It is not for nothing that the Earth is called the blue planet. Most of the surface of our world is covered with water. She creates oceans, seas, lakes and, of course, rivers. There are a huge number of rivers on our planet: from very small to huge ones, which cross entire continents and carry their waters for thousands of kilometers. Rivers are of great importance to humans. Built near rivers major cities, they give people drinking water and irrigate our fields; people transport a huge amount of cargo along rivers.

Sometimes it is difficult to determine the length of a river because it is not always possible to tell where one river ends and the next begins. We have compiled a list for you that includes the longest rivers in the world.

10. Cupid | 4500 km

It flows in the Russian Far East, on the Russian-Chinese border itself. The total length of the river is 4,500 kilometers. This river separates the Russian Far East from the northeastern provinces of China. The Amur flows into the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, its drainage basin area is 1.85 million square kilometers. The area that surrounds the river is a refuge for many rare species of plants and animals.

9. Congo | 4700 km

- one of the greatest rivers of the African continent. It flows through Central Africa and is the second (after the Nile) longest river on the African continent. The total length of the Congo is 4,700 kilometers. Its second name is Zaire. The drainage basin of this river covers several countries: Democratic Republic Congo, Central African Republic, Angola, Tanzania, Cameroon, Zambia, Burundi and Rwanda. Total area The drainage basin is over 4 million square kilometers. Congo flows into Atlantic Ocean. It is of great economic importance for the African continent.

8. Parana | 4880 km

Another large South American river. In its length it is second only to the Amazon. The Paraná is 4,880 kilometers long and flows through several South American countries: Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia and Uruguay and is of great importance for the whole world. The Parana is formed by the confluence of two large rivers: the Paranaiba and the Rio Grande. The river flows into the Atlantic Ocean near the city of Buenos Aires. The river's drainage basin area is 2.58 million square kilometers. The Paraná is one of the main waterways of the continent. In the lower reaches of the river, shipping is very developed, which connects the cities located on the river.

7. Ob | 5410 km

Ob – great Siberian river, which has a length of 5410 kilometers. It flows through the entire territory of Siberia and flows into the Arctic Ocean. The river begins in Altai, at the confluence of two rivers: the Biya and the Katun. Its drainage basin area is almost 3 million square kilometers. This river ranks first in Russia in terms of length. The Ob is of great economic importance: hydroelectric power stations have been built on the river, and there are several reservoirs.

6. Yellow River | 5464 km

Yellow River or Yellow River is the second largest river in China. The length of the river is 5464 kilometers. The river got its name because of the yellow color that the Shaanxi loess plateaus give it. The Yellow River begins on the mountain plateaus in Tibet, crosses the entire Chinese territory and flows into the Yellow Sea. This river is considered the cradle of Chinese civilization. The Yellow River changes its course very often. The area of ​​the river basin is 750 thousand square kilometers. The river provides water for irrigation and drinking water to 140 million people. A large number of large cities were built on this river.

5. Yenisei | 5539 km

- This is one of the longest rivers in Siberia. It begins on the border of Mongolia and eastern Russia. It flows through all of Siberia and flows into the Kara Sea. Its total length is 5539 kilometers, and its drainage basin area is more than 2.8 million square kilometers. Numerous hydroelectric power stations were built on this river, which supply industrial enterprises in Siberia with electricity. The construction of these huge structures had a negative impact on the ecology of the region. In addition, the Yenisei is the most important waterway in Western Siberia.

4. Mississippi | 6275 km

Mississippi- the largest river North America. Its length is 3902 miles or 6275 kilometers. It starts in northern Minnesota and flows into the Gulf of Mexico. The source of the river is Lake Itasca. Another major river in North America, the Missouri, will flow into the Mississippi. The Mississippi is fed by rivers in 31 American states and two Canadian provinces. The total area of ​​the Mississippi drainage basin is 3.27 million square kilometers. The name of this river is translated from the language of the local Indians as “big (great) river.” It is of great importance for the US economy. There is active navigation on the river; a huge variety of cargo and passengers are transported along it.

3. Yangtze | 6300 km

(6300 kilometers) is the largest river in China, which originates among the Himalayan glaciers and flows into the South China Sea. The basin area of ​​this river is 1.8 million square kilometers. The Yangtze divides China into northern and southern parts. This river is of great importance for the Chinese economy. The largest Chinese hydroelectric power stations were built on it, and the largest cities in China are located on this river.

