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List of rivers by length
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This is a list of the longest rivers on Earth. It includes river systems over 1,000 kilometers.

Definition of length

The length of a river isn't 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 has for long been 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's 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 isn't always the one given the name of the river. For example, the farthest source of the Mississippi River system is the source of the Jefferson River, a tributary of the Missouri River which in turn is a tributary of the Mississippi. However, a different (and shorter) tributary is identified as the Mississippi. When the river is measured from mouth to farthest source, it's called the Mississippi-Missouri-Jefferson. Also, it's hard to state exactly where a river begins as very often rivers are formed by seasonal streams, swamps, or changing lakes. In this article, length means the length of the river system, including all tributaries.
   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 River Plate and the Saint Lawrence River. Some rivers don't have a mouth; instead they dwindle to very low water volume and eventually evaporate, or sink into an aquifer, or get diverted for agriculture. The exact point where these rivers end will vary seasonally.
   The length of a river between source and mouth may be hard to determine because of a lack of precise maps. 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, due to the fractal quality of a river, the larger the scale, the longer the resulting length measurement. This issue was discovered by Lewis Fry Richardson and also applies when measuring borders between countries and coastlines. Ideally, length measurements should be based on maps that are of a large enough scale to show the width of the river, and the path measured is the path a small boat would take down the middle of the river.
   Even when precise maps are available, the length measurement isn't always clear. A river may have multiple arms. It may depend on whether the center or the edge of the river is taken as reference point. It may not be clear how to measure the length through a lake: this may also vary by season. These points make it difficult, if not impossible, to get a precise (or comparable ) measurement of the length of a river or stream.

List of rivers longer than 1000 km

One should take the aforementioned discussion into account when using the data in the following table. For most rivers, different sources provide conflicting information on the length of a river system. The information in different sources is between parentheses.
Continent color key
Africa Asia Australia Europe North America South America
River Length (km) Length (miles) Drainage area (km²) Average discharge (m³/s) Outflow Countries in the drainage basin
1.** Nile 6,650 4,135 2,870,000 5,100 Mediterranean Sea Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Egypt, Democratic Republic of the Congo
2.** Amazon 6,400
 3,980
 6,915,000 219,000 Atlantic Ocean Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana
3. Yangtze
(Chang Jiang)		 6,300
 3,917
 1,800,000 31,900 East China Sea P.R. China
4. Mississippi - Missouri 6,275
 3,902
 2,980,000 16,200 Gulf of Mexico United States (98.5%), Canada (1.5%)
5. Yenisei - Angara - Selenga 5,539
 3,445
 2,580,000 19,600 Kara Sea Russia, Mongolia
6. Yellow
(Huang He)		 5,464
 3,398
 745,000 2,110 Bohai Sea
(Balhae)		 P.R. China
