List of rivers by length

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<b>List of rivers by length</b>

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

This is a list of the longest rivers on Earth. It includes river systems over 1,000 kilometers.

<b>Contents</b>

[hide]

 1 Definition of length

 2 List of rivers longer than 1000 km

o 2.1 Notes

 3 River systems that may have existed in the past

o 3.1 Amazon-Congo

o 3.2 West Siberian Glacial Lake drainage
o 3.3 Nile

o 3.4 Eridanos
o 3.5 Po

 4 See also
 5 References
 6 Notes

<b>[</b>

<b>edit</b>

] Definition of length

This section does not cite any references or sources.

Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be

challenged and removed. <i>(June 2009)</i>

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mouth. As a result, the length measurements of many rivers are only approximations. In particular,
there has long been disagreement as to whether the Amazon or the Nile is the world's longest river.
The source of a river may be hard to determine because a river typically has many tributaries.
Among the many sources, the one that is farthest away from the mouth is considered as the source of
the river, thus giving a maximal river length. In practice, the tributary with the farthest source is not
always the one given the name of the river. For example, the farthest source of the Mississippi River

system is the source of the Jefferson River, a tributary of the Missouri River which in turn is a
tributary of the Mississippi. However, a different (and shorter) tributary is identified as the

Mississippi. When the river is measured from mouth to farthest source, it is called the <i></i>
<i>Mississippi-Missouri-Jefferson</i>. Also, it is hard to state exactly where a river begins as very often rivers are
formed by seasonal streams, swamps, or changing lakes. In this article, <i>length</i> means the length of
the longest continuous river channel in a given river system, regardless of name.

The mouth of a river is hard to determine in cases where the river has a large estuary that gradually
widens and opens into the ocean; examples are the River Plate and the Saint Lawrence River. Some
rivers like the Okavango or Colorado do not have a mouth; instead they dwindle to very low water
volume and eventually evaporate, or sink into an aquifer, or get diverted for agriculture. The exact
point where these rivers end will vary seasonally.

The length of a river between source and mouth may be hard to determine due to issues of map
scale. Small scale maps (those showing large areas) tend to generalize, or "smooth" lines more than
large scale maps (those showing small areas). According to the generally accepted ideal, length
measurements should be based on maps that are of a large enough scale to show the width of the
river, and the path measured is the path a small boat would take down the middle of the river.
Even when detailed maps are available, the length measurement is not always clear. A river may
have multiple channels, or anabranchs. 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

meandering 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).[1]

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.

<b>[</b>

<b>edit</b>

] List of rivers longer than 1000 km

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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.

<b>Continent color key</b>

Africa Asia Oceania Europe North America South America

<b> </b> <b>River </b> <b>Length</b>
<b>(km) </b>

<b>Length</b>
<b>(miles) </b>

<b>Drainage</b>
<b>area</b>
<b>(km²) </b>

<b>Average</b>
<b>discharge</b>

<b>(m³/s) </b>

<b>Outflow </b> <b>Countries in the</b>
<b>drainage basin </b>

1.**Nile 6,650 4,132 3,349,000 5,100 Mediterranean

Sea

Ethiopia, Eritrea,

Sudan, Uganda,

Tanzania, Kenya,

Rwanda, Burundi,

Egypt, Democratic
Republic of the
Congo

2.**Amazon 6,400 4,000 6,915,000 219,000 Atlantic Ocean

Brazil, Peru, Bolivia,

Colombia, Ecuador,

Venezuela, Guyana

3. Yangtze_{(Chang Jiang)} 6,300 3,917 1,800,000 31,900 East China Sea China

4. Mississippi_Missouri – 6,275 3,902 2,980,000 16,200 Gulf of _Mexico

United States

(98.5%), Canada

(1.5%)
5.

Yenisei –

Angara –

Selenga

5,539 3,445 2,580,000 19,600 Kara Sea Russia, Mongolia

6. Yellow_{(Huang He)} 5,464 3,398 745,000 2,110 Bohai Sea₍_Balhae₎ China

7. Ob – Irtysh 5,410 3,364 2,990,000 12,800 Gulf of Ob Russia, P.R. China, Kazakhstan,
Mongolia

8. CongoChambeshi –

(Zaire)

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

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(Heilong Jiang) Okhotsk Mongolia
10. Lena 4,400 2,736 2,490,000 17,100 Laptev Sea Russia
11. Mekong_{(Lancang Jiang)} 4,350 2,705 810,000 16,000 South China _Sea

