Check out a list of the 10 longest rivers in the world:
1. The Amazon River (6.992 km)
This is the longest river in the world, it starts in Peru and crosses Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana and Venezuela, before entering the Atlantic Ocean in Brazil. It was discovered in the year 1500 by the Spanish explorer Vicente Yáñez Pinzón. Its waters are muddy and cold, reaching a depth of 100m. As it is considered a plain river, it is navigable throughout its length.
2. River Nilo (6.853 Km)
This river is the longest in Africa. Its watershed occupies an area of 3.349. 000 km², covering Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt. Its two main tributaries are the White Nile and the Blue Nile, which meet in Sudan.
3. The Yangtze River (6.300 Km)
It is the longest in Asia from its source on the Tibetan Plateau to its mouth in the East China Sea. It runs completely through the interior of China and in its course is found the largest dam in the world: the Three Gorges.
4. Mississippi-Missouri (6.275 Km)
This river, made famous in American history by the routes of steamships, originates north of Minnesota and crosses 10 US states and ends just over 100 km, south of New Orleans, in the Gulf of Mexico. It was discovered by another Spaniard, Hernando de Soto, in the year 1541.
5. The Yellow River or Huang He (5.464 km)
It also runs entirely through China from the Bayan Har Mountains in the Kunlun Range to the Boahi Sea, also known as the Yellow Sea. It is not only a historical river, but an almost sacred one, as it is considered the cradle of Chinese civilization.
6. Orio Obi (5.410 km)
It is the longest river in Russia, although it also flows through Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China. It originates in the Altai massif and flows into the Gulf of Obi in the Kara Sea. Its length also includes that of the Irtish, its oldest and most important complement.
7. The Yenisei River (4.093 – 5.539 Km)
The Yenisei itself measures 4.093 km, but if you include its tributaries Angara, Selenga and Ideriin, the measure rises to 5.539 km. The river also flows into the Kara Sea and runs mainly through Russian territory, specifically Mongolia.
8. The Mekong River (4.880 Km)
Like the Yang Tzu, this river rises on the Tibetan plateau and then flows through the countries of Laos, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, ending up in the South China Sea.
9. The Congo River (4.700 km)
Although the Congo itself measures 4.380 km, the complete system, with its tributaries, makes it grow by 320. The Congo starts at Kundelengu, south of Shaba, before entering the Atlantic Ocean. The river crosses two countries in its course: Democratic Republic of Congo and Republic of Congo.
10. From the Amur River (4.410 Km)
This river crosses Northeast Asia, from the Khentii Mountains, where it rises, to the Sea of Ojotsk in the Pacific Ocean. Its route also crosses the countries of Russia, Mongolia and China.
