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Posted by on Jul 15, 2016 in TellMeWhy |

What Is the Longest River in the World?

What Is the Longest River in the World?

What Is the Longest River in the World? The Nile River is the world’s longest river. It flows more than 4,160.08 miles (6,695 kilometers) from its source in Burundi, along the White Nile, central Africa to the Mediterranean Sea. That is longer than the distance across the United States from Maine to California. This river is the lifeblood of most Egyptians and majority of them live on or near the river. Major settlements on this river include Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, and Khartoum.

As it flows through Egypt, the Nile passes many ancient Egyptian monuments. It passes the great temples and statues, at Thebes, Luxor and Karnak. The famous pyramids at Giza, near Cairo, can be seen from the river where boats carry passengers and cargo up and down the Nile—just as they did 5,000 years ago.

The biggest river in the world, measured by the amount of water that flows down it, is the Amazon. On average 120,000 cubic metres (about 20 swimming pools’ worth) of water flows out of its mouth every second. Apart from being one amongst the biggest rivers on earth, it’s also one of the widest rivers in the world measuring seven miles at various places along its course.

During the wet season, this river has a width of up to 25 miles at some places. The river has its source in South America and mouth in the Atlantic Ocean. Because of its enormous size, it can count at least 1/5 of the world’s complete flow. This river is so powerful and so big that there aren’t any points along the river that can be crossed by a bridge. Amazon has a very powerful discharge at the mouth which can release as much as 8 trillion gallons of water every day.

The average depth of the Brazil section of the Amazon River is about 150 feet, with maximum depths reaching about 300 feet. In the section of the river between Manacapuru and Óbidos, the depth ranges between 66 and 85 feet.

The longest river of Europe is the River Volga. It flows primarily in a southerly direction through Russia into the Caspian Sea. The second longest is the Danube, flows west to east before entering the Black Sea.

Rivers have been instrumental in shaping the world’s history. Most ancient civilizations have sprung up and flourished along the largest rivers on earth. Apart from this, these rivers have seen empires rise and fall, and many battles won and lost. Thousands of gallons of water piercing through the land and rushing towards the sea make up one of Nature’s most amazing creations.

Content for this question contributed by Michelle Beaudry, resident of Warren, Worcester County, Massachusetts, USA