Aqua vitae. Living water.
Since ancient times, the word "water" has been associated in humans with life. No living organism on planet Earth can live without water. Names of river water are today the main source of drinking water.
Man back in the distant times of the Stone Age tried to equip habitats closer to the water. Proof of this are archaeological excavations exploring the Paleolithic sites. The first civilizations on Earth originated in ancient times precisely along the banks of rivers. The Egyptian Nile - the oldest peoples of Mesopotamia, better known to us as Mesopotamia - chose the territory between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Indian civilization - on the banks of the Indus and Ganges, Chinese - on the banks of the Yellow River and Yangtze.
Thousands of rivers encircle the globe. Some carry their waters towards the north pole, others - towards the south. There are rivers flowing almost parallel to the equator.
Rivers, as the main characters entered myths and legends of many nations. Widely revered "water arteries" and the Slavs. One name, "Volga Mother," says a lot. The path "from the Varangians to the Greeks", passing along the Neva, Lovat and the Dnieper, connected the Normans and the Byzantines, contributed to the development of Slavic peoples. Scythians and Greeks revered the Dnieper, calling it Borisfen. The Scythians even derived their people from the union of Zeus and the daughter of the Borisfen River. From this marriage was born the first Scythian - Targitai.
Noting the high importance of rivers in human life, we will lead our story about the largest and deepest rivers in the world.
12
Lena
Length: 4,294 km
Evenki call this river “Elyu-Ene” - “big river”, Russian pioneers when communicating with the local population heard the name “Lena”. Under this name, the river is listed on the map. Evenki were right, indeed Lena is the largest river in Eastern Siberia.
Lena, carrying its waters through Siberia for 4,294 kilometers, flows into the Laptev Sea of the Arctic Ocean. Lena widely spread its tributaries, capturing the seven largest regions of the Russian Federation. You can find out about the widest rivers of the world in this article on thebiggest.ru.
Lena has her own characteristics. This is the largest river in the world, the waters of which flow in permafrost. In addition, the Lena basin is located within the same country.
The source of Lena is located high in the mountains at the foot of the nameless top of the Baikal ridge. The river basin is 2,490 thousand km², its area was 180 rivers flowing into the Lena.
11
Cupid with a tributary of Argun
Length: 4,440 km
Amur flows harmoniously through two regions of the continent of Eurasia, the Far East and East Asia. It so happened that most of the Amur became the border between Russia and China.
The length of the river is 2,824 km, with the right tributary of Argun, almost twice as much, 4,440 km. The natives of the Far Eastern region called the river "Damur" - a large river. Among the Chinese, it is known by the name "Heilongjiang" - the river of the Black Dragon. Well, what about the Chinese tradition without a dragon.
Amur flows into the Sea of Okhotsk, forming at the confluence a peculiar Amur estuary. The Amur basin was divided between three states - Russia, Mongolia and China, two of which are included in the list of the three largest countries by area.
A unique feature of the Amur is its ichthyofauna. Scientists today have 139 species of fish that are found in its waters. Cupid is also the richest salmon river in Eurasia. In its waters, 9 species of representatives of the salmon family spawn.
Amur is a turbulent river; floods and channel changes are frequent here. One of the last major floods occurred in August 2013.
By the way, about the largest fish in the world, read our article on thebiggest.ru.
10
Mekong
Length: 4,500 km
The Mekong, flowing through the territory of nine states, is the largest river of the Indochina Peninsula. The length of the river, which in Asia is called the “Mother of the Ganges Waters”, is 4,500 km.
The Mekong originates in the Tibetan Plateau, flowing through mountain gorges at its beginning, the river, upon entering the Cambodian Plain, forms the most beautiful Khon waterfall, whose height is 21 meters.
Near the city of Phnom Penh, the river is divided into two branches, which are interconnected by many small channels. This river delta has a total area of about 70,000 km².
The main filling of the Mekong water are rains, frequent in this region. But they feed the Mekong and the snow and glaciers of the Tibetan ranges. People chose the banks of the river as early as 3 thousand BC The first state in this part of Asia, Bapnom, was also formed here.
By the way, there is an interesting article about the highest waterfalls in the world at TheBiggest.ru.
9
Missouri
Length: 3,767 km
This largest Mississippi tributary is formed by the confluence of two small rivers in the Rocky Mountains of Montana. The comparatively short river length of 3,767 km forms a basin with an area of 1,300,000 km². Missouri has spread its tributaries to ten US states.
The rich flora and fauna of the Missouri basin is sharply reduced today. In this regard, a number of laws have been adopted to protect both the river itself with its inhabitants, and its banks with a diverse fauna and flora.
