km) | Length (miles) | Drainage area (km2) [citation needed] |
Average discharge (m3/s) [citation needed] |
Outflow | Countries in the drainage basin [citation needed] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Nile–White Nile–Kagera–Nyabarongo–Mwogo–Rukarara[n 1] | 6,650[3] (7,088)[9] |
4,130[3] (4,404)[9] |
3,254,555 | 2,800 | Mediterranean | Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Egypt, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan |
| 2. | Amazon–Ucayali–Tambo–Ene–Mantaro[n 1] | 6,400[4] (6,575)[9] |
3,976[4] (4,086)[9] |
7,000,000[4] | 209,000 | Atlantic Ocean | Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana |
| 3. | Yangtze–Jinsha–Tongtian–Dangqu (Chang Jiang) |
6,300 (6,418) |
3,917 (3,988) |
1,800,000 | 30,166 | East China Sea | China |
| 4. | Mississippi–Missouri–Jefferson–Beaverhead–Red Rock–Hell Roaring | 6,275 |
3,902 |
2,980,000 | 16,792 | Gulf of Mexico | United States (98.5%), Canada (1.5%) |
| 5. | Yenisey–Angara–Selenga–Ider | 5,539 |
3,445 |
2,580,000 | 18,050 | Kara Sea | Russia (97%), Mongolia (2.9%) |
| 6. | Yellow River (Huang He) |
5,464 |
3,395 |
745,000 | 2,571 | Bohai Sea | China |
| 7. | Ob–Irtysh | 5,410 | 3,364 | 2,990,000 | 12,475 | Gulf of Ob | Russia, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia |
| 8. | Río de la Plata–Paraná–Rio Grande[12] | 4,880 |
3,030 |
2,582,672 | 22,000 | Río de la Plata | Brazil (46.7%), Argentina (27.7%), Paraguay (13.5%), Bolivia (8.3%), Uruguay (3.8%) |
| 9. | Congo–Lualaba-Luvua-Luapula-Chambeshi (Zaïre) |
4,700 |
2,922 |
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 |
| 10. | Amur–Argun–Kherlen (Heilong Jiang) |
4,444 | 2,763 | 1,855,000 | 11,400 | Sea of Okhotsk | Russia, China, Mongolia |
| 11. | Lena | 4,400 |
2,736 |
2,490,000 | 15,500 | Laptev Sea | Russia |
| 12. | Mekong (Lancang Jiang) |
4,350 | 2,705 | 810,000 | 16,000 | South China Sea | China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam |
| 13. | Mackenzie–Slave–Peace–Finlay | 4,241 |
2,637 |
1,790,000 | 10,300 | Beaufort Sea | Canada |
| 14. | Niger | 4,200 |
2,611 |
2,090,000 | 5,589 | 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 |
| 15. | Brahmaputra–Yarlung Tsangpo | 3,969 | 2,466 | 712,035 | 19,800[13][14] | Ganges | India (58.0%), China (19.7%), Nepal (9.0%), Bangladesh (6.6%), Disputed India/China (4.2%), Bhutan (2.4%) |
| 16. | Murray–Darling–Culgoa–Balonne–Condamine | 3,672[15] | 2,282 |
1,061,000 | 767 | Southern Ocean | Australia |
| 17. | Tocantins–Araguaia | 3,650 | 2,270 | 950,000 | 13,598 | Atlantic Ocean (Marajó Bay), Amazon Delta | Brazil |
| 18. | Volga | 3,645 | 2,266 | 1,380,000 | 8,080 | Caspian Sea | Russia |
| 19. | Shatt al-Arab–Euphrates–Murat | 3,596 |
2,236 |
884,000 | 856 | Persian Gulf | Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran |
| 20. | Madeira–Mamoré–Grande–Caine–Rocha | 3,380 | 2,100 | 1,485,200 | 31,200 | Amazon | Brazil, Bolivia, Peru |
| 21. | Purús | 3,211 | 1,995 | 63,166 | 8,400 | Amazon | Brazil, Peru |
| 22. | Yukon | 3,185 | 1,980[10] | 850,000 | 6,210 | Bering Sea | United States (59.8%), Canada (40.2%) |
| 23. | Indus–Sênggê Zangbo | 3,180 | 1,976 | 960,000 | 7,160 | Arabian Sea | Pakistan (93%), India and China |
| 24. | São Francisco | 3,180* (2,900) |
1,976* (1,802) |
610,000 | 3,300 | Atlantic Ocean | Brazil |
| 25. | Syr Darya–Naryn | 3,078 | 1,913 | 219,000 | 703 | Aral Sea | Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan |
| 26. | Salween (Nu Jiang) |
3,060 | 1,901 | 324,000 | 3,153[16] | Andaman Sea | China (52.4%), Myanmar (43.9%), Thailand (3.7%) |
| 27. | Saint Lawrence–Niagara–Detroit–Saint Clair–Saint Marys–Saint Louis–North (Great Lakes) | 3,058 | 1,900[10] | 1,030,000 | 10,100 | Gulf of Saint Lawrence | Canada (52.1%), United States (47.9%) |
| 28. | Rio Grande | 3,057 | 1,900[10] | 570,000 | 82 | Gulf of Mexico | United States (52.1%), Mexico (47.9%) |
| 29. | Lower Tunguska | 2,989 | 1,857 | 473,000 | 3,600 | Yenisei | Russia |
| 30. | Colorado-Green (western U.S.) | 2,945 | 1,830[17] | 390,000 | 1,200 | Gulf of California | United States, Mexico |
| 31. | Danube–Breg (Donau, Dunăre, Duna, Dunav, Dunaj) | 2,888* | 1,795* | 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%), Croatia (4.5%), Ukraine (3.8%) |
| 32. | Irrawaddy River–N'Mai River–Dulong River–Kelaoluo–Gada Qu | 2,809* | 1,745.8* | 404,200* | 13,000* | Andaman Sea | China, Myanmar |
| 33. | Zambezi (Zambesi) |
2,740* | 1,703* | 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 |
| 34. | Vilyuy | 2,720 | 1,700 | 454,000 | 1,480 | Lena | Russia |
| 35. | Padma-Ganges-Alaknanda (Ganga) | 2,704[18] | 1,690 | 1,024,000 | 12,037[19] | Bay of Bengal | India, Bangladesh, Nepal |
| 36. | Amu Darya–Panj | 2,620 | 1,628 | 534,739 | 1,400 | Aral Sea | Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan |
| 37. | Japurá (Caquetá) | 2,615* | 1,625* | 242,259 | 6,000 | Amazon | Brazil, Colombia |
| 38. | Nelson–Saskatchewan–South Saskatchewan–Bow | 2,570 | 1,597 | 1,093,000 | 2,575 | Hudson Bay | Canada, United States |
| 39. | Paraguay (Rio Paraguay) | 2,549 | 1,584 | 900,000 | 4,300 | Paraná | Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina |
| 40. | Kolyma | 2,513 | 1,562 | 644,000 | 3,800 | East Siberian Sea | Russia |