2. Amazon | 6400 km

The length of this river is 6400 kilometers. formed at the confluence of two rivers. The river's drainage basin covers more than 7 million square kilometers (almost the size of Australia). Mighty rivers flow into the Amazon. It flows through the South American continent and flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

The basin of this river is even larger than that of the Nile. The Amazon flows through the following countries: Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Guyana. Its waters roll through the tropical forests of South America, which are home to large quantity wild animals. The Amazon rainforest is of great importance to the biosphere of our planet.

1. Neil | 6650 km

Nile is the longest river on our planet. Its length is 6650 kilometers. It is located in the northeastern part of Africa and flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The river flows through Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and Egypt. The Nile originates in the central part of the continent, among African lakes, passes through the sands of the Sahara and forms a delta when it flows into the Mediterranean Sea.

Its drainage basin area is more than 3 million square kilometers. 300 million people live in the basin of this river and their lives are connected with the Nile. Large hydroelectric power stations have been built on this river and large canals have been dug. Navigation on the Nile is of great importance to several countries. The Nile is the cradle of one of the most ancient human civilizations - the civilization of Ancient Egypt.

The greatest activity of the water element is observed in rivers, where water is always in motion. The most powerful water flow originates from a small stream and gradually, gaining strength, transforms into a large river that carries water over long distances.

Since ancient times, people settled near rivers, since fresh water was necessary for domestic needs and transportation of goods. by water transport. The length of some rivers is quite difficult to measure for various reasons: it is difficult to determine the sources and mark the confluence of some reservoirs. So, which is the longest river in the world, the Amazon or the Nile?

List of the longest rivers. Top 15

1. Amazon− the longest river in the world. The Amazon is rightfully recognized as the longest and deepest river in the world, its length is 6992 km. and she is in South America. This huge river has the largest drainage basin. It originates from the sources of two rivers: the Ucayali and Marañon. Some scientists find it difficult to give exact data on the length of the Amazon, even with the help of satellite calculations. The fact is that the sources have different locations and the length can be calculated from each of them. If we take into account the Ucayali River, the length of the Amazon becomes more than 7000 km. In length, the Amazon is ahead of the Nile.
2. Nile. The second longest river in terms of length is the Nile, located on the continent of Africa. Its length is 6852 km. This river starts from the East African Plateau and moves north, crossing several large states from Rwanda to Egypt, then flows into the Mediterranean Sea.
3. Yangtze. The Yangtze is the third longest river in the world. The powerful water flow that horizontally divides China into two parts is of great importance for the culture and history of the entire Chinese people. The length of the river is 6300 km. The Yangtze begins with glaciers in the mountains of Tibet, located at an altitude of 5600 km, and moves across the country to the South China Sea. The country's largest cities and powerful hydroelectric power stations are located on its banks. The Yangtze basin has an area of ​​1,800,000 square km, making it the first on the Eurasian continent.
   
