The largest river basin has. Nile delta area. The longest river in the world is the Nile

River - a natural stream of water flowing in a goaf. Her work is manifested in erosion, i.e., in the destruction rocks through which the river flows. As a result, river valleys are formed.

river valley

river valley- a linearly elongated depression along the bottom of which a river flows. The following elements of the river valley are distinguished: channel, floodplain, terraces, root bank (Fig. 178).

Rice. 178. The structure of the river valley

A recess in a river valley, but to which the waters of the river constantly flow, is called riverbed.

The riverbed usually has a meandering shape. Smooth curves riverbed called meanders, or meanders(Fig. 179).

At a certain stage of development, the river can straighten its course. The remains of the former riverbeds form oxbow lakes - oblong, winding or horseshoe-shaped lakes.

Rice. 179. Meanders of rivers: a - initial stage; b - growth and displacement of the meander; c - straightening of the river bed and the formation of a residual reservoir - an oxbow lake

Rice. 180. Fairway, reach and roll

lines greatest depths riverbeds are called fairway(Fig. 180).

The river bed is characterized by alternating deeper sections (reaches) with smaller (rolls)(see fig. 180). There may be waterfalls - the fall water flow from a pronounced slope.

The place where the river originates, from which there is a constant flow of water in the channel, is called source. They can serve as a lake, swamp, glacier, spring.

Where a river flows into another river, lake, sea or ocean mouth. River mouths may vary in shape; For example, delta or estuary.

Delta - low-lying plain in the lower reaches of the river, composed of river alluvium and cut through by a network of streams. It is formed near calmly flowing rivers, carrying a large amount of solid precipitation into shallow seas.

Estuary- a funnel-shaped bay, narrowing towards the top, formed as a result of flooding of the lower reaches of the river valley under the influence of wave, river and tidal factors. Shallow desert rivers sometimes end in blind mouths, that is, they do not reach the reservoir (Murgab, Tejent, Cooper Creek).

The part of the river valley that fills with water during floods is floodplain. The width of the floodplains of lowland rivers can reach 40 km. The edge of the floodplain is often marked by a steep slope, on the edge of which coastal ramparts.

They rise above the floodplain slopes of the river valley. They can be high or low, steep or gentle. In steepness, both slopes of the valley are the same or various (asymmetric). By asymmetrical valleys northern hemisphere the steeper one is more often the right one (the action of the Coriolis force).

Valley slope often has a stepped shape. These steps are called terraces. Most often they arise as a result of the eroding activity of the river: the channel descends, cutting through the floodplain, which becomes a terrace. Occasionally, terraces occur when the earth's surface is distorted, caused by tectonic movements, as well as due to climatic changes.

The lowest river terrace is the floodplain, it is called floodplain terrace, other - floodplain.

Depending on the geological structure, the following terraces are distinguished:

• erosional(the alluvium composing the terrace has a small thickness);
• basement(there is a lot of alluvium, and bedrocks are exposed only in the lower part of the sides of the valley);
• accumulative(the river cuts through only the ancient alluvium).

Terraces are also longitudinal, transverse and indigenous.

Forms of river valleys can be varied, because many factors influence their formation: terrain; rock composition; erosion processes, etc.

According to the shape of the transverse profile, the following types of river valleys are distinguished (Fig. 181): a gap (canyon), a gorge, a gorge, a U-shaped valley, a trough-shaped valley, a trapezoid valley, a box-shaped valley, an indistinct valley. According to their contours, lolinas are subdivided into straight, winding (meandering) and valleys with lake-like extensions (bead-shaped).

Rice. 181. Types of transverse profiles of river valleys: a - gap (canyon); b - gorge, gorge; c - U-shaped valley; g - trough-shaped valley; e - trapezoidal valley; e - box-shaped valley; g - vaguely expressed valley

Strongly different from each other mountain and flat valleys. The former are characterized by a significant depth with a relatively small width and an uneven drop in the longitudinal profile. The latter, as a rule, are wide, have an insignificant depth and steepness of slopes, small slopes, etc.

Main river with tributaries form river system. The main river is usually considered to be the longest and most abundant river, however, a number of names of the main rivers have been strengthened historically. In this case, the main river became the one that people knew earlier, longer and better. For example, the Missouri River is longer and fuller. main river Mississippi. Along with the river there are lake-river systems. They are formed where rivers flow through lakes, for example, the river. The Neva flows through Lake Ladoga.

