List of rivers by length

This is a list of the longest rivers on Earth. It includes river systems over 1,000 kilometres (620 mi).

View of the River Nile, from a cruiseboat, between Luxor and Aswan in Egypt

Definition of length

There are many factors, such as 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 exists 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 The Nile has traditionally been considered longer, but in recent years two unpublished studies[5][6] have suggested that the Amazon is longer by measuring the river plus the adjacent Pará estuary and the longest connecting tidal canal.[7] A peer-reviewed article published in the International Journal of Digital Earth comes to the conclusion that the Nile is longer.[8]

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. 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 218 miles (351 km).[9]

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 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.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Legend of colors used in main table, by continent

Continent color key
Africa	Asia	Australia	Europe	North America	South America

Rank	River	Length (km)	Length (miles)	Drainage area (km^2)	Average discharge (m^3/s)	Outflow	Countries in the drainage basin
1.	Nile–White Nile–Kagera–Nyabarongo–Mwogo–Rukarara[n 1]	6,650 (7,088)	4,130 (4,404)	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]	6,575 (6,992)	4,086 (4,345)	7,050,000	209,000	Atlantic Ocean	Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana
3.	Yangtze–Jinsha–Tongtian–Ulan Moron (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.	Yenisei–Angara–Selenge–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[11]	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–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[12][13]	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[14]	2,282	1,061,000	767	Southern Ocean	Australia
17.	Tocantins–Araguaia	3,650	2,270	950,000	13,598	Atlantic Ocean, Amazon	Brazil
18.	Volga	3,645	2,266	1,380,000	8,080	Caspian Sea	Russia
19.	Indus–Sênggê Zangbo	3,610	2,250	960,000	7,160	Arabian Sea	Pakistan (93%), India and China
20.	Shatt al-Arab–Euphrates–Murat	3,596	2,236	884,000	856	Persian Gulf	Iraq (60.5%), Turkey (24.8%), Syria (14.7%)
21.	Madeira–Mamoré–Grande–Caine–Rocha	3,380	2,100	1,485,200	31,200	Amazon	Brazil, Bolivia, Peru
22.	Purús	3,211	1,995	63,166	8,400	Amazon	Brazil, Peru
23.	Yukon	3,185	1,980[9]	850,000	6,210	Bering Sea	United States (59.8%), Canada (40.2%)
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[15]	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[9]	1,030,000	10,100	Gulf of Saint Lawrence	Canada (52.1%), United States (47.9%)
28.	Rio Grande	3,057	1,900[9]	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.	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%)
31.	Irrawaddy River–N'Mai River–Dulong River–Kelaoluo–Gada Qu	2,809*	1,745.8*	404,200*	13,000*	Andaman Sea	China, Myanmar
32.	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
33.	Vilyuy	2,720	1,700	454,000	1,480	Lena	Russia
34.	Araguaia	2,704	1,690	358,125	5,510	Tocantins	Brazil
35.	Ganges–Hooghly–Padma (Ganga)	2,704[16]	1,690	1,024,000	12,037[17]	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 (Rio Yapurá)	2,615*	1,625*	242,259	6,000	Amazon	Brazil, Colombia
38.	Nelson–Saskatchewan	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
41.	Pilcomayo	2,500	1,553	270,000		Paraguay	Paraguay, Argentina, Bolivia
42.	Upper Ob–Katun	2,490	1,547			Ob	Russia
43.	Ishim	2,450	1,522	177,000	56	Irtysh	Kazakhstan, Russia
44.	Juruá	2,410	1,498	200,000	6,000	Amazon	Peru, Brazil
45.	Ural	2,428	1,509	237,000	475	Caspian Sea	Russia, Kazakhstan
46.	Arkansas	2,348	1,459	505,000 (435,122)	1,066	Mississippi	United States
47.	Colorado (western U.S.)	2,333	1,450	390,000	1,200	Gulf of California	United States, Mexico
48.	Olenyok	2,292	1,424	219,000	1,210	Laptev Sea	Russia
49.	Dnieper	2,287	1,421	516,300	1,670	Black Sea	Russia, Belarus, Ukraine
50.	Aldan	2,273	1,412	729,000	5,060	Lena	Russia
51.	Ubangi–Uele[18]	2,270	1,410	772,800	4,000	Congo	Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo
52.	Negro	2,250	1,398	720,114	26,700	Amazon	Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia
53.	Columbia	2,250 (1,953)	1,398 (1,214)	415,211	7,500	Pacific Ocean	United States, Canada
54.	Pearl–Zhu Jiang	2,200	1,376	437,000	13,600	South China Sea	China (98.5%), Vietnam (1.5%)
55.	Red (USA)	2,188	1,360	78,592	875	Mississippi	United States
56.	Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy)	2,170	1,348	411,000	13,000	Andaman Sea	Myanmar, China
57.	Kasai	2,153	1,338	880,200	10,000	Congo	Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo
58.	Ohio–Allegheny	2,102	1,306	490,603	7,957	Mississippi	United States
59.	Orinoco	2,101	1,306	1,380,000	33,000	Atlantic Ocean	Venezuela, Colombia, Guyana
60.	Tarim	2,100	1,305	557,000		Lop Nur	China
61.	Xingu	2,100	1,305			Amazon	Brazil
62.	Orange	2,092	1,300			Atlantic Ocean	South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho
63.	Northern Salado	2,010	1,249			Paraná	Argentina
64.	Vitim	1,978	1,229			Lena	Russia
65.	Tigris	1,950	1,212			Shatt al-Arab	Turkey, Iraq, Syria
66.	Songhua	1,927	1,197			Amur	China
67.	Tapajós	1,900	1,181			Amazon	Brazil
68.	Don	1,870	1,162	425,600	935	Sea of Azov	Russia, Ukraine
69.	Stony Tunguska	1,865	1,159	240,000		Yenisei	Russia
70.	Pechora	1,809	1,124	322,000	4,100	Barents Sea	Russia
71.	Kama	1,805	1,122	507,000	4,100	Volga	Russia
72.	Limpopo	1,800	1,118	413,000		Indian Ocean	Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana
73.	Chulym	1,799	1,118	134,000		Ob	Russia
74.	Guaporé (Itenez)	1,749	1,087			Mamoré	Brazil, Bolivia
75.	Indigirka	1,726	1,072	360,400	1,810	East Siberian Sea	Russia
76.	Snake	1,670	1,038	279,719	1,611	Columbia	United States
77.	Senegal	1,641	1,020	419,659		Atlantic Ocean	Guinea, Senegal, Mali, Mauritania
78.	Uruguay	1,610	1,000	370,000		Atlantic Ocean	Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil
79.	Blue Nile	1,600	994	326,400		Nile	Ethiopia, Sudan
79.	Churchill	1,600	994			Hudson Bay	Canada
79.	Khatanga	1,600	994			Laptev Sea	Russia
79.	Okavango	1,600	994			Okavango Delta	Namibia, Angola, Botswana
79.	Volta	1,600	994			Gulf of Guinea	Ghana, Burkina Faso, Togo, Côte d'Ivoire, Benin
84.	Beni	1,599	994	283,350	8,900	Madeira	Bolivia
85.	Platte	1,594	990			Missouri	United States
86.	Tobol	1,591	989			Irtysh	Kazakhstan, Russia
87.	Alazeya	1,590	988	64,700		East Siberian Sea	Russia
88.	Jubba–Shebelle	1,580*	982*			Indian Ocean	Ethiopia, Somalia
89.	Içá (Putumayo)	1,575	979			Amazon	Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador
90.	Magdalena	1,550	963	263,858	9,000	Caribbean	Colombia
91.	Han	1,532	952			Yangtze	China
92.	Kura/Mt'k'vari	1,515	941	188,400	575	Caspian Sea	Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan
93.	Oka	1,500	932	245,000	1,258	Volga	Russia
94.	Upper Murray	1,500[19]	932			Lower Murray	Australia
95.	Guaviare	1,497	930			Orinoco	Colombia
96.	Pecos	1,490	926			Rio Grande	United States
97.	Murrumbidgee River	1,485 [20]	923	84,917	120	Murray River	Australia
98.	Upper Yenisei–Little Yenisei (Kaa-Hem)	1,480	920			Yenisei	Russia, Mongolia
99.	Godavari	1,465	910	312,812	3,061	Bay of Bengal	India
100.	Colorado (Texas)	1,438	894			Gulf of Mexico	United States
101.	Río Grande (Guapay)	1,438	894	102,600	264	Ichilo	Bolivia
102.	Belaya	1,420	882	142,000	858	Kama	Russia
102.	Cooper–Barcoo	1,420	880			Lake Eyre	Australia
104.	Marañón	1,415	879			Amazon	Peru
105.	Dniester	1,411 (1,352)	877 (840)	72,100	310	Black Sea	Ukraine, Moldova
106.	Benue	1,400	870			Niger	Cameroon, Nigeria
106.	Ili (Yili)	1,400	870			Lake Balkhash	China, Kazakhstan
106.	Warburton–Georgina	1,400	870	365,000		Lake Eyre	Australia
109.	Sutlej	1,372	852			Chenab	China, India, Pakistan
110.	Yamuna	1,370	851	366,223	2,950	Ganges	India
110.	Vyatka	1,370	851	129,000	890	Kama	Russia
112.	Fraser	1,368	850	220,000	3,475	Pacific Ocean	Canada, United States[21]
113.	Grande	1,360	845			Paraná	Brazil
114.	Brazos	1,352	840			Gulf of Mexico	United States
115.	Liao	1,345	836			Bohai Sea	China
116.	Lachlan River	1,338 [20]	831	84,700	49	Murrumbidgee River	Australia
117.	Yalong	1,323	822			Yangtze	China
118.	Iguaçu	1,320	820			Paraná	Brazil, Argentina
118.	Olyokma	1,320	820			Lena	Russia