Laos, Thailand, P.R.
China, Cambodia,

Vietnam, Myanmar

12. Mackenzie_Peace_–_Finlay – 4,241 2,637 1,790,000 10,300 Beaufort Sea Canada

13. Niger 4,200 2,611 2,090,000 9,570 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

14. Paraná₍_{Río de la Plata}₎ 3,998 2,486 3,100,000 25,700 Atlantic Ocean

Brazil (46.7%),

Argentina (27.7%),

Paraguay (13.5%),

Bolivia (8.3%),

Uruguay (3.8%)
15. Volga 3,645 2,266 1,380,000 8,080 Caspian Sea Russia (99.8%), _{Kazakhstan (minor)}

16. Shatt al-Arab_Euphrates – 3,596 2,236 884,000 856 Persian Gulf

Iraq (60.5%), Turkey

(24.8%), Syria

(14.7%)

17. Purus 3,379 2,101 63,166 8,400 Amazon Brazil, Peru

18. Murray_Darling – 3,370[2] _2,094 _{1,061,000 767} _{Indian Ocean Australia}

19. Madeira –

Mamoré 3,239 2,014 850,000 17,000 Amazon Brazil, Bolivia, Peru

20. Yukon 3,700 2,300 850,000 6,210 Bering Sea United States (59.8%), Canada
(40.2%)

21. Indus_(Sindhu) 3,180 1,976 960,000 7,160 Arabian Sea

Pakistan (93%),

India,

China,Afghanistan

22. São Francisco 3,180*_(2,900) 1,976*_(1,802) 610,000 3,300 Atlantic Ocean Brazil
23. Syr Darya_Naryn – 3,078 1,913 219,000 703 Aral Sea

Kazakhstan,

Kyrgyzstan,

Uzbekistan,

Tajikistan

24. Salween_{(Nu Jiang)} 3,060 1,901 324,000 3,153[3] _{Andaman Sea}

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25.

Saint Lawrence

– Niagara –

Detroit – Saint
Clair – Saint
Marys – Saint
Louis

3,058 1,900 1,030,000 10,100 Gulf of Saint _Lawrence

Canada (52.1%),
United States

(47.9%)

26. Rio Grande 3,057_(2,896) 1,900_(1,799) 570,000 82 Gulf of _Mexico

United States
(52.1%), Mexico

(47.9%)

27. Lower _Tunguska 2,989 1,857 473,000 3,600 Yenisei Russia

28. Brahmaputra 2,948* 1,832* 1,730,000 19,200[4] _{Bay of Bengal}

India (58.0%), P.R.
China (19.7%),

Nepal (9.0%),

Bangladesh (6.6%),
Disputed India/P.R.
China (4.2%),

Bhutan (2.4%)

29. Danube 2,850* 1,771* 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%),

Czech Republic

(2.5%),

30. Tocantins 2,699 1,677 1,400,000 13,598

Atlantic
Ocean,
Amazon

Brazil

31. Zambezi_(Zambesi) 2,693* 1,673* 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

32. Vilyuy 2,650 1,647 454,000 1,480 Lena Russia

33. Araguaia 2,627 1,632 358,125 6,172 Tocantins Brazil

34. Amu Darya 2,620 1,628 534,739 1,400 Aral Sea

Uzbekistan,

Turkmenistan,

Tajikistan,

Afghanistan

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(Rio Yapurá)

36. Nelson_Saskatchewan – 2,570 1,597 1,093,000 2,575 Hudson Bay Canada, United _States

37. Paraguay_{(Rio Paraguay)} 2,549 1,584 900,000 4,300 Paraná Brazil, Paraguay,

Bolivia, Argentina

38. Kolyma 2,513 1,562 644,000 3,800 East Siberian _Sea Russia

39. Ganges_(Ganga)/Padma 2,510 1,560 907,000 12,037[5] Brahmaputra,
Bay of Bengal

India, Bangladesh,
Nepal

40. Pilcomayo 2,500 1,553 270,000 Paraguay Paraguay, Argentina,

Bolivia

41. Upper Ob 2,490 1,547 Ob Russia

42. Ishim 2,450 1,522 177,000 56 Irtysh Kazakhstan, Russia

43. Juruá 2,410 1,498 200,000 6,000 Amazon Peru, Brazil

44. Ural 2,428 1,509 237,000 475 Caspian Sea Russia, Kazakhstan

45. Arkansas 2,348 1,459 505,000_(435,122) 1,066 Mississippi United States

46. Ubangi – Uele 2,300 1,429 4,003 Congo Democratic Republicof the Congo, Central
African Republic

47. Olenyok 2,292 1,424 219,000 1,210 Laptev Sea Russia

48. Dnieper 2,287 1,421 516,300 1,670 Black Sea Russia, Belarus,

Ukraine

49. Aldan 2,273 1,412 729,000 5,060 Lena Russia

50. Negro 2,250 1,450 720,114 26,700 Amazon Brazil, Venezuela, _Colombia

51. Columbia 2,250

(1,953)

