The longest river in the world is the Nile

Nile- the longest river in the world, its length is 6,690 km from the source of the Luvironza River in Burundi, in Central Africa, to its mouth at the confluence with the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile flows from south to north and its basin is about 2,850,000 square meters. km, which is approximately equal to one tenth of the area of ​​Africa, including the territories of Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, and Congo (Kinshasa). Its waters support virtually everything Agriculture in the most densely populated parts of Egypt, providing a source of irrigation for almost all of Sudan's food crops, and are widely used throughout the basin for navigation and hydroelectric power.

The deepest river in the world is the Amazon

River Amazon the second longest river in the world by extent. Its length is about 6,296 km, it is formed by the junction in the northern Peruvian Andes of two main sources - the Ucayali and the shorter Maranon. The Amazon flows through northern Brazil and into Atlantic Ocean near the city of Belem. The Amazon is the deepest river in the world (carries more water than any other river in the world). The basin with tributaries is huge and amounts to 6,475,000 square meters. km, which is approximately 35% of the territory of South America. The Amazon draws water from both hemispheres and flows not only through Brazil, but also through parts of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela. The average depth of the river over its greater length is 50 m. The slope of the river is very small: Manaus, 1,610 km upstream, is only 30 m higher than Belem near the river delta. Sea vessels with a landing of 4 m can reach Iquitos in Peru, which is 3,700 km from the Atlantic Ocean. Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia have international ports on the Amazon.

The following table shows the largest rivers in the world, including their name, source, where they flow and their length:

	Name rivers	Source	Mainland	Where flows into	Length, km
		Tributaries of Lake Victoria		Mediterranean Sea
	Amazon	Glacial lake, Peru	South America	Atlantic Ocean
	Mississippi-Missouri	Red Rock River, Montana, USA	North America	Gulf of Mexico
	Yangtze	Tibetan plateau, China		China Sea
		Altai, Russia		Ob Bay, Kara Sea Bay
	Yellow River	Eastern Kunlun Mountains, China		Bohai Bay of the Yellow Sea
	Yenisei	Tannu-Ola mountains, south of Tuva, Russia		Arctic Ocean
	Parana	confluence of the Paranaiba and Rio Grande rivers, Brazil	South America	La Plata Bay of the Atlantic Ocean
	Irtysh	Altai, Russia
	Zaire (Congo)	confluence of the Lualaba and Luapula rivers		Atlantic Ocean
	Amur	confluence of the Shilka and Argun rivers		Tatar Strait of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk
	Lena	Lake Baikal, Russia		Arctic Ocean
	Mackenzie	Head of the Finlay River, British Columbia, Canada	North America	Beaufort Sea (Arctic Ocean)
	Niger	Fouta Djallon, Guinea		Gulf of Guinea Atlantic Ocean
	Mekong	Tibetan plateau		South China Sea
	Mississippi	Lake Itasca, Minnesota, USA	North America	Gulf of Mexico
	Missouri	Confluence of the Jefferson, Gallatin and Madison Rivers, Montana, USA	North America	mississippi river
	Volga	Valdai Hills, Russia		Caspian Sea
	Madeira	Confluence of the Beni and Mamore rivers, border of Bolivia and Brazil	South America	Amazon river
	Purus	Peruvian Andes	South America	Amazon river

Thus, the Nile is the longest river in the world, with a length of approximately 6,690 kilometers, and is also the largest river in Africa. The second largest river in the world, the Amazon, is also the longest river in South America. The third largest river, the Mississippi River, together with the Missouri River, is the most... big river North America. The fourth largest river, the Yangtze River is the longest river in Asia. And, being only the eighteenth largest in the world, the Volga is the longest river in Europe.

So, we looked at the 20 most big rivers world, eight of which occur in Asia, eight in America, three in Africa and only one of the 20 most large rivers peace - in Europe.

Natural water streams, flowing in their natural channel and replenished by surface and groundwater, slow or seething - all these are rivers. They are a source of fresh water, and without them it is impossible to imagine life on the entire Earth. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, large rivers became the cradles of ancient civilizations, and cities now line their coasts. We present to you the top 15 largest rivers in the world, which vary in length and basin area.

15. Volga. Length: 3530 km. Basin area: 1360 thousand km²

The first mention of the Volga is found in the works of Herodotus. It was also familiar to the Arabs, who called it Itil, which can be translated as “river of rivers.” This river is considered the “homeland” of barge haulers: up to 600,000 people could work on it during the season.

14. Yenisei. Length: 4102 km. Basin area: 2850 thousand km²

The Yenisei basin has more than 100,000 lakes, the largest and most famous of which is Baikal. The river allows the uninterrupted operation of two hydroelectric power stations - Sayan and Krasnoyarsk, thanks to which Siberia is provided with energy.

13. Niger. Length: 4160 km. Basin area: 2092 thousand km²

The Niger flows in West Africa. The river bed has an interesting shape: from a bird's eye view it resembles a boomerang. Another feature of the waterway is the presence of so-called “internal deltas”: in some places many branches and lakes have formed.

12. Mackenzie. Length 4240 km. Basin area: 1760 thousand km²

Mackenzie is located in the north of America and has a rather unusual economic use: in summer time it acts as a shipping canal, and in winter its bed turns into an ice road. The river was discovered by the Scottish traveler-naturalist A. Mackenzie and subsequently named in his honor. Before that, she bore the name “Disappointment” - “disappointment”. Apparently, she did not make the proper impression on the researcher.

11. Congo. Length: 4320 km. Basin area: 3691 thousand km²

The Congo is the deepest river in the world. Its depth reaches about 230 m. The uniqueness of the Congo lies in the fact that it crosses the equator twice. It is in its waters that the most evil and dangerous fish– Goliath (or tiger fish), therefore, when going on a “hunt”, you need to be very attentive and careful.

10. Lena. Length: 4400 km. Basin area: 2490 thousand km²

Interestingly, the source of the Lena is a small swamp, which is located about 12 km from Lake Baikal. Only after other tributaries flow into the river does it become full-flowing. The banks of this waterway are practically uninhabited and covered with dense coniferous forests, although sometimes you can find small but almost abandoned villages.

9. Cupid. Length: 4440 km. Basin area: 1855 2490 thousand km²

The Amur flows through Russia and China, and its residents call the river “Heihe,” which means “Black Dragon River.” This name has absolutely nothing to do with the color of the water: in China, black symbolizes something big, with enormous power. According to ancient legend, in ancient times two dragons lived in the river. One was black and good, and the other was evil and white. One day they fought in battle, and, naturally, good defeated evil.

8. Mekong. Length: 4500 km. Basin area: 810 thousand km²

The Mekong, which flows through Vietnam, China, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia, is the center of agriculture and trade for these countries. On its banks there are numerous rice fields and fruit plantations, and all the harvest is brought to floating markets.

7. Parana. Length: 4380 km. Basin area: 2970 thousand km²

The Parana River is located in South America and is the border between Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. The river received its name from the local Indians, who addressed it by the name “Tupi”. Literally translated, it means “big as the sea.” Some tribes considered it a river of misfortune. This may be due to the large number of rushing waterfalls.

6. Ob. Length: 5410 km. Basin area: 2990 thousand km²

The Ob is the largest river in Russia and originates in Altai, flowing into the Kara Sea. In summer, the water in the river can warm up to +23° C, and in the lower reaches - up to 28° C. It is home to more than 50 different fish species, half of which are caught on an industrial scale.

5. Yellow River. Length: 5464 km. Basin area: 752 thousand km²

Pool yellow river provides drinking water more than 140 million Asians. Its waters are also used for irrigation. The Yellow River owes its name to limestone rocks that have a yellowish tint and lie in the river bed.

