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Hey active readers, a couple of questions for you to ponder. Which is the longest river in the world 2021? How much is the length of the longest river? If you don’t know the answers, don’t worry. Now, are you curious to know about the top ten longest rivers in the world? Keep reading. You can list out the longest rivers in the world with the features and location. Check out your favorite spot!
A river is a watercourse that is naturally flowing towards an ocean, lake, sea or another river despite its length. The rivers are part of the active hydrological cycle. Water in the river is collected through the process of precipitation and the stored water is released in the snowpack or natural ice. The Nile River is the longest in the world. Whereas Amazon is the largest river in the world.
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Top 10 Longest Rivers in the World 2021
Here is the list of the top 10 longest river in the world 2021
Name of the Rivers | Length of the River in (km) | Drain | Location of the River | Countries Covering |
Nile | 6650 | Mediterranean Sea | Africa | Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Egypt, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan |
Amazon | 6575 | Atlantic Ocean | South America | Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana |
Yangtze | 6300 | South China Sea | China | China |
Mississippi | 6275 | Gulf Of Maxico | USA | USA, Canada |
Yenisei-Angara-Selenge-Ider | 5539 | Kara Sea | Russia | Russia, Mongolia |
Yellow | 5464 | Bohai Sea | China | China |
Ob-Irtysh | 5410 | Gulf of Ob | Russia | Russia, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia |
Parana | 4880 | Rio de la Plata | Uruguay | Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Uruguay |
Congo | 4700 | Atlantic Ocean | Africa | Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Angola, Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Cameroon, Zambia, Burundi, Rwanda |
Amur | 4480 | Sea of Okhotsk | Asia | Russia, China, Mongolia |
World’s Longest Rivers: Which and How?
Let’s explore the top 10 longest rivers in detail
River Nile
- The longest river in the world
- The total length of the river in kilometres is 6650 km
- The source of the river is Lake Victoria
- The Nile River flows through Tanzania, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Burundi, Sudan, and South, Sudan Egypt, Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya.
- The two major tributaries of the river are White Nile and the Blue Nile
- Nile River has numerous source
- The river has many large and small tributaries
River Amazon
- The total length of the river is 6575 km
- The second largest river in the world
- The discharge of water from the river is of high volume
- The origin of the river can be traced in Cordillera Rumi Cruz according to the latest surveys.
River Yangtze
- World’s third longest river
- The river is known for the longest river to flow within a country
- The total length of the river is 6300 km
- It is popularly known as the longest river in Asia
- The river basin can accommodate one-third of the population of the most populated China
- The source of the river is Tuotuo tributary located in the Tanggula Mountains
- According to the recent survey, the source of the river is found to be in the Jari Hill
- Jari Hill is the place where the headwaters of the tributary Dam Qu originate.
- The rivers flow into the East China Sea at Shanghai.
River Mississippi
- The river co-ordinates Mississippi, Missouri, and Jefferson rivers
- The fourth-largest river in the world
- The river starts its flow from Lake Itasca
- The Jefferson River is also regarded as another source that can provide Mississippi–Missouri–Jefferson River system.
- The river drains to 31 US states and 2 Canadian provinces.
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River Yenisei
- The fifth longest river in the world
- Drains to the Arctic Ocean
- The headwaters of the Yenisei River are the Selenge River
- The Selenge river has a total of 992 km in length
- The Selenge river drains to Lake Baikal
- The total length of the river is 5539 m
River Yellow
- The river is named after considering the colour of the river
- A huge number of loose sediments in the water results in the yellow colour
- The river is also popularly known as Huang He
- The Chinese Civilization is believed to have its origin in the yellow river basin
- The river has significant cultural values
- There are many symbolic significances attributed to the river
River OB-Irtysh
- The river is popularly known by the name Ob River
- It is a massive representation of one of the three great Siberian rivers
- The other two rivers on the list are Yenisei and Lena
- The river originates from the Atlas Mountains
- The Arctic Ocean is regarded as the drain of the river.
River Parana
- One of the longest rivers in the world
- The river is located in South America
- The river is also popular for being the second largest river on the continent.
- The name has its abbreviation of Tupi expression para rehe onáva
- The meaning of the Tupi expression para rehe onáva is “like the sea”
River Congo
- Located in Africa
- Famous through the literary works of Joseph Conrad and Chinua Achebe
- Known earlier as Zaire River
- The river stretches across the continent of Africa with cultural, literal and symbolic meaning
- The only river that crosses the equator twice.
- The river is regarded as the deepest river on earth
- The total depth of the river is 700 feet
River Amur
- Located between the borders between Northeast China and Russia
- The river is also popularly known as the Heilong Jiang
- The word Heilong Jiang is Chinese and stands for “black dragon river”
- It is the tenth longest river in the world
- The word “amur” has symbolic significance
- The word has originated from the term “water”
Factors to Select the Longest River
The key factors by which we can identify the longest river in the world are the source from where the river starts along with the location of the river mouth where the river ends. Usually, a river can end at an ocean, sea, lake or another river. Based on these three factors, the longest river can be identified.