1,450

(1,214) 415,211 7500 Pacific Ocean

United States,
Canada

52. Colorado_{(western U.S.)} 2,333 1,450 390,000 1,200 Gulf of _California United States, _Mexico
53. Pearl – Xi Jiang 2,200 1,376 437,000 13,600 South China _Sea P.R. China (98.5%), _Vietnam_(1.5%)

54. Red 2,188 1,360 78,592 875 Mississippi United States

55. Ayeyarwady_(Irrawaddy) 2,170 1,348 411,000 13,000 Andaman Sea Myanmar

56. Kasai 2,153 1,338 880,200 10,000 Congo

Angola, Democratic
Republic of the
Congo

57. Ohio_Allegheny – 2,102 1,306 490,603 7,957 Mississippi United States

58. Orinoco 2,101 1,306 880,000 30,000 Atlantic OceanVenezuela,

Colombia, Guyana

59. Tarim 2,100 1,305 557,000 Lop Nur P. R. China

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61. Orange 2,092 1,300 Atlantic Ocean

South Africa,

Namibia, Botswana,

Lesotho

62. Northern Salado2,010 1,249 Paraná Argentina

63. Vitim 1,978 1,229 Lena Russia

64. Tigris 1,950 1,212 Shatt al-Arab Turkey, Iraq, Syria

65. Songhua 1,927 1,197 Amur P. R. China

66. Tapajós 1,900 1,181 Amazon Brazil

67. Don 1,870 1,162 425,600 935 Sea of Azov Russia, Ukraine

68. Stony Tunguska1,865 1,159 240,000 Yenisei Russia

69. Pechora 1,809 1,124 322,000 Barents Sea Russia

70. Kama 1,805 1,122 507,000 Volga Russia

71. Limpopo 1,800 1,upload.1_23doc.net 413,000 Indian Ocean

Mozambique,

Zimbabwe, South
Africa, Botswana

72. Guaporé(Itenez) 1,749 1,087 Mamoré Brazil, Bolivia

73. Indigirka 1,726 1,072 360,400 1,810 East Siberian _Sea Russia

74. Snake 1,670 1,038 279,719 1,611 Columbia United States

75. Senegal 1,641 1,020 419,659 Atlantic OceanSenegal_Mauritania, Mali,
76. Uruguay 1,610 1,000 370,000 Atlantic OceanUruguay_Brazil , Argentina,

77. Blue Nile 1,600 994 Nile Ethiopia, Sudan

77. Churchill 1,600 994 Hudson Bay Canada

77. Khatanga 1,600 994 Laptev Sea Russia

77. Okavango 1,600 994 Okavango

Delta

Namibia, Angola,

Botswana

77. Volta 1,600 994 Gulf of GuineaGhanaFaso, Togo, Burkina , Côte
d'Ivoire, Benin

82. Beni 1,599 994 Madeira Bolivia

83. Platte 1,594 990 Missouri United States

84. Tobol 1,591 989 Irtysh Kazakhstan, Russia

85. Jubba_Shebelle – 1,580* 982* Indian Ocean Ethiopia, Somalia

86. Iỗỏ(Putumayo) 1,575 979 Amazon Brazil, Peru, _{Colombia, Ecuador}

87. Magdalena 1,550 963 Caribbean Sea Colombia

88. Han 1,532 952 Yangtze P. R. China

89. Lomami 1,500 932 Congo Democratic Republic

of the Congo

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90. Pecos 1,490 926 Rio Grande United States

91. Upper Yenisei 1,480 920 Yenisei Russia, Mongolia

92. Godavari 1,465 910 Bay of Bengal India

93. Colorado

(Texas) 1,438 894

Gulf of

Mexico United States

94. Río Grande_(Guapay) 1,438 894 Ichilo Bolivia

95. Belaya 1,420 882 Kama Russia

96. Cooper_Barcoo – 1,420 880 Lake Eyre Australia

97. Marón 1,415 879 Amazon Peru

98. Dniester 1,411

(1,352) 877 (840) Black Sea Ukraine, Moldova

99. Benue 1,400 870 Niger Cameroon, Nigeria

99. Ili_(Yili) 1,400 870 Lake BalkhashP. R. China, _Kazakhstan

99. Warburton_Georgina – 1,400 870 Lake Eyre Australia

102.Sutlej 1,372 852 Chenab China, India,

Pakistan

103.Yamuna 1,370 851 Ganges India

103.Vyatka 1,370 851 Kama Russia

105.Fraser 1,368 850 220,000 3,475 Pacific Ocean Canada

106.Kura 1,364 848 Caspian Sea

Azerbaijan, Georgia,

Armenia, Turkey,

Iran

107.Grande 1,360 845 Paraná Brazil

108.Brazos 1,352 840 Gulf of _Mexico United States

109.Cauca River 1,350 839 Magdalena _River Colombia

110.Liao 1,345 836 Bo Hai P. R. China

111.Yalong 1,323 822 Yangtze P. R. China

112.Iguaỗu 1,320 820 Paranỏ Brazil, Argentina

112.Olyokma 1,320 820 Lena Russia

112.Rhine 1,320 820 198,735 2,330 North Sea

Germany, France,

Switzerland,

Netherlands, Austria,

Liechtenstein, Italy

(minimal)
113.Northern Dvina_–_Sukhona 1,302 809 357,052 3,332 White Sea Russia

114.Krishna 1,300 808 Bay of Bengal India

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115.Narmada 1,289 801 Arabian Sea India

