Rivers of the World

Rivers of Africa
Name	Length (km)	Countries	Significance	Other Facts
Nile	6650	Egypt, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi	Ancient Egyptians worshipped Nile, Creates a fertile valley across the desert	Longest river of the world
Congo	4700	Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo	Discharges 43,300 cubic metres of water into the Atlantic Ocean	Has carved a submarine canyon, 1.6 km deep and 160 km long
Niger	4180	Benin, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Nigeria	Features the largest Inland and Coastal Deltas	One of three great rivers of Africa
Zambezi	3540	Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique	Least human settlements and most protected status	Carves the spectacular Victoria Falls
Orange	2200	Lesotho, South Africa, Namibia	Plays key role in Souht African economy	Longest river in South Africa, created diamond fields in Namib coast
Kasai	2153	Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo	Equatorial rainforest	Tributary of Congo river
Limpopo	1800	Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique	Separates South Africa from Botswana (NorthWest) and Zimbabwe (North)	Associated with Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama and British author Rudyard Kipling
Okavango	1700	Angola, Namibia, Botswana	Primary water source for Namibia and Botswana	Creates largest freshwater deltas
Senegal	1641	Senegal, Mauritania, Mali	Agriculture and fishing	Water level fluctuates widely in wet and dry seasons
Volta	1600	Ghana, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast	Largest reservoir in the world	Also called Sovereign River
Uele	1210	Democratic Republic of Congo	Longest tributary of Ubangi river	Also known as Welle river
Vaal	1210	South Africa	Hartz valley irrigation scheme	Is a plateau river
Sankuru	1200	Democratic Republic of Congo	Diamond mining in Sankuru basin	Tributary of Kasai river
Benue	1083	Nigeria, Cameroon	Transportation route	Creates many falls and rapids
Ubangi	1060	Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo	Major tributary of Congo river	Separates Democratic Republic of Congo from Central African Republic (North) and Republic of Congo (West)
Shire	402	Malawi	Great economic importance to Malawi	Generates 98 percent of Malawi’s electricity, freshwater for irrigation and supports fishiries

 

Rivers of Asia
Name	Length (Km)	Countries	Significance	Other Facts
Yangtze	6418	China, Tibet, Mongolia	Three Gorges Dam on Yangtze features the largest hydroelectric project in the world	Has 700 tributaries and third longest river in the world
Huang Ho	5464	China	Also called the Yellow River, it encourages agriculture upon larger scales and commerce	Sixth longest river of the world and is also called River of Sorrow
Amur	4444	China, Russia	Natural boundary between China and Russia	Largest un-dammed river of the world
Lena	4400	Russia	Largest Delta	One of cleanest rivers in the world
Mekong	4350	China, Burma, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam	Supports a large population	Hosts a number of plant, animal and marine species
Irtysh	4248	Mongolia, China,  Kazakhstan, Russia	Important transport route	Hosts large electric power stations
Ob	3650	Russia	First hydroelectric station (Novosibirsk)	Each winter the river remains frozen solid
Yenisei	3487	Mongolia, Russia	Largest herd of  Taimyr reindeer	Hosts  deepest and oldest lake Baikal
Salween	3289	Tibet, China, Myanmar, Thailand	Deep gorges and for floating teak logs	Also known as an International river
Syr Darya	2212 – 3019	Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan	Hydroelectric power stations	Longest river in Central Asia
Tunguska	2989	Russia	Crucial for coalfields	Numerous gorges and rapids, frozen between October to June
Indus	2900	Tibet, India, Pakistan	Receives five tributaries	Supported the development of Ancient Indus Valley Civilization
Brahmaputra	2900	Tibet, China, India, Bangladesh	Transportation and irrigation	Exhibits tidal bore
Euphrates	2800	Turkey, Syria, Iraq	Serves as major source of irrigation	Supported the development of Ancient Mesopotamian Civilization
Vilyuy	2650	Russia	Rich diamond Site	Vilyuy dam complex
Amu Darya	2620	Afganistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan	Facilitates irrigation	Fetches water from Pamir mountain glaciers
Ganga	2510	India	Worshipped as deity in Hinduism	Supports a massive population
Ishim	2450	Russia, Kazakhstan	Tributary of Irtysh river	Vast Russian marshland
Ural	2428	Russia, Kazakhstan	Delta important to migrating birds and other important species	Borders continents of Asia and Europe
Zhu Jiang (Pearl River)	2400	China, Vietnam	River bottom contains pearl colored shells	Third longest in China
Olenyok	2292	Russia	Fisheries	Remains frozen for over 8 months
Aldan	2273	Russia	Gold Deposits	Contains rocks rich in fossils
Kolyma	2129	Russia	Gold mining site	Kolyma Hydroelectric Station
Vitim	1978	Russia	Tributary of Lena river	Fossil insects site (Baissa)
Songhua	1897	China	Transportation route for agricultural products	Longest tributary of river Amur
Tigris	1850	Turkey	Commercially important river	Supported the development of Ancient Mesopotamian Civilization
Angara	1779	Russia	Major source of hydroelectric power	Drains out of Lake Baikal
Indigirka	1726	Russia	Rich natural resources	Features a goldfield
Godawari	1465	India	Boasts rich mineral deposits	Its basin features main nesting site for Olive Ridley sea turtle
Sutlej	1450	India	Hydroelectric power projects	Tributary of Indus river
Yamuna	1376	India	Kumbh Mela	Longest Indian tributary
Krishna	1290	India	Major source of irrigation	Most cultivable basins
Irrawaddy	2170	Myanmar	Irrigation, commercial waterways, fishiries	Also referred as  The Road to Mandalay
Tarim	1321	China	Denoted as ‘The River of Life’ and ‘The Mother River’	Flows mostly through a desert
Narmada	1312	India	Borders North and South India	Flows in a rift valley
Han	514	South Korea	Sources water to the South Korean population	Borders North and South Korea