Each river has certain characteristics, including length, area drainage basin, annual runoff, maximum and average water consumption and a number of other indicators.

River length - the length of a river from source to mouth.

river basin

river basin(drainage basin of the river) - the territory of the earth's surface from which all surface and ground water flow into the river with its tributaries. The river basin includes surface and underground watersheds. surface catchment represents a section of the earth's surface from which water flows into a given river system or a specific river. The underground catchment area is formed by layers of loose sediments, from which water enters the river network. But since it is very difficult to determine the boundaries of the underground catchment, only the area of ​​the surface catchment is taken as the size of the river basin.

Table 30. The largest rivers in the world

	Name	Length, km
	Neil (with Kagera)
	Amazon (with Ucayali)
	Mississippi - Missouri
	Ob (with Irtysh)
	Parana (from the origins of Paranaiba)
	Cupid (from the sources of Argun and)

The largest drainage basin on Earth is the river. Amazon - 7.2 million km 2. Next in order are the basins of the Congo and Mississippi rivers (Table 31).

Table 31. The largest rivers in the world in terms of basin area

	Name	Basin area, thousand km 2
	Amazon
	Mississippi

The basins of individual rivers are separated by watersheds.

Watershed - boundary between river basins. It is better expressed in the mountains than in the plains.

Density of the river network is determined by the ratio of the total length of all rivers to the catchment area.

The fall - height difference between source and mouth.

river slope is the ratio of the fall to the length of the river, measured in meters per kilometer (m/km).

river runoff

river runoff(in a broad sense) is the movement of water in the form of a stream along a river bed. It is influenced by many factors.

The statement of the Russian climatologist A. I. Voeikov is true: “Rivers are a product of the climate.” So, with heavy rainfall, the flow of rivers is large, but one must take into account their type and nature of precipitation: snow gives a greater flow than rain, heavy rainfall increases the flow compared to overflowing with the same amount. But evaporation, especially intensive, reduces the runoff.

Very important geological structure river basin, especially chemical composition rocks and the nature of their occurrence, as they determine the underground feeding of rivers. Permeable rocks (thick sands, fractured rocks) are moisture accumulators, river flow in such cases is greater, since a smaller proportion of precipitation is spent on evaporation, and it is regulated.

The runoff in karst areas is peculiar: there are few rivers there, since precipitation is absorbed by funnels and cracks, but at their contact with clays or shale in river valleys and foothills, powerful springs are observed that feed the rivers. For example, dry Crimean Yayla, but powerful springs at the foot of the mountains.

Influence relief to the river runoff ( absolute altitude and slopes of the surface, density and depth of dissection) is large and varied. The flow of mountain rivers is usually greater than that of the plains, since in the mountains on the windward slopes there is more abundant precipitation, less evaporation due to lower temperatures, etc.

River flow is also affected by human activities. First of all, this applies to rivers, the water flow in which is regulated by the created reservoirs. The flow of such rivers is generally reduced, as evaporation from the water surface increases, a significant part of the water is spent on water supply, irrigation, watering, and underground nutrition decreases.

When transferring water from one river system in another, the flow changes: in one river it decreases, in the other it increases. For example, during the construction of the Moscow Canal (1937) in the river. On the Volga, it decreased, and in the river. Moscow has grown.

To regulate the river runoff, measures are being taken in the river basin, because its initial link is the slope runoff in the catchment area. The main activities carried out are as follows: agroforestry - tree plantations, etc. hydroreclamation - dams and ponds on beams and streams, etc., agronomic - autumn plowing, snow accumulation and snow retention, plowing across the slope or plowing on hills and ridges, grassing of slopes, etc.

In a narrow sense, river flow is the flow of water in a river over a certain period (usually a year).

Water consumption- the amount of water that flows through the living section of the river per unit of time. Typically, the flow rate is expressed in terms of cubic meters in one second (m 3 / s), and small flows (less than 0.1 m 3 / s) - in liters per second (l / s).

Living section of the river - cross-sectional area of ​​the water flow.

annual runoff- the amount of water flowing through the mouth of the river per year (Table 32).