7. Ob - Irtysh 5,410 3,364 2,990,000 12,800 Gulf of Ob Russia, Kazakhstan, P.R. China
8. Congo - Chambeshi
(Zaire)		 4,700
 2,922
 3,680,000 41,800 Atlantic Ocean Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Angola, Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Cameroon, Zambia, Burundi, Rwanda
9. Amur - Argun
(Heilong Jiang)		 4,444 2,763 1,855,000 11,400 Sea of Okhotsk Russia, P.R. China, Mongolia
10. Lena 4,400
 2,736
 2,490,000 17,100 Laptev Sea Russia
11. Mekong
(Lancang Jiang)		 4,350 2,705 810,000 16,000 South China Sea Laos, Thailand, P.R. China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar
12. Mackenzie - Peace - Finlay 4,241
 2,637
 1,790,000 10,300 Beaufort Sea Canada
13. Niger 4,200
 2,611
 2,090,000 9,570 Gulf of Guinea Nigeria (26.6%), Mali (25.6%), Niger (23.6%), Algeria (7.6%), Guinea (4.5%), Cameroon (4.2%), Burkina Faso (3.9%), Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Chad
14. Paraná
(Río de la Plata)		 3,998
 2,486
 3,100,000 25,700 Atlantic Ocean Brazil (46.7%), Argentina (27.7%), Paraguay (13.5%), Bolivia (8.3%), Uruguay (3.8%)
15. Murray - Darling 3,750
 2,332
 1,061,000 767 Southern Ocean Australia
16. Volga 3,645 2,266 1,380,000 8,080 Caspian Sea Russia (99.8%), Kazakhstan (minor)
17. Shatt al-Arab - Euphrates 3,596
 2,236
 884,000 856 Persian Gulf Iraq (40.5%), Turkey (24.8%), Iran (19.7%), Syria (14.7%)
18. Purus 3,379 2,101 63,166 8,400 Amazon Brazil, Peru
19. Madeira - Mamoré 3,239 2,014 850,000 17,000 Amazon Brazil, Bolivia, Peru
20. Yukon 3,184 1,980 850,000 6,210 Bering Sea United States (59.8%), Canada (40.2%)
21. Indus
(Sindhu)		 3,180 1,976 960,000 7,160 Arabian Sea Pakistan, India, P. R. China, disputed territory (Kashmir), Afghanistan (6.3%)
22. São Francisco 3,180*
(2,900)		 1,976*
(1,802)		 610,000 3,300 Atlantic Ocean Brazil
23. Syr Darya - Naryn 3,078 1,913 219,000 703 Aral Sea Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan
24. Salween
(Nu Jiang)		 3,060 1,901 324,000 3,153 Andaman Sea P.R. China (52.4%), Myanmar (43.9%), Thailand (3.7%)
25. Saint Lawrence - Niagara-Detroit-Saint Clair-Saint Marys-Saint Louis 3,058 1,900 1,030,000 10,100 Gulf of Saint Lawrence Canada (52.1%), United States (47.9%)
26. Rio Grande 3,057
(2,896)		 1,900
(1,799)		 570,000 82 Gulf of Mexico United States (52.1%), Mexico (47.9%)
27. Lower Tunguska 2,989 1,857 473,000 3,600 Yenisei Russia
28. Brahmaputra 2,948* 1,832* 1,730,000 19,200 Bay of Bengal India (58.0%), P.R. China (19.7%), Nepal (9.0%), Bangladesh (6.6%), Disputed India/P.R. China (4.2%), Bhutan (2.4%)
29. Danube 2,850* 1,771* 817,000 7,130 Black Sea Romania (28.9%), Hungary (11.7%), Austria (10.3%), Serbia (10.3%), Germany (7.5%), Slovakia (5.8%), Bulgaria (5.2%), Bosnia and Herzegovina (4.8%), Croatia (4.5%), Ukraine (3.8%), Moldova (1.7%).
30. Tocantins 2,699 1,677 1,400,000 13,598 Atlantic Ocean, Amazon Brazil
31. Zambezi
(Zambesi)		 2,693* 1,673* 1,330,000 4,880 Mozambique Channel Zambia (41.6%), Angola (18.4%), Zimbabwe (15.6%), Mozambique (11.8%), Malawi (8.0%), Tanzania (2.0%), Namibia, Botswana
32. Vilyuy 2,650 1,647 454,000 1,480 Lena Russia
33. Araguaia 2,627 1,632 358,125 6,172 Tocantins Brazil
34. Amu Darya 2,620 1,628 534,739 1,400 Aral Sea Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan
35. Japurá
(Rio Yapurá)		 2,615* 1,625* 242,259 6,000 Amazon Brazil, Colombia
36. Nelson - Saskatchewan 2,570 1,597 1,093,000 2,575 Hudson Bay Canada
37. Paraguay
(Rio Paraguay)		 2,549 1,584 900,000 4,300 Paraná Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina
38. Kolyma 2,513 1,562 644,000 3,800 East Siberian Sea Russia
39. Ganges 2,510 1,560 907,000 12,037 Brahmaputra, Bay of Bengal India, Bangladesh
40. Pilcomayo 2,500 1,553 270,000 Paraguay Paraguay, Argentina, Bolivia
41. Upper Ob 2,490 1,547 Ob Russia
42. Ishim 2,450 1,522 177,000 56 Irtysh Kazakhstan, Russia
43. Juruá 2,410 1,498 200,000 6,000 Amazon Peru, Brazil
44. Ural 2,428 1,509 237,000 475 Caspian Sea Russia, Kazakhstan
45. Arkansas 2,348 1,459 505,000
(435,122)		 1,066 Mississippi United States
46. Ubangi - Uele 2,300 1,429 4,003 Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic
47. Olenyok 2,292 1,424 219,000 1,210 Laptev Sea Russia
48. Dnieper 2,287 1,421 516,300 1,670 Black Sea Russia, Belarus, Ukraine
49. Aldan 2,273 1,412 729,000 5,060 Lena Russia
50. Negro 2,250 1,450 720,114 26,700 Amazon Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia
51. Columbia 2,250 (1,953) 1,450 (1,214) 415,211 7400 Pacific Ocean United States, Canada
52. Colorado (western U.S.) 2,333 1,450 390,000 1,200 Gulf of California United States, Mexico
53. Pearl - Xi Jiang 2,200 1,376 437,000 13,600 South China Sea P.R. China (98.5%), Vietnam (1.5%)
54. Red 2,188 1,360 78,592 875 Mississippi United States
55. Ayeyarwady(Irrawaddy) 2,170 1,348 411,000 13,000 Andaman Sea Myanmar
56. Kasai 2,153 1,338 880,200 10,000 Congo Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo
57. Ohio - Allegheny 2,102 1,306 490,603 7,957 Mississippi United States
58. Orinoco 2,101 1,306 880,000 30,000 Atlantic Ocean Venezuela, Colombia
59. Tarim 2,100 1,305 557,000 Lop Nur P. R. China
60. Xingu 2,100 1,305 Amazon Brazil
61. Orange 2,092 1,300     Atlantic Ocean South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho
62. Northern Salado 2,010 1,249 Paraná Argentina
63. Vitim 1,978 1,229 Lena Russia
64. Tigris 1,950 1,212 Shatt al-Arab Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran
65. Songhua 1,927 1,197 Amur P. R. China
66. Tapajós 1,900 1,181 Amazon Brazil
67. Don 1,870 1,162 425,600 935 Sea of Azov Russia
68. Stony Tunguska 1,865 1,159 240,000 Yenisei Russia
69. Pechora 1,809 1,124 322,000 Barents Sea Russia
70. Kama 1,805 1,122 507,000 Volga Russia
71. Limpopo 1,800 1,118 413,000 Indian Ocean Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana
72. Guaporé 1,749 1,087 Mamoré Brazil, Bolivia
73. Indigirka 1,726 1,072 360,400 1,810 East Siberian Sea Russia
74. Snake 1,670 1,038 279,719 1,611 Columbia United States
75. Senegal 1,641 1,020 419,659 Atlantic Ocean Senegal, Mali, Mauritania
76. Uruguay 1,610 1,000 370,000 Atlantic Ocean Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil
77. Blue Nile 1,600 994 Nile Ethiopia, Sudan
77. Churchill 1,600 994 Hudson Bay Canada
77. Khatanga 1,600 994 Laptev Sea Russia
77. Okavango 1,600 994 Okavango Delta Namibia, Angola, Botswana
77. Volta 1,600 994 Gulf of Guinea Ghana, Burkina Faso, Togo, Côte d'Ivoire, Benin
82. Beni 1,599 994 Madeira Bolivia
83. Platte 1,594 990 Missouri United States
84. Tobol 1,591 989 Irtysh Kazakhstan, Russia
85. Jubba - Shebelle 1,580* 982* Indian Ocean Ethiopia, Somalia
86. Içá
(Putumayo)		 1,575 979 Amazon Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador
87. Magdalena 1,550 963 Caribbean Sea Colombia
88. Han 1,532 952 Yangtze P. R. China
89. Lomami 1,500 932 Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo
89. Oka 1,500 932 Volga Russia
90. Pecos 1,490 926 Rio Grande United States
91. Upper Yenisei 1,480 920 Yenisei Russia, Mongolia
92. Godavari 1,465 910 Bay of Bengal India
93. Colorado (Texas) 1,438 894 Gulf of Mexico United States
94. Río Grande (Guapay) 1,438 894 Ichilo Bolivia