 

Rivers of Australia
Name	Length (Km)	Countries	Significance	Other Facts
Murray	2508	Australia	Food bowl of the nation	Longest river in Australia
Murrumbidgee	1485	Australia	Irrigation–hydroelectric development scheme	Second longest river in Australia
Darling	1472	Australia		Flows through an arid region
Brisbane	344	Australia	Flows through the farming and dairying region	Hosts the Wivenhoe Dam that forms the Lake Wivenhoe

 

Rivers of Europe
Name	Length (Km)	Countries	Significance	Other Facts
Volga	3530	Russia	Important to economic, culture and history	Flows through 11 cities of Russia
Danube	2850	Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungry, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine	Provides drinking water to 80 million people	Major shipping route
Dneiper	2200	Russia, Belarus, Ukraine	Noted for its dams and hydroelectric stations	Fourth longest river of Europe
Don	1870	Russia	Navigable waterway	Important artery for coal, grain and lumber shipments
Pechora	1809	Russia	Deposits of coal, petroleum and natural gas	Timber rafting for transporting felled timber
Kama	1805	Russia	Dammed by several dams and hydroelectric stations	Biggest tributary of Volga river
Oka	1500	Russia	Largest waterway in the Oryol region	Largest right bank tributary of Volga river
Dniester	1362	Ukraine, Moldova	Major water artery of Moldova	Is used extensively for carrying logs
Rhine	1230	Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Netherland, Liechtenstein	Major transport route	Border between Germany and France, and flows over famous Rhine Falls
Belaya	1420	Russia	Largest tributary of the Kama river	Flows through deep canyons
Elbe	1165	Czech Republic, Germany	Germany’s sugar beet fields, grain farms, pasture lands, forests, mines, factories	Attracts tourists for river cruise
Tagus	1038	Spain, Portugal	Supplies drinking water and hosts a dozen Hydroelectric Stations	Is located port city Lisbon
Loire	1000	France	Famous Loire Valley renowned for its vineyards (UNESCO World Heritage Site)	Agricultural practices and Historical cities
Oder	840	Czechoslovakia, Poland, Germany	Creates a link through the Gliwice Canal	Borders Poland and Germany
Seine	780	France	Electric, nuclear and thermal power stations use its water for cooling	37 bridges span the Seine in Paris
Po	652	Italy	Crucial for agriculture and industries	Exhibits a complex delta region
Thames	330	England	Important trade route	Bridged more than 200 times and tunnelled under more than 15 times
Rhone	290	Switzerland, France	Boasts the Rhone Valley with vineyards, fruits and vegetable gardens	Divides into two branches – Great Rhone and Little Rhone
Shannon	259	Ireland	Supports large agricultural lands	Has many lakes and islands

