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List of longest rivers

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This is a List of the longest rivers in the world by decreasing order, down to a length of 1000 km.

The length of rivers is not always easy to calculate. It depends on the identification of the source, the identification of the mouth, and the precise measurement of the river length between source and mouth. As a result, the length measurements of many rivers are only approximations. In particular, there is disagreement whether the Amazon or the Nile is the world's longest river.

The source of a river may be hard to determine because a river typically has many tributaries. Among the many sources, the one that is farthest away from the mouth is considered as the source of the river, thus giving a maximal river length. In practice, the tributary with the farthest source is not always the one given the name of the river. For example, the farthest source of the Mississippi River system is the source of the Missouri River; but a different tributary is identified as the Mississippi. When the river is measured from mouth to farthest source, it is called the Mississippi-Missouri. Also, it is hard to state exactly where a river begins as very often rivers are formed by seasonal streams, swamps, or changing lakes.

The mouth of a river may be hard to determine in cases where the river has a large estuary that gradually widens and opens into the ocean; examples are the Amazon River and the Saint Lawrence River. Some rivers do not even have a mouth; they simply evaporate, and the exact point where the river ends will vary seasonally.

The length of a river between source and mouth may be hard to determine because of a lack of precise maps. Many areas of the world have not been sufficiently mapped yet. In these cases, the measured length of a river will depend on the scale of the map on which the measurement is based; in general, the larger the scale is, the longer is the resulting length measurement. Ideally, length measurements should be based on maps that are of a large enough scale to show the width of the river.

