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Of course, there are many more long rivers than just these ten, but these are the most impressive. Among them are the Mississippi River, Yangtze River, Amazon River, Ob and Congo Rivers. But what about the Missouri River, which is a tributary of the Mississippi River? And what about the Nile River? And why is it so long? Read on to find out. Hopefully, by the time you’re finished reading this, you’ll have a better idea of the world’s longest rivers.
Yangtze River
The Yangtze River is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world.
It runs for over six thousand kilometers from west to east and more than 600 miles north to south, draining six hundred and thirty thousand square kilometers of land. Its basin includes eight provinces and one autonomous region in Tibet. Besides its length, the Yangtze is home to one-third of the world’s population.
The Yangtze River Basin faces immense challenges, from deforestation and climate change to rapid urbanization. The region has a population that has doubled in the last fifty years, and this growth is concentrated along the river. Rapid industrial development, sprawling cities, and infrastructure development are responsible for the rapid population growth in this region. The rapid urbanization has put huge pressure on the natural habitats.
Congo River
The Congo River is the world’s longest river, reaching over 5,000 kilometers. Its watershed drains both the Northern and Southern hemispheres, making it one of the largest bodies of water in the world. As a result, the river experiences large fluctuations in water levels during floods and has no seasonal fluctuations. The river flows through the Congo Flooded Forests ecoregion and flows into the Atlantic Ocean.
Over 60% of the Democratic Republic of the Congo lies within the Congo River’s catchment. The Congo River is a rich source of biodiversity, with nearly 6% of the world’s forested area located within its banks. The area around the river is home to many rare species, including gorillas. The river provides vital habitat for a diverse collection of wildlife. It is a haven for thousands of species of birds and wildlife, including over 5,000 species of mammals.
Amazon River
While the Nile has been a longtime contender for being the longest river in the world, the Amazon is now rivaling the Nile in length. However, the Nile still has its staunch supporters who are determined to protect it. Whether the Amazon is the world’s longest river is a complicated question, as its length depends on a number of factors and the scale used to measure the river.
The Amazon’s length was first measured in the mid-twentieth century by Brazilian researchers. In 2007, they calculated the length of the Amazon’s main river, from the mouth of Apacheta Creek to Marajo Bay. However, despite being 6 miles (10 km) longer than the Carruhasanta Creek, the new length of the river is still not confirmed. The researchers have since concluded that the river is most likely to have its source in a nearby creek.
Ob River
The Ob River flows for nearly a thousand kilometers in central Siberia. The river flows west and north until it reaches 55 degrees North and curves north. At its western end, it bends northward, then turns eastward into the Gulf of Ob, a bay more than a thousand kilometers long that separates the Yamal and Gyda peninsulas. During winter, the river freezes completely, and it is a popular tourist attraction.
The Ob River is one of the longest in the world and is a natural wonder. It was most likely inhabited by paleo-Asiatic peoples thousands of years ago. In the 16th century, Russian explorers first penetrated the Ob basin. Yermak, a Cossack folk hero, led an expedition to the Ob river basin on behalf of Tsar Ivan IV, who claimed the vast expanses as the tsar’s property. The expedition resulted in the establishment of settlements at Tyumen and Tobolsk (1586), Obdorsk (1594), and Tomsk (1604). Later, explorers explored the lower Ob and published a navigation chart in 1667.
Rio de la Plata river
The Rio de la Plata river is located in Argentina and Uruguay. It is part of a declining Atlantic invasion that inundated the eastern coast of South America. This river is also known as the mouth of the Parana and Uruguay rivers. It is one of the longest rivers in the world, and has an immense importance to both flora and fauna. There are a number of different places along the Rio de la Plata that are worth visiting.
The river is approximately 4,000 km long and wide at its mouth. It forms part of the border between Argentina and Uruguay and flows eastward into the South Atlantic Ocean. It has no clearly defined eastern boundary, but it is said to join the Argentinean coast at Punta del Este and the Uruguayan coastline at Cabo San Antonio. Because the river is so large, it has many islands in its upper basin.
Yellow River
The lower part of the Yellow is four hundred and thirty-five miles long and flows at an average rate of 3 inches per mile or 5 cm per km. It occasionally features sand dunes, 15 to thirty feet high. The river is often accompanied by great floods. The lower portion of the Yellow is eight to nine feet deep and a sand bar limits navigation at low tide. This can pose a significant obstacle to navigation in low tide.
The name Yellow comes from the Chinese region of Hebei and Henan. While the two provinces share a river border, it is not located along the river. The border between the two provinces is on the Zhang River. Among the many names for the Yellow River, “Muddy Flow” and “When Pigs Fly” are also popular terms. For thousands of years, poets and artists have admired its spirit and the Chinese people it flows through.