4. Mississippi. Length: 5969 km. Basin area: 3229 thousand km²

The river flows through 10 states of America and is their border. Its name is immortalized in the works of Mark Twain, who called the river “the world’s first trickster” due to its very winding and unpredictable flow path.

3. Yangtze. Length: 5800 km. Basin area: 1818 thousand km²

The Chinese call the Yangtze the "blue river", but its waters that do not freeze all year round, are quite muddy and, most likely, the river got its name in contrast to the Yellow River. More than 300 species of fish live here, and birds also come here for the winter. Endangered animals can also be found in the waters of the Yangtze, including Chinese alligators.

2. Neil. River length: 6852 km. Basin area: 2870 thousand km²

The amazing Nile does not flow from north to south, but in the opposite direction and in literally pierces the Sahara, bringing life to its shores. It’s better to forget about swimming in the Nile. And it's not about scary alligators. Like many centuries ago, the Nile is used for various economic needs, and sanitary standards are not observed.

1. Amazon. Length: 6992 km. Basin area: 7180 thousand km²

When the river floods, it floods an area large enough to accommodate the whole of Great Britain. The tropical forests growing on its shores are the “lungs” of our planet, and the jungle plants are so closely packed that only 1% of sunlight reaches the surface of the earth.

The existence of life on our planet cannot be imagined without rivers. They are also the largest sources of fresh water for territories that cover an area of ​​tens of thousands of square kilometers. It was the big rivers that became the cradles of human civilization. Today, a million people live along them. An excellent example would be the Yangtze or the Nile.
Of course, there is a dispute between individual groups of scientists and even entire countries about the longest and largest river in the world. Entire expeditions are sent in search of new sources in order to add several tens of kilometers to the length of the river.

The largest, largest and longest rivers in the world. List.

	Name	Length (km)	Basin area (thousand km²)	Average water flow at the mouth (thousand m³/s)	Highest water flow at the mouth (thousand m³/s)	Solid waste (million tons/year)
	Amazon
	Mississippi - Missouri
	Ob (with Irtysh)
	Parana (from the origins of Paranaiba)
	Amur (from the sources of Arguni)
	Kongo (with Lualaba)
	Mackenzie (from the headwaters of the Peace River)
	Yenisei (from the origins of the Small Yenisei)
	Ganges (with Brahmaputra)

1. Amazon (6992 m.) - the largest, longest and largest river in the world and South America.
Description of the Amazon River - the longest river in the world and South America.
The Amazon is the absolute record holder both in length and in terms of deep water and basin area. For many years it was believed that the longest river in the world was the Nile, but latest research, carried out by comparing photographs from space and computer data processing, refuted this long ago known fact. The Amazon turned out to be 140 km longer than the Nile!

In 2011, according to the results of a global competition, the Amazon was recognized as one of the seven natural wonders of the world. And this is no coincidence. The Amazon is not only the longest, largest and largest river in the world and in South America, but also a unique place on our planet, home to more than a million species of different plants and animals. According to researchers, per 10 km² tropical forest There are 1.5 thousand species of flowers, 750 species of trees, 125 species of mammals, 400 species of birds and countless invertebrate animals. Many of their species are not even described or identified. The Amazon and its tributaries are home to up to 2,000 species of fish, one of which is the well-known voracious predatory piranha.

The largest tropical rainforest on the planet is located in the basin of the longest river in the world. The climate here is hot and humid, all year round the air temperature fluctuates only between 25-28°C and it rains very often. There is practically no wind in the forest - the lush vegetation does not allow gusts of air to pass through. Even during a storm, only the tops of the trees sway here, and below reigns twilight and peace.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the world's longest underground river was discovered under the longest land river in the world, flowing parallel to the Amazon at a depth of 4000 m. It originates in the Andes and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Its unofficial name is Hamza, in honor of the scientist who discovered it. The flow speed of the Hamza River does not exceed several meters per year, and the width is about 400 meters.

2. Nile (6852)- the second of the largest, largest and longest rivers in the world and the longest river in Africa.
Description of the Nile River is the second largest, largest and longest river in the world and the longest river in Africa.
The Nile is a true “river of life”, as it is the only river North Africa crossing the sands of the Sahara without drying up. The constant water flow is carried out due to precipitation falling in the upper reaches of the river.

Almost all the settlements of Egypt are located along the Nile bed and almost all of the economic activity. The waters of the world's second longest river are used for irrigation and electricity production (the Nile's energy resources are estimated at 50 GW), fishing and fish farming, water supply and shipping.

The Nile originates on the East African Plateau (Kagera River), flows through Lake Victoria (some sources indicate this lake as the source of the Nile River). The exit from the plateau is characterized by an abundance of rapids and waterfalls. After the confluence of the El Ghazal River, the river is called the White Nile and flows through semi-deserts and deserts to Khartoum, takes main tributary- The Blue Nile and under the name of the Nile itself flows to Mediterranean Sea, at the confluence with which it forms an extensive delta.

Floods in various parts rivers fall on different seasons: in the equator region - in the summer and winter seasons, in the northern part of the river - in the summer and autumn periods. To regulate the flow of one of the longest rivers in the world, the following dams were built: Gebel Auliya on the White Nile, Aswan and Aswan High. The construction of dams protected the population from annual floods. This, on the one hand, deprived agriculture of the most important natural fertilizer - silt, but, on the other hand, it increased the area of ​​irrigated land and made it possible to harvest three crops per year from the fields.

3. Yangtze (5800 km) - the third of the largest, largest and longest rivers in the world and the longest, largest and largest river in Eurasia.

Description of the Yangtze River - the third of the largest, largest and longest rivers in the world and the longest river in Eurasia.
The Yangtze River originates in the eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau at an altitude of about 5,600 km and flows through China from west to east, making a large turn to the south after Qinghai Province. The lower course of the Yangtze passes through the southern part of the Great Chinese Plain, where the river is often divided into branches, with the width of the main channel reaching 2 km or more. In the area where it flows into the East China Sea, the Yangtze forms a large delta with an area of ​​about 80 thousand km².

Four of China's five largest freshwater lakes drain into the Yangtze. The third of the longest rivers in the world has about 700 tributaries, the largest of which are the Yalongjiang, Minjiang, Jialingjiang, Tuo, Hanshui (Juhe).
The Yangtze River is of great cultural and economic importance to the country. This is China's main waterway. The total length of the waterways of the Yangtze basin exceeds 17 thousand km. The river is one of the world's busiest waterways. The volume of freight traffic in 2005 reached 795 million tons.
Covering a fifth of China, the Yangtze River basin is home to a third of the country's population and produces about 20% of GDP. The world's largest hydroelectric power station, the Three Gorges Hydroelectric Power Station, was built on the longest river in Eurasia.
The Yangtze River is home to many animals, including several endangered species such as the Chinese river dolphin, Chinese alligators and Korean sturgeons. In the basin of the third of the largest, largest and longest rivers in the world, there are several nature reserves and part national park"Three Parallel Rivers", listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

4. Mississippi (6275 km) - the fourth largest, largest and longest river in the world and the longest, largest and largest river in North America. Mississippi

