Nile is the longest river in the world. However, in 2007, the Brazilian government disputed this fact and said that the Amazon river is longer than the Nile.
A river could be measured in terms of its length or its volume. By length, Nile is the longest river and by volume, Amazon river is the largest river in the world.
The Nile river is 6,650 kilometers (4,130 miles) long and it flows through 11 African countries, namely Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Republic of the Sudan, and Egypt. The Nile has two tributaries: The While Nile and the Blue Nile. The ancient Egyptian civilization settled on the banks of the Nile and this river provided water as well as fertile land to those settlers. In those times, Nile used to flood every year. In 1970 the Aswan High Dam was built and since then the flow of the Nile is in control.
The Amazon river is, by most definitions, is the second-longest river in the world. It flows for a length of 6,575 kilometers (4,086 miles) through Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana in the South American continent. The Amazon river is amazing! It supplies 20% fresh water that flows into the world’s oceans. The Amazon river delta is the largest in the world.
The third-longest river in the world is Yangtze river which is 6,300 kilometers long and flows in China. The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River is the biggest Hydro-electric Dam in the world.
List of Longest Rivers in the World
| # | River | Length (kilometers) | Length (miles) | Flows in Countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nile | 6,650 | 4,130 | Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Egypt, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan |
| 2 | Amazon | 6,575 | 4,086 | Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana |
| 3 | Yangtze | 6,300 | 3,917 | China |
| 4 | Mississippi | 6,275 | 3,902 | United States, Canada |
| 5 | Yenisei | 5,539 | 3,445 | Russia, Mongolia |
| 6 | Yellow River | 5,464 | 3,395 | China |
| 7 | Ob | 5,410 | 3,364 | Russia, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia |
| 8 | Río de la Plata | 4,880 | 3,030 | Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Uruguay |
| 9 | Congo | 4,700 | 2,922 | Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Angola, Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Cameroon, Zambia, Burundi, Rwanda |
| 10 | Amur | 4,444 | 2,763 | Russia, China, Mongolia |
| 11 | Lena | 4,400 | 2,736 | Russia |
| 12 | Mekong | 4,350 | 2,705 | China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam |
| 13 | Mackenzie | 4,241 | 2,637 | Canada |
| 14 | Niger | 4,200 | 2,611 | Nigeria, Mali, Niger, Algeria, Guinea, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Chad |
| 15 | Brahmaputra | 3,848 | 2,391 | India, China, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan |
| 16 | Murray | 3,672 | 2,282 | Australia |
| 17 | Tocantins | 3,650 | 2,270 | Brazil |
| 18 | Volga | 3,645 | 2,266 | Russia |
| 19 | Indus | 3,610 | 2,250 | Pakistan, India, China |
| 20 | Shatt al-Arab | 3,596 | 2,236 | Iraq, Turkey, Syria |
Despite the dispute by Brazil, most people believe that the Nile is the longest river in the world. We stick to this fact!
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"What is the Longest River in the World? Nile, Amazon or Yangtze." Dashamlav.com. Web. 27 April 2024. <https://dashamlav.com/longest-river-in-the-world/>
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"What is the Longest River in the World? Nile, Amazon or Yangtze." (n.d.). Dashamlav.com. Retrieved 27 April 2024 from https://dashamlav.com/longest-river-in-the-world/