  1. 6,762 km - Amazon, South America
  2. 6,690 km - Nile, Africa
  3. 6,380 km - Chang Jiang (Yangtze), People's Republic of China
  4. 6,270 km - Mississippi-Missouri, USA
  5. 5,550 km - Yenisei-Angara, Mongolia / Russia, (5,870 km)
  6. 5,410 km - Ob-Irtysh, North Asia
  7. 4,410 km - Amur, East Asia
  8. 4,380 km - Congo, Africa, (or 4,670 km, the source of the river is disputed.)
  9. 4,350 km - Huang He (Yellow), People's Republic of China, (or 5,463 km)
  10. 4,425 km - Mekong, South-East Asia
  11. 4,260 km - Lena, Russia (North Asia)
  12. 4,240 km - Mackenzie, Canada
  13. 4,184 km - Niger, Africa, 4,167 km (4,030 km) (4,200 km)
  14. 3,998 km - Paraná, South America, (4,500 km) (3,300 km) (3,700 km)
  15. 3,717 km - Murray-Darling, Australia, (3,750 km) (2,574 km)
  16. 3,685 km - Volga, Russia (Europe) (3,530 km without the delta)
  17. 3,596 km - Shatt al-Arab-Euphrates, Southwest Asia
  18. 3,379 km - Purus, Brazil, (2,948 km) (3,210 km)
  19. 3,239 km - Madeira, Brazil
  20. 3,199 km - São Francisco, Brazil, (2,900 km) (3,161 km)
  21. 3,184 km - Yukon River, Canada / USA
  22. 3,180 km - Indus, South Asia
  23. 3,058 km - Saint Lawrence, USA / Canada
  24. 3,057 km - Rio Grande, USA / Mexico, (2 870 km) (2 896 km)
  25. 2,896 km - Brahmaputra, South Asia
  26. 2,858 km - Danube, Europe
  27. 2,650 km - Zambezi, Southern Africa
  28. 2,510 km - Ganges River, India / Bangladesh
  29. 2,129 km - Xi Jiang, People's Republic of China
  30. 3,078 km - Syr Darya, Central Asia, (2 212 km)
  31. 3,060 km - Salween River, South-East Asia, (2 600 km)
  32. 2,989 km - Lower Tunguska, Russia (North Asia)
  33. 2,750 km - Tocantins, Brazil, (2,416 km) (2,640 km)
  34. 2,650 km - Vilyuy, Russia (North Asia)
  35. 2,620 km - Amu Darya, Central Asia
  36. 2,549 km - Paraguay, South America
  37. 2,570 km - Nelson-Saskatchewan, Canada
  38. 2,534 km - Ural, Russia / Kazakhstan, (2,428 km)
  39. 2,513 km - Kolyma, Russia (North Asia), (2,219 km)
  40. 2,500 km - Orinoco, Venezuela / Colombia, (2 140 km) (3 000 km)
  41. 2,490 km - Upper Ob, Russia (North Asia)
  42. 2,490 km - Shabele, Ethiopia / Somalia
  43. 2,450 km - Ishim, Kazakhstan / Russia
  44. 2,348 km - Arkansas, USA
  45. 2,333 km - Colorado, USA / Mexico, (2,250 km)
  46. 2,300 km - Ubangi, Central Africa
  47. 2,292 km - Olenyok, Russia (North Asia)
  48. 2,285 km - Dnieper, Europe
  49. 2,273 km - Aldan, Russia (North Asia)
  50. 2,250 km - Columbia, Canada / USA, (1,953 km)
  51. 2,250 km - Rio Negro, South America
  52. 2,188 km - Red, USA
  53. 2,153 km - Kasai, Angola / Democratic Republic of the Congo
  54. 2,150 km - Irrawaddy, Myanmar, (1,880 km)
  55. 2,100 km - Tarim, People's Republic of China
  56. 1,978 km - Vitim, Russia (North Asia)
  57. 1,950 km - Tigris, Turkey / Iraq
  58. 1,927 km - Songhua, People's Republic of China
  59. 1,870 km - Don, Russia (Europe)
  60. 1,865 km - Stony Tunguska, Russia (North Asia)
  61. 1,860 km - Orange, Southern Africa
  62. 1,809 km - Pechora, Russia (Europe)
  63. 1,805 km - Kama, Russia (Europe)
  64. 1,800 km - Limpopo, Southern Africa
  65. 1,726 km - Indigirka, Russia (North Asia)
  66. 1,670 km - Snake, USA
  67. 1,641 km - Senegal, West Africa
  68. 1,600 km - Blue Nile, Ethiopia / Sudan
  69. 1,600 km - Churchill, Canada
  70. 1,600 km - Khatanga, Russia (North Asia)
  71. 1,600 km - Volta, West Africa
  72. 1,600 km - Okavango, Southern Africa
  73. 1,594 km - Platte, USA
  74. 1,591 km - Tobol, Kazakhstan / Russia
  75. 1,569 km - Ohio, USA
  76. 1,550 km - Magdalena, Colombia
  77. 1,532 km - Han, People's Republic of China
  78. 1,500 km - Lomami, Democratic Republic of the Congo
  79. 1,500 km - Oka, Russia (Europe)
  80. 1,490 km - Pecos, USA
  81. 1,480 km - Upper Yenisei, Mongolia / Russia
  82. 1,465 km - Godavari, India
  83. 1,438 km - Colorado, USA
  84. 1,420 km - Belaya, Russia (Europe)
  85. 1,411 km - Dniestr, Ukraine / Moldova, (1,352 km)
  86. 1,400 km - Benue, Cameroon / Nigeria
  87. 1,400 km - Ili, People's Republic of China / Kazakhstan
  88. 1,376 km - Yamuna, India
  89. 1,370 km - Sutlej, India / Pakistan
  90. 1,370 km - Vyatka, Russia (Europe)
  91. 1,368 km - Fraser, Canada
  92. 1,352 km - Brazos, USA
  93. 1,345 km - Liao, People's Republic of China
  94. 1,323 km - Yalong, People's Republic of China
  95. 1,320 km - Olekma, Russia (North Asia)
  96. 1,320 km - Rhine, Europe
  97. 1,310 km - Northern Dvina, Russia (Europe)
  98. 1,300 km - Krishna, India
  99. 1,289 km - Narmada, India
  100. 1,271 km - Ottawa, Canada
  101. 1,242 km - Zeya, Russia (East Asia)
  102. 1,236 km - Upper Mississippi, USA
  103. 1,231 km - Athabasca, Canada
  104. 1,223 km - Canadian, USA
  105. 1,220 km - North Saskatchewan, Canada
  106. 1,210 km - Vaal, South Africa
  107. 1,190 km - Nen, People's Republic of China
  108. 1,175 km - Green, USA
  109. 1,159 km - Elbe, Czech Republic / Germany, (1 165 km)
  110. 1,158 km - Chindwin, Myanmar
  111. 1,130 km - Helmand, Afghanistan / Iran
  112. 1,130 km - Vychegda, Russia (Europe)
  113. 1,120 km - Anadyr, Russia (North Asia)
  114. 1,115 km - Liard, Canada
  115. 1,102 km - White, USA
  116. 1,094 km - Gambia, West Africa
  117. 1,086 km - Chenab, India / Pakistan
  118. 1,080 km - Yellowstone, USA
  119. 1,078 km - Donets, Ukraine / Russia, (1 053 km)
  120. 1,050 km - Kuskokwim, USA
  121. 1,049 km - Tennessee, USA
  122. 1,020 km - Daugava, Europe
  123. 1,015 km - Gila, USA
  124. 1,014 km - Vistula, Poland
  125. 1,012 km - Loire, France
  126. 1,010 km - Khoper, Russia (Europe)
  127. 1,006 km - Tagus, Spain / Portugal

Note that this list is still incomplete, especially with respect to rivers from Africa, North Asia, and South America.

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