Description of the Mississippi River - the fourth largest, largest and longest river in the world and the longest river in North America.
Mississippi is one of greatest rivers peace. Together with the Missouri, it is the fourth longest river in the world and the largest, largest and longest river in North America. The Mississippi flows through ten US states from north to south. The source of the river is considered to be Nicolette Creek (according to other sources, Lake Itasca), the Mississippi flows into the Gulf of Mexico. The river basin (the third largest after the Amazon and Congo river basins) extends from the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians and from the Great Lakes region to the Gulf of Mexico, occupying an area of ​​3268 thousand km2, which is 40% of the area of ​​the United States, not counting Alaska.
The length of the Mississippi River is 3950 km (according to the Great Soviet Encyclopedia) or 3774 km (Wikipedia). It takes a drop of water 90 days to travel from its source to the mouth of a river.
Speaking about the Mississippi as the fourth of the longest rivers in the world, it should be borne in mind that we're talking about about the length of the Jefferson-Missouri-Mississippi river system. In total, the length of the three rivers is 6275 kilometers. When it comes to the longest river in North America, various sources They call either the Mississippi River (3774 km) or its tributary the Missouri (3767 km). In our classification of rivers by length, we proceeded from determining the length of the river from the source of its longest tributary to the mouth. Considered this way, the Mississippi is definitely the longest river in North America.
The Mississippi is a convenient waterway from the Gulf of Mexico to the central parts of the mainland, an important transport artery of the United States, connecting the developed industrial and agricultural areas of the country. The rivers of the Mississippi system have a large economic importance. The total length of the basin's shipping routes is over 25 thousand square meters. km. A number of large power plants have been built on tributaries of the Mississippi.
The river is fed by mixed snow and rain. Right tributaries bring mainly melt water, formed by melting snow in the Rocky Mountains, left tributaries feed the Mississippi with rain and stormwater. The Mississippi regime is characterized by spring-summer floods and stormy rain floods.
The longest, largest and largest river in North America is divided into three sections, the boundaries of which are where its largest tributaries, the Missouri and Ohio, flow into the Mississippi.
In the upper section, the river flows through small lakes, overcoming rocky rifts and rapids in many places, the most significant of which are in the cities. Minneapolis (St. Anthony Falls), Davenport and Keokak. From Minneapolis to the mouth of the Missouri, the river is locked; there are more than 20 dams in this section.

In the middle section, the fourth longest river in the world flows predominantly in one channel. The width of the river valley, limited by steep slopes, is 15-20 km. In the middle section of the Mississippi it has interesting feature: dirty for 150-180 km, muddy waters The Missouri flows next to the relatively clear water of the Mississippi without mixing.
In the lower section, the Mississippi River flows through a vast valley that gradually widens from 25 to 70 km. The river bed is winding, with numerous branches and oxbow lakes, forming in the lower reaches a labyrinth of channels, oxbow lakes, and vast floodplain swamps that are flooded during floods. At the end of the delta, the longest, largest and largest river in North America branches into 6 main relatively short branches 20-40 km long, flowing into the Gulf of Mexico.

5. Yellow River (5464 km) - the fifth of the largest, largest and longest rivers in the world and the second longest river in Eurasia.

Description of the Yellow River - the fifth of the largest, largest and longest rivers in the world and the second longest river in Asia.

The Yellow River is one of the world's greatest rivers, the second longest river in Asia and the fifth longest river in the world. The name of the river means "Yellow River" in Chinese. Yellow The waters of the river are given an abundance of sediment, of which there is so much in the river that the sea into which it flows is called the Yellow Sea. The Yellow River ranks first in the world in terms of sediment volume (1.3 billion tons/year).
The Yellow River originates in the eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau at an altitude of over 4000 m, flows through lakes Orin-Nur and Dzharin-Nur, spurs of the Kunlun and Nanshan mountain ranges. When crossing the Ordos and the Loess Plateau, in its middle course it forms a large bend, then through the gorges of the Shanxi Mountains it enters the Great Chinese Plain, along which it flows about 700 km before flowing into the Bohai Bay of the Yellow Sea, forming a delta in the confluence area. According to various sources, the length of the river is from 4670 km to 5464 km, and the area of ​​its basin is from 745 thousand km² to 771 thousand km².

The Yellow River is fed by rain; in the mountainous part of the basin it is also fed by snow. The fifth of the longest, largest and largest rivers in the world has a monsoon regime during summer floods with a rise in water levels of up to 5 m on the plains and up to 20 m in the mountains. In order to protect against floods, a system of dams with a total length of more than 5,000 km was built along the river. Dam breaks led to catastrophic floods, accompanied by large-scale destruction and changes in the river bed (the maximum change in the river bed was about 800 km). Due to the incredible catastrophic floods, the Yellow River received the nickname “The Mountain of China.” It is known that over the past two thousand years, the Yellow River has overflowed its banks more than a thousand times, broken through dams, and at least 20 times significantly changed the trajectory of its bed. In 1931, during the Yellow River flood, according to various estimates, from 1,000,000 to 4,000,000 residents of the North China Plain died.

But despite this, the Yellow River basin provides about 140 million people with drinking water and water for irrigation. A number of hydroelectric power stations were built on the river. Through the Grand Canal, the fifth largest, largest and longest river in the world is connected to the Huaihe and Yangtze Rivers.

The Yellow River flows through a total of seven modern provinces and two autonomous regions, namely the following (from west to east): Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia Hui, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Shandong. The mouth of the Yellow River is located in Kenli County (Shandong).
The river is usually divided into three parts - upper, middle and lower reaches. The upper course of the river passes through the northeast of the Tibetan Plateau and the Loess Plateau of northwestern China; the middle course includes the valley between Ordos and Shaanxi and the gorges further downstream; the lower course of the river passes through the Great Chinese Plain.

6. Ob River (with Irtysh)

The Ob River is one of the largest rivers not only in Russia, but throughout the world. It flows from south to north across Western Siberia almost parallel to the greatest Russian river, the Yenisei. A mighty stream flows in the north into the Kara Sea. At the confluence there is a huge bay. It is called the Gulf of Ob, and its length exceeds 800 km. This is a kind of river mouth, called an estuary in scientific circles. It is characterized by the absence of river sediments. Their creation is hampered by sea currents. In Russia, in addition to the Ob Bay, the Yenisei Bay can also be called an estuary.

Like all the large rivers of Siberia, they flow into the Laptev Sea, a marginal sea of ​​the Arctic Ocean. To some extent, Lena can be called a pioneer: after the melting of the glacier and the formation of flora and fauna, it was this river that was one of the first to blaze a path to the sea, exploring the endless taiga expanses of Siberia.

The name “Lena,” familiar to Russian speakers, has nothing to do with female name- this is only a derivative of the Evenki word of the Tungus-Manchu language group “Elu-Ene”, which translates as “Big River”. The Evenki hydronym was used by the discoverer of the river, the Russian explorer Pyanda (Penda), who explored the river in 1619-1623, following downstream from the modern region of Kirensk to Yakutsk. Like all the great rivers of Siberia, the Lena flows north, emptying into the Laptev Sea, a marginal sea of ​​the Arctic Ocean.

The question of what exactly is considered the source of the Lena is still open." latest versions indicate a mountain stream at an altitude of 1650 m. Following further along the channel, the waters of the Lena, depending on the conditions, change their character, showing all types of temperament: choleric - at the beginning of their journey, phlegmatic - in the middle reaches, sanguine in the lower and melancholic in delta.
According to the nature of the river flow, three sections are distinguished: from the source to the village of Kachug, from Kachug to Zhigansk the middle flow, and from Zhigansk to the mouth - the lower section.
Before the Manzurka River flows into it near the village of Kachug, Lena descends along the Baikal ridge and lies in the mountainous Cis-Baikal region, here its character can be compared to choleric. At small sizes in this part (width 5-7 m), its flow speed does not fall below 9 km/h.
Next, Lena follows to Ust-Kut and lower to the confluence of the Chaya and Vitim rivers, here her character becomes closer to phlegmatic. This is especially noticeable after the Olekma flows into it and a significant expansion of the channel from the village. News to Yakutsk, where it reaches 5 km. The slopes of the river in the middle reaches are most often covered coniferous trees with occasional meadows appearing.
Then the river, in its undisturbed movement, expands even more, reaching 7-9 km in the riverbed even before the Aldan flows into it. And with Aldan and Vilyuy, which enters later, the width of the Lena reaches 10 km (up to 20 on island sections), and the depth exceeds 16-20 m. In the Zhigansk region, the Lena narrows and therefore its character becomes sanguine: the flow becomes lively and powerful, reaching its maximum strength.