95. Belaya 1,420 882 Kama Russia
96. Cooper - Barcoo 1,420 880 Lake Eyre Australia
97. Marañón 1,415 879 Amazon Peru
98. Dniester 1,411 (1,352) 877 (840) Black Sea Ukraine, Moldova
99. Benue 1,400 870 Niger Cameroon, Nigeria
99. Ili
(Yili)		 1,400 870 Lake Balkhash P. R. China, Kazakhstan
99. Warburton - Georgina 1,400 870 Lake Eyre Australia
102. Yamuna 1,376 855 Ganges India
103. Sutlej 1,370 851 Chenab China, India, Pakistan
103. Vyatka 1,370 851 Kama Russia
105. Fraser 1,368 850 Pacific Ocean Canada
106. Kura 1,364 848 Caspian Sea Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Turkey, Iran
107. Grande 1,360 845 Paraná Brazil
108. Brazos 1,352 840 Gulf of Mexico United States
109. Liao 1,345 836 Bohai Sea P. R. China
110. Yalong 1,323 822 Yangtze P. R. China
111. Iguaçu 1,320 820 Paraná Brazil, Argentina
111. Olyokma 1,320 820 Lena Russia
111. Rhine 1,320 820 198,735 2330 North Sea Germany, France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Italy
114. Northern Dvina - Sukhona 1,302 809 357,052 3332 White Sea Russia
115. Krishna 1,300 808 Bay of Bengal India
115. Iriri 1,300 808 Xingu Brazil
117. Narmada 1,289 801 Arabian Sea India
118. Ottawa 1,271 790 Saint Lawrence Canada
119. Zeya 1,242 772 Amur Russia
120. Juruena 1,240 771 Tapajós Brazil
121. Upper Mississippi 1,236 768 Mississippi United States
122. Athabasca 1,231 765 Mackenzie Canada
122. Elbe - Vltava 1,231 765 148,268 711 North Sea Germany, Czech Republic
124. Canadian 1,223 760 Arkansas United States
125. North Saskatchewan 1,220 758 Saskatchewan Canada
126. Vaal 1,210 752 Orange South Africa
127. Shire 1,200 746 Zambezi Mozambique, Malawi
128. Nen
(Nonni)		 1,190 739 Songhua P. R. China
129. Green 1,175 730 Colorado (western U.S.) United States
130. Milk 1,173 729 Missouri United States, Canada
131. Chindwin 1,158 720 Ayeyarwady Myanmar
132. Sankuru 1,150 715 Kasai Democratic Republic of the Congo
133. James (Dakotas) 1,143 710 Missouri United States
133. Kapuas 1,143 710 South China Sea Indonesia
135. Helmand 1,130 702 Hamun-i-Helmand Afghanistan, Iran
135. Madre de Dios 1,130 702 Madeira Peru, Bolivia
135. Tietê 1,130 702 Paraná Brazil
135. Vychegda 1,130 702 Northern Dvina Russia
139. Sepik 1,126 700 77,700 Pacific Ocean Papua New Guinea, Indonesia
140. Cimarron 1,123 698 Arkansas United States
141. Anadyr 1,120 696 Gulf of Anadyr Russia
142. Jialing River 1,119 695 Yangtze P. R. China
143. Liard 1,115 693 Mackenzie Canada
144. White 1,102 685 Mississippi United States
145. Huallaga 1,100 684 Marañón Peru
145. Kwango 1,100 684 263,500 2,700 Kasai Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo
147. Gambia 1,094 680 Atlantic Ocean The Gambia, Senegal, Guinea
148. Chenab 1,086 675 Indus India, Pakistan
149. Yellowstone 1,080 671 Missouri United States
150. Donets 1,078 (1,053) 670 (654) Don Ukraine, Russia
151. Bermejo 1,050 652 Paraguay Argentina, Bolivia
151. Fly 1,050 652 Gulf of Papua Papua New Guinea, Indonesia
151. Guaviare 1,050 652 Orinoco Colombia
151. Kuskokwim 1,050 652 Bering Sea United States
155. Tennessee 1,049 652 Ohio United States
156. Daugava 1,020 634 Gulf of Riga Latvia, Belarus, Russia
157. Gila 1,015 631 Colorado (western U.S.) United States
158. Vistula 1,014 630 Baltic Sea Poland
159. Loire 1,012 629 Atlantic Ocean France
160. Essequibo 1,010 628 Atlantic Ocean Guyana
160. Khoper 1,010 628 Don Russia
162. Tagus
(Tajo/Tejo)		 1,006 625 Atlantic Ocean Spain, Portugal
163. Colorado (Argentina) 1,000 620 Atlantic Ocean Argentina
==

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