120.	Northern Dvina–Sukhona	1,302	809	357,052	3,332	White Sea	Russia
121.	Krishna	1,300	808			Bay of Bengal	India
121.	Iriri	1,300	808			Xingu	Brazil
123.	Narmada	1,289	801			Arabian Sea	India
124.	Lomami[22]	1,280	795			Congo	Democratic Republic of the Congo
125.	Ottawa	1,271	790	146,300	1,950	Saint Lawrence	Canada
126.	Lerma–Rio Grande de Santiago	1,270	789	119,543		Pacific Ocean	Mexico
127.	Elbe–Vltava	1,252	778	148,268	711	North Sea	Germany, Czech Republic
128.	Zeya	1,242	772			Amur	Russia
129.	Juruena	1,240	771			Tapajós	Brazil
130.	Upper Mississippi	1,236	768			Mississippi	United States
131.	Rhine	1,233	768	185,000 [23]	2,330	North Sea	Germany (57.3%), Switzerland (15.1%), Netherlands (12.3%), France (12.2%), Luxembourg (1.4%), Austria (1.3%), Belgium (0.4%), Liechtenstein (0.1%), Italy (0.03%)
132.	Athabasca	1,231	765	95,300		Mackenzie	Canada
133.	Canadian	1,223	760			Arkansas	United States
134.	North Saskatchewan	1,220	758			Saskatchewan	Canada
135.	Vistula–Bug	1,213	754	194,424	1,080	Baltic Sea	Poland, Belarus, Ukraine
136.	Vaal	1,210	752			Orange	South Africa
137.	Shire	1,200	746			Zambezi	Mozambique, Malawi
137.	Ogooué (or Ogowe)	1,200	746	223,856	4,706	Atlantic Ocean	Gabon, Republic of the Congo
139.	Nen (Nonni)	1,190	739			Songhua	China
140.	Kızıl River	1,182	734	115,000	400	Black Sea	Turkey
141.	Markha River	1,181	734	99,000	405	Vilyuy River	Russia
142.	Green	1,175	730			Colorado (western U.S.)	United States
143.	Milk	1,173	729			Missouri	United States, Canada
144.	Mun - Chi	1,162	722			Mekong River	Thailand
145.	Chindwin	1,158	720			Ayeyarwady	Myanmar
146.	Sankuru	1,150	715			Kasai	Democratic Republic of the Congo
146.	Wu	1,150	715	80,300	1,108	Yangtze	China
148.	Red (Asia)	1,149	714	143,700	2,640	Gulf of Tonkin	China, Vietnam
149.	James (Dakotas)	1,143	710			Missouri	United States
149.	Kapuas	1,143	710			South China Sea	Indonesia
151.	Desna	1,130	702	88,900	360	Dnieper	Russia, Belarus, Ukraine
151.	Helmand	1,130	702			Hamun-i-Helmand	Afghanistan, Iran
151.	Madre de Dios	1,130	702	125,000	4,915	Beni	Peru, Bolivia
151.	Tietê	1,130	702			Paraná	Brazil
151.	Vychegda	1,130	702	121,000	1160	Northern Dvina	Russia
156.	Sepik	1,126	700	77,700		Pacific Ocean	Papua New Guinea, Indonesia
157.	Cimarron	1,123	698			Arkansas	United States
158.	Anadyr	1,120	696			Gulf of Anadyr	Russia
158.	Paraíba do Sul	1,120	696			Atlantic Ocean	Brazil
160.	Jialing River	1,119	695			Yangtze	China
161.	Liard	1,115	693			Mackenzie	Canada
162.	Cumberland	1,105	687	46,830	862	Mississippi	United States
163.	White	1,162	722[24]			Mississippi	United States
164.	Huallaga	1,100	684			Marañón	Peru
164.	Kwango	1,100	684	263,500	2,700	Kasai	Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo
164.	Draa	1,100	684			Atlantic Ocean	Morocco
167.	Gambia	1,094	680			Atlantic Ocean	The Gambia, Senegal, Guinea
168.	Tyung	1,092	679	49,800		Vilyuy River	Russia
169.	Chenab	1,086	675			Indus	India, Pakistan
170.	Yellowstone	1,080	671	114,260		Missouri	United States
170.	Ghaghara	1,080	671	127,950	2,990	Ganges	India, Nepal, China
172.	Huai River	1,078	670	270,000	1,110	Yangtze	China
173.	Aras	1,072	665	102,000	285	Kura	Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran
174.	Chu River	1,067	663	62,500		none	Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan
175.	Seversky Donets	1,078 (1,053)	670 (654)	98,900	159	Don	Russia, Ukraine
176.	Bermejo	1,050	652			Paraguay	Argentina, Bolivia
176.	Fly	1,050	652			Gulf of Papua	Papua New Guinea, Indonesia
176.	Kuskokwim	1,050	652			Bering Sea	United States
179.	Tennessee	1,049	652			Ohio	United States
180.	Oder–Warta	1,045	649	118,861	550	Baltic Sea	Poland, Germany, Czech Republic
181.	Aruwimi[22]	1,030	640			Congo	Democratic Republic of the Congo
182.	Daugava	1,020	634	87,900	678	Gulf of Riga	Latvia, Belarus, Russia
183.	Gila	1,015	631			Colorado (western U.S.)	United States
184.	Loire	1,012	629	115,271	840	Atlantic Ocean	France
185.	Essequibo	1,010	628			Atlantic Ocean	Guyana
185.	Khoper	1,010	628	61,100	150	Don	Russia
187.	Tagus (Tajo/Tejo)	1,006	625	80,100	444	Atlantic Ocean	Spain, Portugal
188.	Flinders River	1,004 [20]	624	109,000	122	Gulf of Carpentaria	Australia