   
4. Yellow River. Or in other words, the “Yellow River”, has a length of 5464 km and is the second largest river in China. It got its name from its yellow color specific to water. The reason for this is the loess (mountain limestone) that enters it from the Shaanxi Plateau. The river originates in the Tibetan highlands, and then moves to east direction, flowing into the Yellow Sea. The historical significance of the Yellow River is difficult to exaggerate, because it accompanies the birth of Chinese civilization. The river water is used for domestic needs and drinking.
5. Mekong- located on the territory of the Indochina Peninsula and flowing through several large countries from Vietnam to China. It has a length of 4500 km and originates in the Tibetan highlands, after turning in a southwestern direction. The water from the river is used by local residents to irrigate their rice fields. The largest delta, located in Vietnam, is often at risk of flooding and landslides.
6. Lena. The longest river in Russia with a length of 4400 km, including its delta. Its pool completely belongs to the expanses of our homeland. The sources of the river are located on the territory of the Baikal ridge. South of Yakutsk it merges with two powerful tributaries (Vilyui, Aldan), which expand the Lena up to 10 km. Even further south, mountain ranges prevent the river from flooding and speed up the flow. Near the mouth, the river diverges into numerous branches, which form a single large delta. The powerful current ends its path, flowing into the Laptev Sea.
7. Parana. The second major river in South America. It moves from the north of the continent to the south, crossing 3 large states, then flowing into the Gulf of La Plata. The river is navigable and is economically significant natural object, as it goes out into the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
8. Congo (or Zaire). One of the most powerful and longest rivers of the African continent with a length of 4374 km. The river has significant economic importance for the countries it crosses or passes in close proximity to, from the Central African Republic to Rwanda. The area of ​​the river basin is very vast - 4,000,000 square meters. km.
9. The Irtysh is the largest tributary (4248 km) feeding the Ob River. It moves across the lands of three states at once: Chinese, Kazakh and Russian. The river provides a water supply system for several regions. Together with the Ob River, its length is 5410 km, making it the longest in Russia.
10. Niger- a river flowing through the territory West Africa, with an unusual flow trajectory reminiscent of a boomerang. It has a length of 4180 km. The source of the Niger is located 240 km from Atlantic coast, after which it turns in the other direction. Having drawn an unusual route for itself, the Niger flows into the Atlantic.
11. Mississippi– the largest river in North America (3770 km). Its powerful tributary is the Missouri. The Mississippi Basin includes 31 American state, several provinces of Canada, covering an area of ​​3,270,000 sq. meters. The aborigines of these places (Indians) gave it a name that means “great” or “big”. Active navigation is constantly carried out on its waters.
12. Missouri- in length it lags behind the Mississippi by only 3 km. The source of the river is hidden in the mountains of Montana. It flows in a southeast direction and empties into the Mississippi near the city of St. Louis. Recently, navigation on the river has not been as important as before due to growing competition from other transport.
13. Ob- the greatest river crossing the entire territory of the Siberian region. Its sources are located in Altai at the confluence of the Katun and Biya. It is of significant importance for the Russian Federation: regular shipping is carried out along it and several hydroelectric power stations have been built. The length is (3650 km).
14. Volga. The longest river in Europe (3530 km), starting on the Valdai Hills and moving towards the Caspian Sea. Interesting fact – at its mouth the river is 28 meters below ocean level.
15. Yenisei. Another powerful and large river of Siberia, originating on the border of Russia with Mongolia. The Yenisei has a length of 3487 km. It is this river that divides the Siberian lands into two parts: Eastern and Western, then flowing into the Kara Sea. A cascade of hydroelectric power stations was built on it, which supply large Siberian industrial enterprises with electricity. The Yenisei also plays an important role in the country’s economy, as shipping takes place on its waters. However, the construction of reservoirs had a negative impact on the ecology of the reservoir.

The longest river in Belarus is the Dnieper, its total length is 2145 kilometers, and on the territory of Belarus the length of the river is 690 kilometers.

Every person probably knows what a river is. The fact that the presence of rivers on our planet is important not only for the beauty of the landscape, for animals and flora, but also for nature as a whole, cannot be denied. All historical data indicate that settlement on the banks of rivers has always been convenient for humans in all respects. We can say that rivers connected people.

If you choose the most large rivers on earth, then it is probably necessary to know the basic characteristics that indicate the length of the river and its size. You also need to know about the annual flow of the river, the area of ​​the drainage basin, what the river’s maximum water flow is and many other indicators.

From the source (the place where the river originates) to the mouth (the place where the river flows into another body of water, such as a lake, sea, ocean or flows into another river), following the river bed, the length of the river is measured, otherwise - length. However, the procedure for measuring length is a very difficult task. As you know, the largest water arteries have wide channels, but the length of one bank may not coincide with the length of the opposite bank. Although, this problem was solved in a certain way: when talking about the length of rivers, they take into account the length of the channel along the so-called fairway - this is the line of greatest depths.

The length of rivers may change, and other obstacles may also arise. A more or less simple task is to determine the location of the river mouth. However, there was a “but” here too. Those rivers that have a wide mouth-estuary come out of this list of simple tasks. In such cases, determining the end of the river and determining the beginning of the bay is considered incredibly difficult.

If we consider the mouth, which is called the delta, questions are possible: which of the branches is the most important? Which is the widest? Which is the longest and deepest? Sometimes these characteristics coincide, but rarely. If you determine the length of a water flow, you need to be extremely accurate, because even a few kilometers can change the location of the place that a particular water artery occupies in the general list of the longest rivers in the world.