Europeans learned about the river through studies by French travelers who, in 1,673, descending through Wisconsin and the Mississippi to reach the shores of the Pacific Ocean, reached a new river. Researchers were disappointed when Missouri led them to the Gulf of Mexico, and turned back.
Archaeological research of the coast of Missouri showed that people lived in these territories more than 12 thousand years ago. At different times, 10 Indian tribes lived off the coast of Missouri.
After the Mississippi was the most navigable river in North America. Today, river traffic is falling.
8
The yellow river
Length: 5,464 km
From school, we know how the name of this river is translated from Chinese. The Yellow River or the Yellow River is Asia's largest river. The peculiarity of the yellow river gave its name to the sea into which it flows - the Yellow.
The source of the Yellow River is located in the Tibetan Plateau at an altitude of 4,000 meters above sea level. The river flows through China and its length in different sources varies from 4,670 km to 5,464 km.
The river is very variable. Historical sources recorded 1,593 spills of the Yellow River and 12 changes in its channel. This behavior of the river is caused by deposits of loess, which the river carries in its flows.
The banks of the Yellow River have become the territory of the formation of the Chinese ethnic group - the oldest people on Earth.
7
Ob (with Irtysh)
Length: 5,410 km
Ob from different peoples inhabiting Western Siberia was called differently. For example, the Nenets call it Salya-yam, which means "cape river." The Khanty and Mansi named it at one time As - "Big River". In Altai, it is called Umardy - “Northern River. But the Selkuts called her Kwai, which meant "Big River". All nationalities, in essence, are right, the Ob is the largest river in Russia.
The Ob is 3,650 km long, and if we consider the tributary of the Irtysh, then 5,410 km. When Russian settlers settled on the banks of the river (long before Yermak) on the banks of the Ob, they deduced the name from a word in the Komi language, which meant “snow”. The Ob territory was once a place of fur trade, exchange and trade of this product popular in the world.
Ob replenishes water reserves mainly due to melting snow. For most of the year, the river is under ice, depending on the severity of winter, this figure ranges from 180 to 222 days. By the area of the basin, the Ob also ranks first in Russia - 2 million 990 thousand km².
The main tributary of the Ob is originating on the border of China and Mongolia, the Irtysh River. Its length from the source to the confluence with the Ob is 4,248 km, which, as we see, is significantly larger than the Ob itself.
A feature of the Ob is that it is navigable throughout its entire length. Many bridges were built on the river, which greatly facilitates traffic in this Russian region. You can find out about the highest bridges of the planet in this article.
6
Yangtze
Length: 6,300 km
Another historical and legendary river of China. On the continent of Eurasia, the Yangtze is the longest and longest river. From the source to the confluence of the East China Sea, the river overcomes 6,300 km. Since ancient times, the Chinese have called it Changjiang - the "Long River".
The source of the Yangtze climbed high into the mountains and is located at an altitude of 5,600 meters above sea level. The Yangtze River in its entire history is of great importance in the development of China, both economic and social. The river harmoniously divides China into North and South, flowing almost in the middle of this state.
From historical facts, we note that the first settlers on the banks of the Yangtze appeared in the area of the Three Gorges 27 thousand years ago. The mild climate of the Yangtze basin contributed to the emergence and development of agriculture in this region. And today, enterprises that account for 20% of China's GDP are concentrated on the banks of the Yangtze.
And you can find out about the largest cities in China in our article by clicking on the link.
5
Ganges
Length: 2,700 km
The river, flowing through the territory of India, originates in the western Himalayas, and is fed by the melting of snows and glaciers of mountain peaks.
The length of the Ganges at 2,700 km is not enough to include it in the list of the largest rivers in the world. But the Ganges has its own peculiarity, which makes this river a champion.
The Ganges has the largest delta in the world. The delta of this eastern river is formed by 240 small rivers resulting from the confluence of the Ganges and Brahmaputra. All of these rivers cover an area of 105,640 km², and the delta has a triangle shape.
The Ganges is widely represented in Indian mythology and epic. According to the Indians, this celestial river descended to the Earth in ancient times and became the Ganges. Pilgrimages are made to her, the ashes of the cremated dead are sprayed over her waters, perform various rites of purification and ablution. The Ganges is mentioned in ancient Hindu literature, in particular in the Vedas and the Ramayana.
Today, the Ganges waters serve the development of the Indian economy, factories have been built on its banks, and a large hydroelectric station is operating.
4
Congo
Length: 4,700 km
The river, which flows along the border of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is the deepest river in the world. According to research, the deepest point of the bottom is at a depth of 230 meters.