11. Congo River

Congo (Zaire, Lualaba) is a river in Central Africa, mainly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (partially flows along its borders with the Republic of Congo and Angola), the deepest and second longest river in Africa, the second most water-rich river in the world after the Amazon. In the upper reaches (above the city of Kisangani) it is called Lualaba. The only major river that crosses the equator twice. The basin area is 4,014,500 km². Length - 4374 km. The river slope is 0.36 m/km.
It originates from the settlement of Mumena.
The length of the Congo from the source of Lualaba is 4374 km (from the source of Chambeshi - over 4700 km). The basin area is 4,014,500 km². The source of the Lualaba originates in the southeast of the DRC, on a plateau near the border with Zambia. According to other sources, the source of the Congo is the Chambeshi River, which forms between lakes Nyasa and Tanganyika at an altitude of 1590 meters above sea level. It flows into Lake Bangweulu, flows out of it as Luapula, flows into Lake Mweru, flows out of it as the Luvua River and joins Lualaba. The upper reaches of the Congo (Lualaba), located within plateaus and plateaus, are characterized by alternating rapids and leveled pools with a calm current. The steepest drop (475 m at a distance of about 70 km) of Lualaba is in the Nzilo Gorge, with which it cuts through the southern spurs of the Mitumba Mountains. Starting from the city of Bukama, the river flows slowly, strongly meandering, along the flat bottom of the Upemba graben. Below the city of Kongolo, Lualaba breaks through the crystalline rocks of the Port d'Enfer (Hell's Gate) gorge, forming rapids and waterfalls; further downstream, several more groups of waterfalls and rapids follow one after another. Between the cities of Kindu and Ubundu the river flows calmly again in a wide valley. Just below the equator, it descends from the edges of the plateau into the Congo Basin, forming the Stanley Falls.
After Stanley Falls near the city of Kisangani, the river changes its name to Congo. In the middle course, contained within the Congo Basin, the river is calm with a slight fall (on average about 0.07 m/km). Its channel, predominantly with low and flat, often swampy banks, is a chain of lake-like extensions (up to 15 km in places), separated by relatively narrowed (up to 1.5-2 km) sections. In the central part of the Congo Basin, the floodplains of the river and its right tributaries Ubangi and Sanga merge together, forming one of the largest periodically flooded areas in the world. As you approach the western edge of the depression, the appearance of the river changes: it is compressed here between high (100 m or more) and steep bedrock banks, narrowing in places to less than 1 km; depths increase (often up to 20 - 30 m), the current accelerates. This narrowed section, the so-called Channel, passes into the lake-like expansion of Stanley Pool (about 30 km long, up to 25 km wide), which ends the middle course of the Congo.
In the lower reaches of the Congo, it breaks through to the ocean through the South Guinea Plateau in a deep (up to 500 m) gorge. The width of the channel here decreases to 400-500 meters, in some places to 220-250 meters. Over the course of 350 km between the cities of Kinshasa and Matadi, the river descends 270 m, forming about 70 rapids and waterfalls, collectively called Livingston Falls. The depths in this area are 230 m or more, making the Congo the deepest river in the world. At Matadi, the Congo enters the coastal lowland, the channel widens to 1-2 km, the depths in the fairway reach 25-30 m. Near the city of Boma, the Congo estuary begins, the width of which in the middle part reaches 19 km, then decreases to 3.5 km and increases again towards the mouth, where it is 9.8 km. The top and middle part of the estuary are occupied by an actively forming young delta. The continuation of the estuary is the Congo underwater canyon with a total length of at least 800 km.

12. Mackenzie River

The Mackenzie (English and French Mackenzie, slave Deh Cho - “big river”) is the largest river in Canada and the entire American north with a length of 1738 km. Named after Alexander Mackenzie, who discovered it.
It is a navigable river; the length of the navigable routes of the entire Mackenzie river system is 2200 km - from Waterways on the Athabasca River to the port of Taktoyaktuk on the coast of the Arctic Ocean. The largest settlements are Aklavik, Inuvik, Fort Norman, Fort Providence and the oilfield center of Norman Wells.
It was discovered and first climbed by A. Mackenzie from June 29 to July 14, 1789. It was originally called the Disappointment River.
Tributaries
R. Drank
R. Liard
R. Big Bear
R. Arctic Red River
R. Karkaju
R. Ruth
R. Mountain
R. Hare Indian

The source of the Mackenzie River is considered to be the Great Slave Lake; the river basin also includes the large Canadian lakes Woollaston, Clare, Athabasca and Great Bear. The last lake is connected to the river through the Bolshaya Medvezhya tributary. The average water flow at the mouth of the river is ≈10,700 m³/s, which puts the river in second place among the rivers of North America after the Mississippi. The relatively small water content of the Mackenzie is explained by the blocking effect of the Rocky Mountains in the west, which reduce the influence Pacific Ocean in the lower part of its catchment.
The Mackenzie, like more than half of Canada's rivers, belongs to the Arctic Ocean basin. Arctic rivers are fed mainly by snow and rain. In the central and northern regions of the country, rivers and lakes are covered with ice for 5 to 9 months. The Mackenzie freezes in September - October, opens in May, and in the lower reaches - in early June; snow and rain food; spring-summer flood.
The river valley is formed by strata of alluvial and fluvio-glacial sediments, is heavily swamped, and covered with spruce forest.

13. Niger River
The Niger (French Niger, English Niger [ˈnaɪdʒər], Yoruba Niger, Ọya) is the most important river in West Africa. The length is 4180 km, the basin area is 2,117,700 km², the third according to these parameters in Africa after the Nile and the Congo.
The source of the river is on the slopes of the Leon-Liberian Upland in southeastern Guinea. The height of the source is 745 m above sea level. The river flows through the territory of Mali, Niger, along the border with Benin, and then through the territory of Nigeria. It flows into the Gulf of Guinea of ​​the Atlantic Ocean, forming a delta in the area of ​​its confluence. The largest tributary of the Niger is the Benue River.
The exact origin of the name of the river is unknown and there has been a debate about this among researchers for a long time.
A popular belief is that the name of the river comes from the Tuareg nehier-ren - “river, flowing water”. According to one hypothesis, the name of the river comes in turn from the words “Egerev n’Egerev”, which in Tamashek (one of the Tuareg languages) means “great river” or “river of rivers”. This was the name given to the Niger and some other peoples who lived on its banks.
There is also a hypothesis according to which the derivative of the name of the river is the Latin word niger, that is, “black.” This hypothesis assumes that historically the words “Niger” and “negro” are of the same root, since the latter also comes from the word “black”.
The aborigines living close to the banks call the river differently in certain sections of the course: Joliba (in the Mandingo language - “big river”), Mayo, Eghirreu, Iso, Quorra (Quarra, Kowara), Baki-n-ruu, etc. etc., but the vast majority of these names translated mean “river”.
The source is located on the slopes of the Leon-Liberian Upland in southeastern Guinea. In its upper reaches the river is called Djoliba. The river flows northeast, crossing the border with Mali. In its upper and lower reaches, the Niger has rapids and flows mainly in a narrow valley. In its middle reaches, the Niger has the character of a flat river. From the Guinean city of Kourousa to the Malian capital of Bamako, and also below the city of Segou, the Niger flows through a wide valley and is navigable. Below the Malian city of Ke Masina, the Niger divides into several branches, forming an internal delta. In the inland delta region, the Niger Valley is heavily swamped. Previously, at this point, the Niger flowed into an endorheic lake. In the Timbuktu region, numerous branches are connected into one channel. The river then flows east along the southern border of the Sahara for 300 km. Near the town of Burem, the Niger turns southeast and flows in a wide valley all the way to its mouth, and is navigable. The river flows through the territory of Niger, where there are numerous dry riverbeds (wadis) that once flowed into Niger, along the Benin border, then flows through Nigeria and flows into the Gulf of Guinea, forming a vast delta with an area of ​​24 thousand km². The longest branch of the delta is Nun, but the deeper Forcados branch is used for navigation.
The main tributaries of the Niger: Milo, Bani (right); Sokoto, Kaduna and Benue (left).
The Niger is a relatively “clean” river; compared to the Nile, the turbidity of its water is about ten times less. This is due to the fact that the upper reaches of the Niger pass through rocky terrain and do not carry much silt. Like the Nile, the Niger floods every year. It begins in September, peaks in November, and ends by May.
An unusual feature of the river is the so-called internal Niger delta, formed in a place where the longitudinal channel slope is greatly reduced. The area is an area of ​​multi-branch riverbeds, marshes and lakes the size of Belgium. It has a length of 425 km with an average width of 87 km. Seasonal floods make the inland delta extremely favorable for fishing and agriculture.
Niger loses approximately two-thirds of its flow in the inland delta section between Ségou and Timbuktu due to evaporation and seepage. Even the waters of the Bani River flowing into the delta near the city of Mopti are not enough to compensate for these losses. The average loss is estimated at 31 km³/year (the amount varies greatly from year to year).
After the inland delta, many tributaries flow into the Niger, but evaporation losses remain very high. The volume of water entering Nigeria in the Yola region was estimated at 25 km³/year before the 1980s and 13.5 km³/year during the eighties. The most important tributary of the Niger is the Benue, which joins it at Lokoja. The volume of tributaries in Nigeria is six times greater than the volume of the Niger itself when it enters the country. Towards the delta, Niger's flow increases to 177 km³/year (data before the 1980s, during the eighties - 147.3 km³/year.