The longest rivers in the world List of rivers more than 3,000 km long.
Name	Length, km	Location
Neil with Kagera	6 671 / 6 852 /	Africa
Amazon from Marañon	6 437 /6 992 /	South America
Mississippi from Missouri	6 420 (3 950)*	North America
Yangtze	5 800	Asia
Ob with Irtysh	5 410 (3 650)*	Siberia
Yellow River	4 845	Asia
Missouri	4 740	North America
Mekong	4 500	Asia
Cupid with Argun	4 444 (2 824)*	Asia
Lena	4 400	Asia
Parana	4 380	South America
Congo	4 374	Africa
Mackenzie with Peace and Finley	4 241	North America
Niger	4 180	Africa
Yenisei	4 287	Asia
Murray/Murry with Darling	3 750	Australia
Volga	3 531	Europe
Yukon	3 185	North America
Indus	3 180	Asia
Euphrates with Murat	3 065	Eurasia
St. Lawrence	3 058	North America
* Length of the main river in brackets

Determining the source will not take painstaking work. For example, on the Valdai Hills there is a spring from which a stream originates, which from its upper reaches is called the Volga. A chapel was built at this place. And the location of the source in this example is determined with maximum accuracy. If a river flows out of a lake, then in this case it will also not be difficult to determine the source location. By the way, the Neva flows from Lake Ladoga(Shlisselburg area).

However, doubts still sometimes torment. There are times when the tributary is longer than the river itself. For example, the length of the Missouri River is 4710 km, but the section of the Mississippi above the confluence of the Missouri is less than twice as long - 2240 km. The Irtysh River is 4248 km long, and the section of the Ob River above the mouth of the Irtysh is 3176 km long.

We were able to note that historically it turned out that sometimes a tributary can be longer than a river. However, when determining the length of a river, the length of its tributary is always taken into account (for example, the Amur with the Argun, the Mississippi and the Missouri and others).

It also happens that rivers form two smaller rivers merging together. The well-known Nile was formed due to the confluence of the Blue Nile and the White Nile. The Amur River is from the confluence of the Arguni and Shilka, the Pyanj is from the confluence of the Vakhandarya and Pamir, and the Amu Darya is from the confluence of the Pyanj and Vakhsh. Along the way from source to mouth, some sections of the river bear different names. In this case, to determine the total length of the river, the longest branch is taken into account. But if this branch was formed from the confluence of two rivers, then, again, the length is calculated based on the longest river.

Three rivers have, for the past 40-50 years, been eligible to claim the "mark" of being the longest river in the world.
Initially, the Mississippi and Missouri were considered the longest rivers. Soon, when geographers' memory returned, they remembered the fact that the Nile River itself does not originate at all from the confluence of the Blue and White Nile, but only receives one name. The White Nile flows from Lake Victoria, at the same time, the river flows into it in the upper reaches of Rukara, a little further - Katera. After doing the math, the river's path was longer than that of the Mississippi and Missouri.

Many years passed, and the Nile remained the longest river. And here again the scientists became wise. They remembered that the confluence of two rivers forms the Amazon. These are the Marañona and Ucayali rivers. For many years, the Marañon branch was considered the deepest and most important. However, geographers have recently been able to recognize that the Ucayali River is, after all, longer than the Marañon. The Ucayali River is formed by the confluence of the Urumaba and Tambo rivers.

In addition, there has always been controversy about which stream of the main artery of South America is considered its source.
Sometimes, river tributaries are so long that they can claim to be the longest water flows. The Missouri, in turn, ranks seventh in length in the world, however, it is considered only the main tributary of the Mississippi. This allows the latter to take third place among other rivers around the globe.

There is rarely any debate about the drainage basins of different rivers. Sometimes the thought arises, while studying landforms, that a certain area should be considered a river basin, although moisture from it does not flow into the river, because there is a desert there.

This ambiguity does not allow us to correctly determine the western boundary of the Nile basin in its currents: lower and middle. But most often, the territory of drainage basins is not difficult to determine.