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. But if the lengths from secondary information sources are similar, they are averaged and that figure has an asterisk.
• Scientists debate whether the Amazon or the Nile is the longest river in the world. Traditionally, the Nile is considered longer, but recent information suggests that the Amazon may be longer. Differences in the recorded length of the Amazon mainly depend on whether the course south of the Ilha de Marajó at the Amazon's mouth is to be treated as part of the Amazon, or as part of the separate Tocantins River. New evidence, (dated 16 June 2007) obtained from a high-altitude scientific venture in the Andes, claims that "the Amazon is longer than the Nile by 100 km, 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".[25] However, the origin of the river at Nevado Mismi had already been known more than one decade earlier (see Jacek Palkiewicz), and satellite based measuring from this origin to the Amazon mouth has resulted in not more than 6,400 km.
• 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 Mississippi River just north of St. Louis

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.[26]

The Congo basin is completely surrounded by high land, except for its long narrow exit valley past Kinshasa, including waterfalls around Manyanga. That gives the impression that most of the Congo basin was formerly on a much higher land level and that it was rejuvenated by much of its lower course being removed. Before Africa split from South America when Gondwanaland broke up due to continental drift, the Congo would likely have flowed into the Amazon.[26]

West Siberian Glacial Lake drainage

Main article: West Siberian Glacial Lake

This river would have been about 10,000 km (6,200 mi) long, in the last Ice Age. 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.

Lobourg

During the last glacial maximum, much of what is now the southern part of the North Sea was land, known to archaeologists as Doggerland. At this time, the Thames, the Meuse, the Scheldt, and the Rhine probably joined before flowing into the sea, in a system known by palaeogeographers as the Loubourg or Lobourg River System.[27] There is some debate as to whether this river would have flowed southwest into what is now the English Channel, or flowed north, emerging into the North Sea close to modern Yorkshire. If the latter hypothesis is true, the Rhine would have attained a length of close to 1,650 kilometres (1,030 mi). The former hypothesis would have produced a shorter river, some 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) in length. Current scientific research favours the former opinion, with the Thames and Rhine meeting in a large lake, the outflow of which was close to the present-day Straits of Dover.[28]