This one of the largest rivers in Europe is also the ancestral home of the birth of civilization. Danube - sacred river Slavs She is often mentioned in songs, fairy tales, legends and traditions of all Slavic peoples. In addition, the history of the Celts, Thracians, Illyrians and Greeks is connected with the history of the Danube. In ancient times, the Greeks called the Danube the same as the Thracians who lived along the banks of this river - Ister. And only later, already in Roman times, the river received its modern name, which was pronounced and written as Danubium. In the 7th century BC, the Greeks founded a colony south of the river delta and called it Istria.
The ancients first looked for the sources of the river near the Riphean Mountains. Then far to the north, and later in the land of the Celts in the Hercynian Forest. But already in 15 BC, during the reign of Tiberius, the true sources of the Danube were established: it begins on the massif now called the Black Forest with two sources at an altitude of 1 kilometer.
Since the reign of Augustus, the Danube became the border of the Roman state with the northern barbarians.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE DANUBE
Danube (Romanian Dunărea, Hungarian Duna, German Donau, Serbian Dunav, Slovak Dunaj, Bulgarian Dunav, Croatian Dunav, Ukrainian Danube, Latin Danubius, Danuvius, other Greek Ίστρος) - the second largest longest river in Europe (after the Volga), an “international” river, the longest river in the European Union.
Length - 2960 km.

The river originates in Germany, in the Black Forest mountains. Further, the Danube flows or is the border of ten countries: Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine; passing through the capitals of Central and Eastern Europe such as Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade. In addition to these ten countries, the Danube drainage basin covers the territories of nine more European countries. The Danube flows into the Black Sea, forming a delta in Romania and Ukraine; the Romanian part of which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Russian name of the river goes back to Praslav. *Dunajь, which was borrowed through Gothic. *Dōnawi from Celtic. Dānuvius. Polish scientist Jan Rozwadovsky suggested that the Slavs originally used the word *Dunajь to refer to the Dnieper (as can be heard in Ukrainian and Belarusian folklore). K. Moshinsky supported this assumption, believing that when some of the Slavs migrated to the vicinity of the Danube, the name of which was originally borrowed as *Dunavъ/*Dunavь, the name was transferred from the previously known river. Moshinsky was objected to by T. Ler-Splavinsky, who pointed out that the word “Danube” and its derivatives refer to a dozen rivers and streams in the distribution area Slavic languages, Besides, given word functions as an appellative in Polish and Ukrainian dialects. In this regard, Ler-Splavinsky restores for the Proto-Slavic language common noun*dunaj « big water", derived from pra-i.e. *dhouna. Lehr-Splavinsky’s conclusions were ignored in the work of V.N. Toporov and O.N. Trubachev “Linguistic analysis of hydronyms of the Upper Dnieper region”, which derived the hydronym “Dunaec”, found on Slavic lands from the name of the Danube, for which this work criticized by Z. Golomb.

A river in Germany with steep cliffs, fragrant vineyards, ancient castles perched on almost every peak. It is shrouded in numerous myths and legends, including the one about the beautiful siren Lorelei.
The main river in Germany is one of the most important shipping routes of Western European countries. Born in the Swiss Alps and occupying a basin with an area of ​​224.4 thousand km2, the deep river subsequently flows into the North Sea.
Rhine from a geographical point of view The Rhine is one of the most famous, longest and busiest rivers in Europe.
It originates, as already mentioned, in the Alps. The river covers most of Switzerland, all of Liechtenstein, and large territory in Germany and the Netherlands, areas in eastern France, western Austria.
There are many cities located along the picturesque banks of the mighty river.
The Rhine, a river in Germany whose name comes from the Celtic word renos ("raging stream"), appears as a noisy and seething torrent, raging in deep gorges. Its powerful flow slows down a bit as the river passes through Lake Constance. The stream then heads west to Basel.
There the river turns north and enters the Rhine Graben, a fault zone of the East African Plateau located between the Vosges Mountains to the west and the Black Forest to the east. The picturesque Rhine Valley (North German Lowland) stretches along the settlements of Bingen and Bonn. Largest cities, located on the banks of the Rhine (a river in Germany) are Cologne and Dusseldorf.
Rotterdam, the leading port of continental Europe, is located near the mouth of the river. At the border with the Netherlands, the stream divides into two parallel delta branches, the Lek and the Val, crossing a wide and slightly marshy plain.

city ​​of Cologne and Cologne Cathedral

River cruises

The picturesque Rhine (a river in Germany), along the banks of which numerous medieval castles and towers, is a real landmark in several states at once. The Rhine shines with indescribable beauty in the evenings, especially on New Year's Eve. At this time, a huge number of tourists and travelers come here who want to enjoy with their own eyes the wonderful spectacle of a romantic show with stunning fireworks.
A variety of boarding houses where you can rent a cozy room, as well as many bars and restaurants offer their services for the temporary stay of tourists.
Shipping
The shipping company was launched along the Rhine at the beginning of the 19th century, namely in 1817. From Basel to Kehl, shipping and shipping are not used on a large scale; ships with a carrying capacity of no more than 400 centners can pass through this space. From Kehl to Plittersdorf, ships can reach 2-3 thousand quintals, and, starting their journey from these places, shipping acquires considerable commercial importance.
Vessels weighing up to 12 thousand quintals can pass to Mannheim. Tributaries of the Rhine River The Rhine is the largest river in Germany - about 1233 km long, of which 865 km is in Germany. It is considered one of the most important waterways in Europe. It flows into the Rhine (a river in Germany) a large number of large as well as small rivers.
The main tributary from Alsace, Illinois, joins it at Strasburg. The shorter rivers Dreisam and Kinzig, which flow into the Rhine, flow from the Black Forest. The Neckar, which flows through a gorge as far as Heidelberg, enters the Rhine at Mannheim.
The Middle Rhine is the most exciting and romantic part of the river. High banks cover vineyards up to the village of Koblenz, where another tributary, the Moselle, joins the Rhine.