Another feature of the Congo is that it is the only river in the world that crosses the equator twice. In length, it is inferior to the longest river in Africa, the Nile. The length of the Congo is 4,700 km.
Europeans learned about this unique river from the records of the Portuguese explorer Diego Cana, who first explored Congo in 1,480 with his sailors.
In the waters of the Congo there is also one of the largest river fish - Tiger fish, which reaches a weight of 70 kg.
The river is used as a transport artery and energy production, three large hydroelectric power stations were built here.
3
Mississippi
Length: 6,420 km
Translated from the Indian language Ojibwe, the name Mississippi translates as "Big River." It is interesting that on the whole planet thousands of kilometers from each other, peoples equally called rivers. Out of respect, and hardly because of size, because they saw only part of the river, for them they were "big."
Mississippi is one of the great rivers of North America’s greatest water system. Its length is 3,734 km, and together with Missouri 6,420 km. The river, flowing through 10 US states, encompasses 31 states and parts of Canada with a total area of 2,981,000 km² with its basin. You can find a list of record-breaking rivers by basin area in an article on thebiggest.ru.
Like the Asian rivers, the Mississippi often changed its course both insignificantly for the relief of the coasts and dramatically. The last major change occurred in the century before last, in 1876.
The Mississippi Valley formed during the retreat of the last glacier. The water of many rivers, including the Mississippi, began to make their way to the Hudson Strait and the Atlantic Ocean.
In the 16th century, the Spaniards discovered the river for Europeans, who were the first to reach its banks.
Life on the Mississippi and shipping on this river is vividly and colorfully described in the works of the American writer Mark Twain.
2
Nile
Length: 6 671 km
The Greeks called it "Nilus", which means "Valley". The Sumerians led the name of the river from the word "Lil" - "water". It is noteworthy that in ancient times, and now the Nile is called differently in different parts of the course of this largest and greatest river on the African continent and in the world.
The length of the Nile from its source to its confluence with the Mediterranean is 6671 km. But not only the length, but also the Nile Delta are grand in size. The delta of this African river is 24 thousand km².
By nature, the river is stormy, only in the lower reaches it is characterized as calm. The largest cities of Egypt spread their quarters along the banks of the Nile. The Aswan Dam and the hydroelectric power station built on it provides light not only to the Egyptian state, but also to neighboring countries.
With the advent of the first farmers on the banks of the Nile to this day, the river is of great importance in the life of people. 97% of Egyptians live in the 15-km zone of the Nile. In ancient Egypt, on the basis of river floods, they compiled a calendar that served people for 4 thousand years. Nile spills ensured high grain yields. The inhabitants of ancient Egypt called it “Iteru” - the source of life.
1
Amazon
Length: 6,992 km
So we got to the most mysterious and mysterious river on planet Earth. The Amazon is also the largest river in the world.
The length of the Amazon, if we take the calculation from the source of the Maranion river, is 6,992 km. Many scientists measure from other tributaries, Apachet and Ukayali, and in this case, the Amazon exceeds 7,000 km.
In the middle of the XVI century, the Amazon was first discovered by Europeans. There is evidence that the first detachments that reached the shores of the Amazon clashed with tribes of Amazons, consisting exclusively of women.
According to the diversity of flora and fauna, the Amazon can also claim to be a leader in the world. Unique plant species grow here that are not found anywhere else on Earth. The same thing repents animals, reptiles and fish.
Surprisingly, the longest underground river in the world was recently opened. And interestingly, starting in the foothills of the Andes, it miraculously flows under the Amazon. The length of this underground "sister" is more than 4,000 km.
This region of the Earth attracts travelers and explorers. And the editors of TheBiggest are no exception. It was here that impassable places of wildlife remained.
Scientists are constantly debating which river is longer than the Nile or the Amazon? In different sources you can find conflicting information. Always remember, faced with this question, and specify the measurement methods. With or without tributaries, the length of the river was measured.
Today, the main problem of the Amazon basin is the deforestation of unique forests. And they (figuratively speaking) are the “lungs” of our planet. In 2011, the Amazon is recognized as one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
Conclusion
A man cannot live without rivers, whether they are large, like the Nile and Amazon or very small. Both the first and second are equally significant for planet Earth.
The rivers in ancient times helped Mankind survive by supplying it with drink and fish. Now the river is the main source of fresh water, which a person uses for drinking and food production. Hydroelectric power plants on rivers provide heat and light to our homes. Rivers have become an integral part of human life. Their power and greatness help people survive and improve their living conditions.
Article author: Valery Skiba