There is a well-established rule according to which the larger the volume of the river's annual flow, the larger the area of ​​the drainage basin. In such data, the Amazon basin took first place. The second place was taken by the Congo River. It is two times smaller than the Amazon, and according to calculations of water flow per year, it is five times smaller. The reason is understandable, because in the Congo region the amount of precipitation is much less, although they are located in almost the same latitudes with the Amazon. The third place in terms of annual flows is occupied by the Yangtze. This is facilitated by heavy rains. They also favored Orinoco to take fourth place, and in terms of pool area they are in the top ten.

And the number of such examples has no end. But there is only one conclusion: no two are alike. natural conditions, and each river lives its own life with its own indicators. But the most common indicator is the length of the river.

Life on Earth is impossible without fresh water, the main supplier of which is waterways. The largest rivers were originally the cradle of human civilization.

It is difficult to overestimate their importance; it is not for nothing that they are called rivers of life. This includes drinking water, solving the food problem, farming, and obtaining electrical energy, without which it is impossible modern life on the planet, and finally transport links.

Let's look at the top five - the world's greatest blue arteries.

The list of honors is headed by the Amazon - the heart of South America.

Until recently, this great river was considered only the second longest on the planet after the Nile. But, having accepted the source of the Ucayali as the true origin, scientists have now officially recognized the Amazon as the longest waterway in the world, with a length of over 7,000 km.

This river holds the largest volume of water in the world. Originating in the highlands of the Peruvian Andes, the water flow reaches the Brazilian delta and is lost in the Atlantic Ocean. It absorbs the power of 40% of the waters of South America.

The most big river The planet floods so much during the rainy season that under its waters there are forests the size of England, and during the drought, tons of fish are isolated in the resulting lagoons. This creates a paradise for predators.

There are a lot of caimans here - reptiles of the crocodile family. There are several million of them thanks to state program for the protection of caimans, and only 30-40 years ago this species of crocodiles was on the verge of extinction.

About 3,000 species of fish live in the depths of the blue artery, of which only 2/3 are well studied. The legendary Amazonian Inia, a species of river dolphin, is also found here. The length of this exotic animal reaches 3 meters, and its weight is 90 kg. The Amazonian ini's brain is 40% larger than a human's. Animals are incredibly intelligent and naturally very playful. These dolphins are found in different shades - from light gray to pink. And although they are naturally blind, nature has given them special organs - sonars, with the help of which they unmistakably find their food.

The Amazon crosses the whole of South America: from the Peruvian headwaters to the Brazilian delta. The river basin is tangled with thousands of tributaries flowing into the largest artery on earth. And although its glacial origins lie high in the Peruvian Andes, the history of the Amazon begins 1,800 km downstream, where the Ucayali and Marañon rivers meet. Only after their confluence in the jungles of Peru is the river called the Amazon.

Approximately 4000 km downstream are dark clear waters The Rio Negro flows into the muddy stream of the Amazon. For 11 km, black and brown waters flow side by side before finally mixing together. More than 8 km wide and up to 100 m deep, at this point the Amazon turns into a trade route through which goods from the heart of the jungle (timber, soybeans) can reach the open sea.

The water artery reaches its 240-kilometer delta with such force that it pushes the salty water of the Atlantic Ocean 100 km from the land. The power of its flow is incredible!

The waters of the Amazon dominate everything that surrounds its shores. And although it flows through one of the most remote areas of the planet, 7 million people live on its banks. Neither the inhabitants of abandoned villages, nor the townspeople of bustling megacities can control the power of the largest river, adapting to the rules of life that it dictates to them.

Up to several hundred meters deep and up to 40 km wide, the largest river is also the deepest in the world. Man has still not been able to curb this most majestic and capricious river. From its source to its mouth, not a single bridge crosses it, not a single dam slows down its flow.

During the rainy season, the volume of water flow increases sharply, the water level rises by 20 meters. And the area occupied by the river triples. It is these powerful fluctuations in water levels that make it impossible to conquer the Amazon.

The strength of its waters and the inaccessible terrain through which it flows have protected the Amazon from harmful human intervention for many centuries. Until recently, it was still believed that nothing threatened these virgin forests of the river basin. But aggressive commercial activity human development destroys the jungle and the protection it provided to the river is gradually disappearing. But the trees of the Amazon produce about 20% of the oxygen on Earth.