On the right bank, where the beautiful Ehrenbreitstein fortress rises, the Lahn River flows into the mighty water artery. Below the city of Bonn, the Rhine Valley opens into a wide plain, where ancient city Cologne is conveniently located on the left bank of the river. The longest river in Europe The longest river (Rhine) on the map of Europe passes through or borders such countries as Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, France and the Netherlands. Its length is more than a thousand kilometers.
The Rhine flows through six countries and is culturally and historically one of the largest and deep rivers on the continent. It is also the most important industrial and transport artery in the world. The main river in Germany also plays an important role in trade communications. Despite the fact that almost its entire length there are railway tracks located parallel to it. The Rhine is a river that flows through the most densely populated European countries with rich natural resources and industrial development.

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The largest, largest and longest rivers in the world. List.

	Name	Length (km)	Basin area (thousand km²)	Average water flow at the mouth (thousand m³/s)	Highest water flow at the mouth (thousand m³/s)	Solid waste (million tons/year)
	Amazon
	Nile
	Yangtze
	Mississippi - Missouri
	Yellow River
	Ob (with Irtysh)
	Parana (from the origins of Paranaiba)
	Mekong
	Amur (from the sources of Arguni)
	Lena
	Kongo (with Lualaba)
	Mackenzie (from the headwaters of the Peace River)
	Niger
	Yenisei (from the origins of the Small Yenisei)
	Volga
	Indus
	Yukon
	Danube
	Orinoco
	Ganges (with Brahmaputra)
	Zambezi
	Murray
	Dnieper

5 largest, longest and largest rivers in the world by continent. Descriptions and characteristics of rivers.

1. The Amazon (6992 m) is the largest, longest and largest river in the world and South America.

Description of the Amazon River - the longest river in the world and South America.

Amazon is the absolute record holder both in length and in the fullness and area of ​​the pool. For many years it was believed that longest river in the world is the Nile, but the latest research, carried out by comparing photographs from space and computer data processing, has refuted this long-known fact. The Amazon turned out to be 140 km longer than the Nile!

In 2011, according to the results of a global competition, the Amazon was recognized as one of the seven natural wonders of the world. And this is no coincidence. The Amazon is not only the longest, largest and largest river in the world and in South America, but also a unique place on our planet, home to more than a million species of different plants and animals. According to researchers, per 10 km² of tropical forest there are 1.5 thousand species of flowers, 750 species of trees, 125 species of mammals, 400 species of birds and countless invertebrate animals. Many of their species are not even described or identified. The Amazon and its tributaries are home to up to 2,000 species of fish, one of which is the well-known voracious predatory piranha.

The largest tropical rainforest on the planet is located in the basin of the longest river in the world. The climate here is hot and humid, all year round the air temperature fluctuates only between 25-28°C and it rains very often. There is practically no wind in the forest - the lush vegetation does not allow gusts of air to pass through. Even during a storm, only the tops of the trees sway here, and below reigns twilight and peace.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the world's longest underground river was discovered under the longest surface river in the world., flowing parallel to the Amazon at a depth of 4000 m. It originates in the Andes and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Its unofficial name is Hamza, in honor of the scientist who discovered it. The flow speed of the Hamza River does not exceed several meters per year, and the width is about 400 meters.

Main characteristics of the Amazon River. Description of the longest river in the world in numbers. Table.

River name	Amazon
Length of the Amazon River:
- from the main source of the Marañon
- from the source of Apacheta	about 7000 km
- from the source of Ucayali	over 7000 km
Continent	South America
	Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana
Source of the Amazon River	Confluence of the Marañon and Ucayali rivers
Source coordinates	4°26′25″ S w. 73°26′50″ W. d.
Estuary of the Amazon River	Atlantic Ocean
Mouth coordinates	0°35′35″ S w. 49°57′22″ W d.
Pool	7,180,000 km²
Water consumption
Average annual flow	about 7000 km³
Solid drain	498 million tons/year
River slope
Amazon River flow speed
Main tributaries on the right	Jurua, Purus, Madeira, Tapajos, Xingu, Tocantins
Main tributaries on the left	Isa, Japura, Rio Negro
Annual rainfall

2. Nile (6852) - the second of the largest, largest and longest rivers in the world and the longest river in Africa.

Description of the Nile River is the second largest, largest and longest river in the world and the longest river in Africa.

Nile is a true “river of life”, as it is the only river in North Africa that crosses the sands of the Sahara without drying up. The constant water flow is carried out due to precipitation falling in the upper reaches of the river.

Almost all settlements in Egypt are located along the Nile bed and almost all economic activities are concentrated. The waters of the world's second longest river are used for irrigation and electricity production (the Nile's energy resources are estimated at 50 GW), fishing and fish farming, water supply and shipping.

The Nile originates on the East African Plateau (Kagera River), flows through Lake Victoria (some sources indicate this lake as the source of the Nile River). The exit from the plateau is characterized by an abundance of rapids and waterfalls. After the confluence of the El Ghazal River, the river is called the White Nile and flows through semi-deserts and deserts to Khartoum, receives the main tributary - the Blue Nile and, under the name Nile proper, flows to the Mediterranean Sea, at the confluence with which it forms a vast delta.

Floods in different parts of the river occur in different seasons: in the equator region - in the summer and winter seasons, in the northern part of the river - in the summer and autumn periods. Dams were built to regulate the flow of one of the world's longest rivers: Gebel Auliya on the White Nile, Aswan and Aswan High. The construction of dams protected the population from annual floods. This, on the one hand, deprived agriculture of the most important natural fertilizer - silt, but, on the other hand, it increased the area of ​​irrigated land and made it possible to harvest three crops per year from the fields.

Main characteristics of the Nile River. Description of the second longest, largest and largest river in the world and the longest river in Africa in numbers. Table.

River name
Length of the Nile River:
– Rukarara – Kagera – Nile
- from the lake Victoria to the Mediterranean
Current direction	From south to north
Continent
Countries in the drainage basin	Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt
Largest cities	Cairo, Khartoum, Aswan, Alexandria
Source of the Nile River	Confluence of the Rukarara and Kagera rivers
Mouth of the Nile River	Mediterranean Sea
Mouth coordinates	31°27′55″ n. w. 30°22′00″ E. d.
Area of ​​the Nile River Delta	24 thousand km 2
Pool	2.8-3.4 million km²
Water consumption	average 2600 m³/s
Solid drain	62 million m3/year
Main tributaries on the right	Achwa, Sobat, Blue Nile and Atbara
Main tributaries on the left	El Ghazal

3. Yangtze (5800 km) - the third of the largest, largest and longest rivers in the world and the longest, largest and largest river in Eurasia.

Description of the Yangtze River - the third of the largest, largest and longest rivers in the world and the longest river in Eurasia.

Yangtze River originates in the eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau at an altitude of about 5600 km and flows through China from west to east, making a large turn to the south after Qinghai province. The lower course of the Yangtze passes through the southern part of the Great Chinese Plain, where the river is often divided into branches, with the width of the main channel reaching 2 km or more. In the area where it flows into the East China Sea, the Yangtze forms a large delta with an area of ​​about 80 thousand km².

Four of China's five largest freshwater lakes drain into the Yangtze. The third of the longest rivers in the world has about 700 tributaries, the largest of which are the Yalongjiang, Minjiang, Jialingjiang, Tuo, Hanshui (Juhe).

The Yangtze River is of great cultural and economic importance to the country. This is China's main waterway. The total length of the waterways of the Yangtze basin exceeds 17 thousand km. The river is one of the world's busiest waterways. The volume of freight traffic in 2005 reached 795 million tons.