116.Ottawa 1,271 790 Saint

Lawrence Canada

117.Zeya 1,242 772 Amur Russia

uplo
ad.1
23d
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et.

Juruena 1,240 771 Tapajós Brazil

119.Upper _Mississippi 1,236 768 Mississippi United States

120.Athabasca 1,231 765 95,300 Mackenzie Canada

121.Elbe – Vltava 1,231 765 148,268 711 North Sea Germany, Czech

Republic

122.Canadian 1,223 760 Arkansas United States

123.North _Saskatchewan 1,220 758 Saskatchewan Canada

124.Draa 1,218 994 Atlantic Ocean Morocco

125.Vaal 1,210 752 Orange South Africa

126.Shire 1,200 746 Zambezi Mozambique,

Malawi

127.Nen_(Nonni) 1,190 739 Songhua P. R. China

128.Green 1,175 730 Colorado_{(western U.S.)} United States

129.Milk 1,173 729 Missouri United States, _Canada

130.Chindwin 1,158 720 Ayeyarwady Myanmar

131.Sankuru 1,150 715 Kasai Democratic Republic

of the Congo

132.James _(Dakotas) 1,143 710 Missouri United States

133.Kapuas 1,143 710 South China _Sea Indonesia

135.Desna 1,130 702 88,900 360 Dnieper Russia, Ukraine

135.Helmand 1,130 702

Hamun-i-Helmand Afghanistan, Iran

135.Madre de Dios 1,130 702 Madeira Peru, Bolivia

135.Tietê 1,130 702 Paraná Brazil

135.Vychegda 1,130 702 Northern _Dvina Russia

140.Sepik 1,126 700 77,700 Pacific Ocean Papua New Guinea,

Indonesia

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142.Anadyr 1,120 696 Gulf of

Anadyr Russia

143.Jialing River 1,119 695 Yangtze P. R. China

144.Liard 1,115 693 Mackenzie Canada

145.White 1,102 685 Mississippi United States

146.Huallaga 1,100 684 Marón Peru

146.Kwango 1,100 684 263,500 2,700 Kasai

Angola, Democratic
Republic of the
Congo

148.Gambia 1,094 680 Atlantic OceanThe Gambia_Senegal_,_Guinea,

149.Chenab 1,086 675 Indus India, Pakistan

150.Yellowstone 1,080 671 Missouri United States

151.Chu River 1067 663 62,500 none Kyrgyzstan_Kazakhstan,

152.Donets 1,078

(1,053) 670 (654) Don Ukraine, Russia

153.Bermejo 1,050 652 Paraguay Argentina, Bolivia

153.Fly 1,050 652 Gulf of Papua Papua New Guinea_Indonesia ,

153.Guaviare 1,050 652 Orinoco Colombia

153.Kuskokwim 1,050 652 Bering Sea United States

157.Tennessee 1,049 652 Ohio United States

158.Daugava 1,020 634 87,900 678 Gulf of Riga Latvia, Belarus,

Russia

159.Gila 1,015 631 Colorado_{(western U.S.)} United States

160.Vistula 1,014 630 194,424 1,080 Baltic Sea Poland

161.Loire 1,012 629 Atlantic OceanFrance

162.Essequibo 1,010 628 Atlantic OceanGuyana

162.Khoper 1,010 628 Don Russia

164.Tagus_(Tajo/Tejo) 1,006 625 80,100 Atlantic OceanSpain, Portugal

<b>[</b>

<b>edit</b>

<b>] Notes</b>

 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. Likewise, 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.

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New evidence, (dated 16 June 2007) obtained from a high-altitude scientific venture in the

Andes, claims that "<i>the Amazon is longer than the Nile by 100km, with its longest headwater</i>

<i>being the Carhuasanta stream originating in the south of Peru on the Nevado Mismi</i>

<i>mountain's northern slopes and flowing into the Río Apurímac</i>"[6]_{. 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 (see "discussion" and Discussion Apurímac River).

 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 exact percentage of each river in countries may be disputed (including the effects of

political frontier disputes) or unknown.

The Mississippi River just north of St.

Louis. Saint Lawrence River along the New York-Quebecborder.

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