 

Rivers of North America
Name	Length (Km)	Countries	Significance	Other Facts
Saint Lawrence	4000	Canada, United States	Commercial waterways	Boasts great natural beauty
Mississippi	3780	United States	Busiest commercial waterway and famous tourist destination	Fourth longest river of the world, Migration route for birds and fishes
Missouri	3726	United States	Trade and Commerce	Productive and industrial region
Yukon	3190	Canada, United States	Salmon breeding	Third longest river North America
Rio Grande	3060	United States, Mexico	Irrigates stretches of agricultural lands	Borders the US and Mexico
Arkansas	2364	United States	Sources agriculture, industries and recreation	Major tributary of Mississippi river
Colorado	2239	United States, Mexico	Lifeline of the southwest, Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam	Borders the US and Mexico international boundary
Brazos	2060	United States	Water source for power and irrigation	Cotton irrigation
Columbia	2000	United States, Canada	400 dams taps its hydroelectric power	First deepwater harbour north of San Francisco
Mackenzie	1738	Canada	Trade route	Longest river in Canada
Snake	1735	United States	Shipping route	Hell’s Canyon is one of deepest gorges in the world
Ohio	1579	United States	Major source of drinking water	20 dams built on the river slows down its flow
Fraser	1375	Canada	Chief spawning grounds for Pacific salmon	Fraser river canyon is noted for its scenery
Yellowstone	1114	United States	Yellowstone national Park	Yellowstone falls, flat water fishing
Red river of the North	890	United States, Canada	Natural reproduction of fish species	Home for 70 fish species
Churchill	1609	Canada	World class fishery	Actually a series of lakes
Ottawa	1271	Canada	Sources several hydroelectric power plants	Borders provinces of Ontario and Quebec
Nelson	644	Canada	Hydroelectric power	Last part of the large Saskatchewan River system
Bow	587	Canada	Irrigation and drinking water	Boasts the bow falls
Saskatchewan	550	Canada	Hydroelectric power and irrigation	Rich biology
Hudson	507	United States	Trade, transport and navigation	Also, named river that flows two way

 

Rivers of South America
Name	Length (Km)	Countries	Significance	Other Facts
Amazon	6992	Peru, Colombia, Brazil	Boasts largest rainforest of the world	Extremely dense vegetation and rare varieties of plants and animals
Madeira	3352	Bolivia, Brazil	Considered a biodiversity treasure	Home to a massive number of fish species and many animal species
Purus	3211	Peru, Brazil	Boasts rubber trees and Brazilian nuts along with other agricultural activities	Borders Brazil and Peru
Sao Francisco	2914	Brazil	Sources irrigation and hydroelectric power	River fish serves important food source
Japura	2740	Colombia, Brazil	Boasts the Purus varzea ecoregion and agriculture	Home to a variety of reptiles and fish
Parana	2570	Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay	Second largest estuary in the world	Flows through the grassy plains of Pampas
Paraguay	2549	Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina	Rich in fish species	Runs along forests and grasslands
Pilcomayo	2500	Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina	Home to more than a million people	Highely polluted river
Tocantins	2450	Brazil	Rich aquatic species	One of world’s largest Tucurui Dam
Orinoco	2250	Colombia, Venezuela	Flows through vast Llanos Savanna	Flows in a giant arc shape
Uruguay	1609	Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay	For hydroelectric power	Submerged Canyon
Magdelena	1528	Colombia	Covers every Andean ecosystem	Coffee cultivation and freshwater fishing