Covering a fifth of China, the Yangtze River basin is home to a third of the country's population and produces about 20% of GDP. The world's largest hydroelectric power station, the Three Gorges Hydroelectric Power Station, was built on the longest river in Eurasia.

The Yangtze River is home to a variety of animals, including several endangered species such as the Chinese river dolphin, Chinese alligators and Korean sturgeon. In the basin of the third of the largest, largest and longest rivers in the world, there are several nature reserves and part of the Three Parallel Rivers National Park, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Main characteristics of the Yangtze River. Description of the third of the longest, largest and largest rivers in the world and the longest river in Eurasia in numbers. Table.

River name	Yangtze
River length Yangtze:	5800 km (according to other sources – 6300 km)
Current direction	From west to east
Continent
Countries in the catchment area
Largest cities, located on the longest river in Eurasia and the third longest river in the world.	Panzhihua, Yibin, Luzhou, Chongqing, Yichang, Jingzhou, Shashi, Shishou, Yueyang, Xianning, Wuhan, Ezhou, Huangshi, Huanggang, Chaohu, Chizhou, Jiujiang, Anqing, Tongling, Wuhu, Hefei, Chuzhou, Maanshan, Taizhou, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Nanjing, Nantong, Shanghai
Source Yangtze River	Tibetan plateau
Coordinates	33°26′39″ n. w. 90°56′10″ E. d.
Estuary Yangtze River	East China Sea
Delta area Yangtze River	80 thousand km 2
Pool area Yangtze River	1,808,500 km²
Average annual flow
Water consumption
Solid drain	280 million tons/year
Main tributaries	Yalongjiang, Minjiang, Jialingjiang, Tuo, Hanshui (Juhe)
Average precipitation in the Yangtze River basin

Description of the Mississippi River - the fourth largest, largest and longest river in the world and the longest river in North America.

Mississippi- one of the greatest rivers in the world. Together with the Missouri, it is the fourth longest river in the world and the largest, largest and longest river in North America. The Mississippi flows through ten US states from north to south. The source of the river considered to be the Nicolette Creek River (according to other sources, Lake Itasca), flows into the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. River basin(the third largest after the Amazon and Congo river basins) stretches from the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians and from the Great Lakes region to the Gulf of Mexico, occupying an area of ​​3268 thousand km 2, which is 40% of the area of ​​the United States, not counting Alaska.

Length of the Mississippi River is 3950 km (according to the Great Soviet Encyclopedia) or 3774 km (Wikipedia). It takes a drop of water 90 days to travel from its source to the mouth of a river.

When talking about the Mississippi as the fourth longest river in the world, it should be kept in mind that we are talking about the length of the Jefferson-Missouri-Mississippi river system. In total, the length of the three rivers is 6275 kilometers. When it comes to the longest river in North America, various sources call either the Mississippi River (3,774 km) or its tributary, the Missouri (3,767 km). In our classification of rivers by length, we proceeded from determining the length of the river from the source of its longest tributary to the mouth. Considered this way, the Mississippi is definitely the longest river in North America.

Mississippi- a convenient waterway from the Gulf of Mexico to the central parts of the mainland, an important transport artery of the United States, connecting the developed industrial and agricultural areas of the country. The rivers of the Mississippi system are of great economic importance. The total length of the basin's shipping routes is over 25 thousand square meters. km. A number of large power plants have been built on tributaries of the Mississippi.

River feeding mixed, snow and rain. The right tributaries bring mainly meltwater formed by snowmelt in the Rocky Mountains, while the left tributaries feed the Mississippi with rain and stormwater. The Mississippi regime is characterized by spring-summer floods and stormy rain floods.

The longest, largest and largest river in North America is divided into three sections, the boundaries of which are the places where its largest tributaries, the Missouri and Ohio, flow into the Mississippi.

On the upper section the river flows through small lakes, overcoming rocky rifts and rapids in many places, the most significant of which are near the cities. Minneapolis (St. Anthony Falls), Davenport and Keokak. From Minneapolis to the mouth of the Missouri, the river is locked; there are more than 20 dams in this section.

On the middle section The fourth longest river in the world flows predominantly in one channel. The width of the river valley, limited by steep slopes, is 15-20 km. In the middle section, the Mississippi has an interesting feature: for 150-180 km, the dirty, muddy waters of the Missouri flow next to the relatively clear water of the Mississippi without mixing.

On the lower section The Mississippi River flows through a vast valley, gradually widening from 25 to 70 km. The river bed is winding, with numerous branches and oxbow lakes, forming in the lower reaches a labyrinth of channels, oxbow lakes, and vast floodplain swamps that are flooded during floods. At the end of the delta, the longest, largest and largest river in North America branches into 6 main relatively short branches 20-40 long km, flowing into the Gulf of Mexico.

Main characteristics of the Mississippi River. Description of the fourth of the longest, largest and largest rivers in the world and the longest river in North America in numbers.

River name	Mississippi
River length Mississippi:	3950 km (according to other data - 3774), together with Missouri - 6420 km (according to other data - 6275)
Current direction	From North to South
Continent	North America
Countries in the catchment area	USA (98.5%), Canada (1.5%)
Source of the river Mississippi	Nicollet Creek
Source coordinates	47°14′23″ n. w. 95°12′27″ W d.
Mouth of the river Mississippi	Gulf of Mexico
Mouth coordinates	29°09′13″ n. w. 89°15′03″ W d.
Delta area Mississippi River	OK. 32 thousand km 2
Pool area Mississippi River	3268 thousand km 2
Average annual flow	about 600 m/km
Water consumption	7-20 thousand m³/s
Solid drain	400 million tons/year
Right tributaries Mississippi River	Minnesota, Des Moines, Missouri, Arkansas, Red River
Left tributaries Mississippi River	Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio

5. Yellow River (5464 km) - the fifth of the largest, largest and longest rivers in the world and the second longest river in Eurasia.

Description of the Yellow River - the fifth of the largest, largest and longest rivers in the world and the second longest river in Asia.

Yellow River- one of the greatest rivers in the world, is the second longest river in Asia and the fifth longest river in the world. The name of the river means "Yellow River" in Chinese. The yellow color of the river's waters is given by the abundance of sediment, of which there is so much in the river that the sea into which it flows is called the Yellow Sea. The Yellow River ranks first in the world in terms of sediment volume (1.3 billion tons/year).

The Yellow River begins in the eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau at an altitude of over 4000 m, it flows through lakes Orin-Nur and Dzharin-Nur, spurs of the Kunlun and Nanshan mountain ranges. When crossing the Ordos and the Loess Plateau, in its middle course it forms a large bend, then through the gorges of the Shanxi Mountains it enters the Great Chinese Plain, along which it flows about 700 km before flowing into the Bohai Bay of the Yellow Sea, forming a delta in the confluence area. According to various sources, the length of the river is from 4670 km to 5464 km, and the area of ​​its basin is from 745 thousand km² to 771 thousand km².

Nutrition method Yellow River: rain, in the mountainous part of the basin also snow. The fifth of the longest, largest and largest rivers in the world has a monsoon regime during summer floods with a rise in water levels of up to 5 m on the plains and up to 20 m in the mountains. For flood protection A system of dams with a total length of more than 5,000 km was built along the river. Dam breaks led to catastrophic floods, accompanied by large-scale destruction and changes in the river bed (the maximum change in the river bed was about 800 km). Due to the incredible catastrophic floods, the Yellow River received the nickname “The Mountain of China.” It is known that over the past two thousand years, the Yellow River has overflowed its banks more than a thousand times, broken through dams, and at least 20 times significantly changed the trajectory of its bed. In 1931, during the Yellow River flood, according to various estimates, from 1,000,000 to 4,000,000 residents of the North China Plain died.