Today, the region's delicate ecological balance is on the brink of no return. The river itself, its flora and fauna, and the people living here are more vulnerable than ever.

Only thanks to this river, considered sacred since ancient times, can people survive in the most difficult conditions of an arid climate and a shortage of fertile soils. After a flood, during the rainy season, the second longest waterway in the world leaves behind fertile silt, allowing rice and other crops to be cultivated on its banks. The length of this beneficial water stream is 6852 km, and the area of ​​its basin exceeds 3.3 million square meters. km.

A stream originates in the East African Plateau. It carries its waters from south to north of the African continent and flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The river separates the Arabian Desert from the Libyan. In different places, the width of the valley of life ranges from 1 km to 25 km.

95% of the country's population lives in the valley of this greatest river. The Blue Artery Delta is the most fertile area on Earth, with 3 harvests per year.

This greatest and deepest stream of Eurasia is the third in the world ranking of the largest rivers on the planet.

The length of the blue artery is 6.3 thousand km, and the area of ​​its basin is more than 1.8 million square meters. km. The river originates in the Tibetan Plateau. Passing the Sino-Tibetan Mountains, the Yangtze flows into the Sichuan Basin. On this section of the route the river is especially beautiful; its path passes through deep gorges, famous for their difficult passage. Thanks to fast current, on this section of the route the world's largest hydroelectric power station, called the Three Gorges, was built.

Further, the river makes its way through the southern part of the Great Chinese Plain. Its waters replenish four of China's five largest lakes. Dividing into branches, at the mouth the water flow forms a delta with an area of ​​about 80 thousand square meters. km. Flows into the Yangtze Pacific Ocean.

Many bridges have been built across the Yangtze, but special mention should be made of the Sutong Bridge, which ranks first among cable-stayed structures in the world in terms of length. Its length is 8 km.

The Blue Artery Delta is home to alligators and paddlefish, the largest freshwater fish on the planet. Moreover, this is the only place on earth where alligators are found outside the United States of America. There are also a lot of commercial fish here, such as carp, grass carp, and silver carp.

The river has a yellowish color due to numerous sediments from loess soils, which is why the Chinese called it the “Yellow River”. The sea into which the river flows is also called the Yellow Sea.

The Yellow River is the fourth in the world list of the greatest rivers, its length is 5464 km, and its area water basin– 700 thousand sq. km.

The waterway originates in the mountains of Tibet. Further, its path passes through the swampy plain of Sin-Su-Hai, where the river replenishes its waters and merges with lakes Tsarin-nor and Norin-nor, which are separated by a channel. Passing through the mountain ranges of Kunlun and Nanshan, the river, forming a large bend, emerges into the expanses of the Great Chinese Plain and then flows into the Yellow Sea.

Like the Nile, after flooding the Yangtze leaves a lot of fertile silt on its banks, which helps the people of China in farming. However, the Yellow River often overflows its banks and changes its course, and even numerous dams cannot calm its stormy and unpredictable nature.

Once upon a time the river was rich different types flora and fauna. But now there are practically no living creatures in it, since toxic waste from oil refineries and other hazardous industries is discharged into its waters. And although local authorities annually allocate money to clean it up, this does not bring tangible results. About 30% of the Yellow River waters are not even suitable for industrial use.

The largest Russian river is the fifth longest water stream in the world. It closes our top five largest waterways on the planet.

The length of the Ob is 5410 km. The area of ​​the river basin is almost 3 million square meters. km. At the junction of Katun and Biya, in Altai, the largest water flow originates. The river flows into the Kara Sea, first forming the Gulf of Ob (800-kilometer bay).

The river gives life-giving moisture to 30 million people, because the population of three countries of the world lives on its banks: Russia, China and Kazakhstan.

The largest water flow is of great importance for industrial and economic development surrounding areas. Oil and gas are extracted here, large-scale development and extraction of peat deposits are carried out. In addition, the Ob is a navigable river. Both freight and passenger transportation.

At the same time, the waterway basin is rich in numerous breeds of valuable commercial fish species. A third of the world's fish production comes from Ob catches. The wealth of the Ob River is sterlet, whitefish, omul, and muksun. There is a lot of pike, pike perch, ide and burbot in it.