See also

• Shortest river
• List of drainage basins by area
• List of rivers by discharge

Notes and references

Notes

1. The Nile is usually said to be the longest river in the world, with a length of about 6,650 km,[3] and the Amazon the second longest, with a length of at least 6,400 km.[4] In recent decades debate has intensified over the true source and the placement of the mouth, and therefore the length, of the Amazon River.[5][10] Brazilian and Peruvian Studies in 2007 and 2008 added the waterway from the Amazon's southern outlet through tidal canals and the Pará estuary of the Tocantins and then concluded that the Amazon has a length of 6,992 km and was longer than the Nile, whose length was calculated as 6,853 km. The dispute is: "Is the channel south of Isla de Marajó to be treated as part of the Amazon, or as part of the Rio Tocantins?"[6] A peer-reviewed article, published in 2009, states a length of 7,088 km for the Nile and 6,575 km for the Amazon, measured by using a combination of satellite image analysis and field investigations to the source regions.[8] Therefore, as of 2018 the length of both rivers remains open to interpretation and continued debate.[4][7] Note that the disputed values have been put in parentheses.

References

1. "Where Does the Amazon River Begin?". National Geographic News. 2014-02-15. Retrieved 2018-12-25.
2. for more on this, see coastline paradox
3. "Nile River". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
4. "Amazon River". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
5. "Amazon river 'longer than Nile'". BBC News. 16 June 2007. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
6. "Studies from INPE indicate that the Amazon River is 140km longer than the Nile". Brazilian National Institute for Space Research. Archived from the original on 11 April 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
7. "How Long Is the Amazon River?". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2018-12-24.
8. Liu, Shaochuang; Lu, P; Liu, D; Jin, P; Wang, W (2009-03-01). "Pinpointing the sources and measuring the lengths of the principal rivers of the world". Int. J. Digital Earth. 2: 80–87. doi:10.1080/17538940902746082.
9. J.C. Kammerer (1 September 2005). "Largest Rivers in the United States". US Geological Survey. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
10. Roach, John. "Amazon Longer Than Nile River, Scientists Say". National Geographic. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
11. "Río de la Plata". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
12. "Scientists pinpoint sources of four major international rivers". Xinhua News Agency. 22 August 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
13. "Brahmaputra River". Encyclopædia Britannica.
14. "Longest Rivers". Geoscience Australia. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
15. Syvitski, James P. M., Vörösmarty, Charles J., Kettner, Albert J., Green, Pamela. "Impact of Humans on the Flux of Terrestrial Sediment to the Global Coastal Ocean". Archived from the original on 2006-09-19. Retrieved 2006-02-27.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
16. Parua, Pranab Kumar (3 January 2010). The Ganga: water use in the Indian subcontinent. Springer. p. 272. ISBN 978-90-481-3102-0. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
17. Ganges–Farakka
18. Bossche, J.P. vanden; G. M. Bernacsek (1990). Source Book for the Inland Fishery Resources of Africa, Volume 1. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. p. 338. ISBN 978-92-5-102983-1.
19. "Longest Rivers". Murray Darling Basin Authority. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
20. Longest Rivers at Geoscience Australia
21. "The Chilliwack River Valley: An Outdoor Enthusiast's Paradise". Camping & RVing BC. Camping and RVing British Columbia Coalition. 10 October 2017. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
22. Bossche, J.P. vanden; G. M. Bernacsek (1990). Source Book for the Inland Fishery Resources of Africa, Volume 1. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. p. 333. ISBN 978-92-5-102983-1.
23. If the Meuse is considered a tributary, the Rhine basin is 218,300 km².
24. Rogers, Aaron W. "White River - Encyclopedia of Arkansas". www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
25. Daily Telegraph, Monday 18 June 2007, page 18
26. "Amazon river flowed into the Pacific millions of years ago". mongabay.com. Retrieved 2017-12-11.
27. Vaikmäe, R., Edmunds, W. M., and Manzano, M., (2001) "Weichselian palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironment in Europe: Background for palaeogroundwater formation", in "Palaeowaters in Coastal Europe: Evolution of Groundwater Since the Late Pleistocene" (W. M. Edmunds and C. J. Milne (eds)). London:The Geological Society. p. 177
28. Bridgland, D. R., and D'Olier, B. (1995) "The Pleistocene evolution of the Thames and Rhine drainage systems in the southern North Sea Basin (abstract)", Geological Society, London, Special Publications, v. 96, p. 27–45, in Lyell Collection. Retrieved 12 November 2015.

External links

• Principal Rivers of the World