But despite this, the Yellow River basin provides about 140 million people drinking water and water for irrigation. A number of hydroelectric power stations were built on the river. Through the Grand Canal, the fifth largest, largest and longest river in the world is connected to the Huaihe and Yangtze Rivers.

The Yellow River flows through a total of seven modern provinces and two autonomous regions, namely the following (from west to east): Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia Hui, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Shandong. The mouth of the Yellow River is located in Kenli County (Shandong).

The river is usually divided into three parts- upper, middle and lower reaches. The upper course of the river passes through the northeast of the Tibetan Plateau and the Loess Plateau of northwestern China; the middle course includes the valley between Ordos and Shaanxi and the gorges further downstream; the lower course of the river passes through the Great Chinese Plain.

Main characteristics of the Yellow River. Description of the fifth of the longest, largest and largest rivers in the world in numbers.

River name	Yellow River
River length Yellow River:	According to various sources, from 4670 km to 5464 km
Current direction	From west to east
Continent
Countries in the catchment area
Largest cities	Lanzhou, Yinchuan, Wuhai, Baotou, Luoyang, Zhengzhou, Kaifeng and Jinan
Source Yellow River	Tibetan plateau
Source coordinates	34°59′33″ n. w. 96°03′48″ E d.
Estuary Yellow River	Yellow Sea
Mouth coordinates	37°47′03″ n. w. 119°18′10″ E. d.
Delta area Yellow River	127 thousand km 2 (submitted by G.E. Reinika and I.B. Singh)
Pool area Yellow River	from 745 thousand km² to 771 thousand km²
Water consumption	2000 m³/s
Solid drain	1.3 billion tons/year
Right tributaries Yellow River
Left tributaries Yellow River	Wudinghe, Fynhe

This was the article " The largest, largest and long rivers peace. List and descriptions.» Continue reading:

To answer the question “What is the largest river in Russia?” You must first understand what the “large” parameter means. The category of large rivers includes lowland rivers with a drainage basin area of ​​more than 50,000 km 2, as well as mountain rivers with a drainage basin area of ​​more than 30,000 km 2.

Below is information on the largest rivers in Russia by drainage basin area. The table includes both the main rivers (flowing into the sea, ocean or large lake) and their tributaries with a drainage area of ​​more than 50 thousand km 2. It should be noted that the drainage areas of the main rivers include the drainage areas of their tributaries.

First place In the list of the largest rivers in Russia, the Ob is ranked by a large margin - its drainage area is 2,990,000 km 2.

It flows from southeast to west, then north. The river flows not in one channel, but in several. The Ob is formed at the confluence of the Katun and Biya rivers near the village of Fominskoye in the Zonal District Altai Territory Russia. In northern Russia, the river flows into the Kara Sea, forming a bay 800 km long. The bay is called the Gulf of Ob. The length of the Ob is 3650 km.

The largest rivers in Russia by drainage basin area.

	River name	Square catchment area, km²	Where does it flow
		Ob Bay of the Kara Sea
		Yenisei Bay of the Kara Sea
		Laptev sea
	Amur		Amur Estuary, Sea of ​​Okhotsk
	Irtysh
		Caspian Sea
	Angara		Yenisei River
	Aldan		Lena river
		East-Siberian Sea
	Kama		Volga river
		Black Sea
	Lower Tunguska		Yenisei River
	Vilyui		Lena river
	Tobol		Irtysh River
		Taganrog Bay of the Azov Sea
	Indigirka		East-Siberian Sea
		Dvina Bay of the White Sea
		Pechora Bay of the Barents Sea
		Gulf of Finland Baltic Sea
			Volga river
	Podkamennaya Tunguska		Yenisei River
	Ural		Caspian Sea
			Amur river
	Vitim		Lena river
	Olenyok		Olenyok Bay, Laptev Sea
	Olekma		Lena river
	Anadyr		Anadyr Bay, Bering Sea
	Ishim		Irtysh River
			Aldan River
			Tazovskaya Bay of the Kara Sea
	White		Nizhnekamsk Reservoir, Kama River
	Chulym
	Vyatka		Kama River
		Northern Dvina River
	Omolon		Kolyma River
	Markha		Vilyui River
	Seversky Donets
	Ket
		Dnepr River
		Gulf of Riga Baltic Sea
		Mezen Bay of the White Sea
	Conda		Irtysh River
	Amga		Lena river
	Alazeya		East-Siberian Sea
	Vasyugan
	Uda (Chuna)		Taseeva River, tributary of the Angara
	Biryusa (She)		Taseeva River, tributary of the Angara
			Irtysh River

In second place– the Yenisei River with a drainage basin area equal to 2,580,000 km 2.

It originates at the confluence of the Small (Kaa-Khem) and Big (Biy-Khem) Yenisei rivers in the Republic of Tyva. Flows through Siberia. Divides Siberia into Western and Eastern. It flows into the Yenisei Bay of the Kara Sea. The length of the Yenisei is 3487 km.

Third place on the list of the largest rivers in Russia belongs to the Lena. The Lena drainage basin area is 2,490,000 km2.

It originates near Lake Baikal (Baikal Range) 145 km from the village of Kachug, Kachug district, Irkutsk region of Russia. The Lena River flows into the Laptev Sea 160 km from the settlement of Chekurovka, Bulunsky district of Yakutia. The length of Lena is 4400 km.

Fourth place– the Amur River with its drainage area equal to 1,855,000 km 2.

Amur River - flows on Far East Russia. It originates at the confluence of the Argun and Shilka rivers. It is a border river between Russia and China. It flows into the Amur Estuary of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. The length of the Amur River is 2824 km.

In fifth place on the list of the largest rivers in Russia is the Irtysh River, the largest tributary of the Ob.

The Irtysh is a river flowing in Russia, China and Kazakhstan. Left tributary of the Ob. It is the longest tributary river in the world. The length of the Irtysh is 4248 km.

Now, in order to avoid repeated counting, we will remove tributaries from the list of the largest rivers, leaving only the main rivers, obtaining the following table.

List of the largest main rivers of Russia by drainage basin area.

№	River name	Catchment area, km²	Where does it flow
1	Ob	2990000	Ob Bay of the Kara Sea
2	Yenisei	2580000	Yenisei Bay of the Kara Sea
3	Lena	2490000	Laptev sea
4	Amur	1855000	Amur Estuary, Sea of ​​Okhotsk
5	Volga	1360000	Caspian Sea
6	Kolyma	647000	East-Siberian Sea
7	Dnieper	504000	Black Sea
8	Don	422000	Taganrog Bay of the Azov Sea
9	Indigirka	360000	East-Siberian Sea
10	Northern Dvina	357000	Dvina Bay of the White Sea
11	Pechora	322000	Pechora Bay of the Barents Sea
12	Neva	281000	Gulf of Finland Baltic Sea
13	Ural	237000	Caspian Sea
14	Olenyok	219000	Olenyok Bay, Laptev Sea
15	Anadyr	191000	Anadyr Bay, Bering Sea
16	Pelvis	150000	Tazovskaya Bay of the Kara Sea
17	Western Dvina (Daugava)	87900	Gulf of Riga Baltic Sea
18	Alazeya	64700	East-Siberian Sea

The first four positions are still occupied by the Ob, Yenisei, Lena and Amur rivers, but the Volga comes in fifth place, with a drainage area of ​​1,360,000.

It starts on the Valdai Hills from a spring in the village of Volgoverkhovye, Ostashkovsky district, Tver region. The Volga Delta begins near the city of Volgograd, Volgograd Region. And 60 km from the city of Astrakhan, Astrakhan region, the Volga River flows into the Caspian Sea. The length of the Volga is 3531 km.

Thus, the largest river in Russia in terms of drainage basin area is the Ob River.