What is a river? This is a natural watercourse that flows in a depression created by it, that is, a channel. The watercourse is fed by underground and surface runoff from its basin. Today we will talk about the largest rivers that can only be found on our planet.

Amazon. The river, which is located in South America and is considered the largest in terms of basin size, length of the river system and full flow. Just a few years ago, it was inferior in length to the Nile, but researchers, using modern equipment We found out that the Amazon is still a little longer. It turned out that its length reaches seven thousand kilometers, although this depends on the size of the sources, among other things. However, the Amazon is a great river and, moreover, several years ago was recognized as one of the natural wonders of the world.

The basin area reaches 7,200 million kilometers, most of which belongs to Brazil, smaller parts to Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia. The Amazon flows into the Atlantic Ocean, forming the largest delta in the world.

By the way, Europeans, according to surviving reports, learned about the river only in the mid-16th century, when the Spanish conquistadors took part in a campaign across Colombia.

Nile. It ranks second on our list. A river in Africa that originates on the East African Plateau and flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The length of the entire Nile drainage system today is about 6,700 km, and the basin area is more than three million square kilometers, which covers countries such as Egypt, Sudan, Rwanda, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya.

Neil is the only river V North Africa, which passes through the Sahara, thereby bringing water to the driest and hottest places on Earth. The water flow is ensured not only due to the sources, but also due to precipitation in southern regions precipitation Water from the river has been used primarily for navigation, field irrigation, fishing and water supply for thousands of years. By the way, more than 90 percent of all Egyptians live in the coastal zone.

In the 70s of the last century, the construction of the Aswan hydroelectric complex was completed, which made it possible to get rid of constant flooding. However, local residents were still not happy about these events, since with the floods they received an extremely important natural fertilizer for their lands - silt. However, at present this is no longer a problem.

Mississippi. A river in the United States that originates in Lake Itasca and flows into the Gulf of Mexico. Its length is about 6300 km. Its largest sources are: Arkansas, Ohio, Missouri, Red River, Des Moines. Illinois. By the way, Missouri is considered one of the most major tributaries in the world along with the Irtysh.

The Mississippi flows through ten states at once, and it is along it that the boundaries are determined. Thus, in the middle of the channel the boundaries of such states as Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin were established. However, over a long time, the position of the river has changed, but the state boundaries have remained unchanged. Still no one is going to change them.

The discovery of the river by Europeans supposedly took place in 1541 - it was discovered by the Spanish navigator Hernando de Soto. And at the beginning of the 16th century, Spanish expeditions entered the delta. The first European to sail the Mississippi was Robert de La Salle in 1681.

In 1926, a great flood began, as a result of which the territories of many cities were literally flooded. About 700 thousand people were affected, and the total damage from the disaster was at least $400 million.

Yangtze. The river, which flows in China, has a length of about 6,200 km. The basin area is just under two million square kilometers. The source originates near mountain ranges Tangla, in the eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau. It flows into the East China Sea through two main branches, forming a delta.

In terms of use, the Yangtze is primarily needed by local residents to irrigate fields. In addition, the river is the main shipping route in all of China. Total length waterways is about 17 thousand kilometers, along which a huge number of ships constantly sail. By this parameter, by the way, the reservoir is one of the busiest waterways on the planet.

An interesting fact about the Yangtze is that the notorious Chairman Mao Zedong swam here several times, and once swam 15 kilometers in just over an hour.

Ob. Completes our list. Together with the Irtysh, this river in Western Siberia is the longest in Russia - its length reaches 5410 km. It is formed in Altai by the confluence of two rivers - the Katun and the Biya, and flows into the Kara Sea, forming a gulf called the Gulf of Ob.

Unlike many other large rivers, the Ob is fed mainly by snow. During the spring-summer flood it brings the bulk of the annual runoff. The Ob stays under the ice for 6-8 months. The total area of ​​its basin reaches three million square kilometers, and according to this indicator it ranks first in the Russian Federation.

For a long time the Ob was used primarily for fishing. There was a huge amount of all kinds of fish, but over time, some of them simply disappeared. However, the river is now home to about 50 species of fish, many of which are of industrial value: muksun, peled, sturgeon, sterlet, pike, pike perch, perch, crucian carp, and so on.

Some large cities were built on the Ob, including Barnaul, Novosibirsk, Surgut, Salekhard.