Table 32. 10 largest rivers in the world by annual flow

river name	Continent on which the river is located	The volume of annual runoff for the year. km 3
Amazon	South America
	South America
Mississippi	North America
	South America
Tocantins	South America

The movement of water in a river continuously changes in magnitude and direction, resulting in horizontal and vertical mixing of the water. The course of the river is characterized speed. It can be determined by floats or special devices - hydrothermal turntables. It is expressed in meters per second.

With an open water surface in calm weather, the lowest speeds are observed near the coast and bottom, which is due to friction, and increase towards the surface and middle of the river. With a tailwind, the maximum speed occurs on the surface, with a headwind and in winter, with an ice cover, the maximum speed is observed at a certain depth.

Moving water is capable of doing work, that is, it has energy. They call her living force of the river. It is directly proportional to the mass of water and speed.

In addition to water, rivers carry large amounts of solids. They are conditionally divided into suspended - moving along with the water in the thickness of the stream, and drag - moving along the bottom by rolling and dragging.

Masses of suspended, entrained and dissolved chemical and biogenic substances, rocks, which are carried away by surface runoff, are called solid drain. The solid runoff is measured in tons carried by the river for a certain period of time (day, month, season, year) through the living (cross-section) section of the river. V major rivers ah, the volume of solid runoff reaches tens and even hundreds of millions of tons per year.

The first place in the world in terms of solid runoff is occupied by the river. Huang He (translated into Russian as "yellow river"). Its name is associated with the abundance of transportable solids that give the water a yellow tint (1300 million tons / year). The Chinese say that such water is too thick to drink, but too thin to plow. River bed The Yellow River is rapidly silting up.

When a river exits to the sea or flows into another river, solid runoff material forms alluvial cones or deltas, usually with fertile lands.

The amount of solid runoff depends on the turbidity of the water in the river.

Turbidity of water - the amount of suspended particles contained in 1 m 3 of water (g / m 3) or in a liter of water (mg / l).

One of the most muddy rivers in the world is the river. Yangtze. This is facilitated by the weak stability of the rocks through which the river flows, the elevated and mountainous terrain, intense rains, deforestation and plowing of land.

Many rivers of Eurasia and Canada have a small amount of turbidity, where settling lakes are strung on them, natural vegetation is well preserved, soils are bound by permafrost, and low coastal plains predominate.

In addition to solid particles, river waters contain a small amount of dissolved substances. They enter rivers through surface and underground runoff. In general, the mineralization of river waters is low (usually less than 200 mg/l, but can reach up to 500 mg/l), since surface water flow down from well-washed soils of the interfluves, and in the rivers there is a rapid change of water. In areas of excessive moisture in rivers, calcium waters are found. Sulfates appear in the waters of the steppe rivers, and chlorides appear in the transit rivers of semi-deserts and deserts. The smallest mineralization is in mountain rivers fed by glacial and snow waters, the largest is in rivers fed mainly by groundwater (for example, the rivers of Kazakhstan: Ishim - 12 g / l, Emba - 16 g / l, Turgai - 19 g / l) . In addition to minerals, river water always contains nutrients necessary for life in the rivers themselves.

Thermal regime of rivers depends on climate and food sources. By thermal regime There are three main types of rivers:

• with constantly warm water without seasonal temperature fluctuations: Amazon, Congo, Niger, etc.;
• with seasonal fluctuations in water temperature, but not freezing in winter: Seine, Thames, etc .;
• with large seasonal temperature fluctuations, freezing in winter: the Volga, Amur, Mackenzie, and others in the temperate and subarctic climatic zones.

In the warm half-year, the water temperature in the living section differs little due to mixing. The change in temperature along the length of the river depends on the direction of the flow: it is less for latitudinal rivers than for rivers flowing in the meridional direction. In rivers flowing from north to south, the temperature rises from source to mouth (Volga, etc.), in rivers flowing from south to north, the opposite is true (Ob, Yenisei, Lena, Mackenzie). These rivers carry huge reserves of heat to the Arctic Ocean, easing the ice conditions there in spring, and shift the boundaries of natural zones to the north.

In the winter period of freezing rivers, three main phases are distinguished: freezing, freezing, opening.

The freezing of rivers begins at an air temperature slightly below 0 ° C with the appearance of crystals - needles, then fat and pancake ice. During heavy snowfalls, water forms snowstorm. At the same time, ice strips appear off the coast - save. On the rifts (rapids) bottom ice may appear, which then floats up, forming, together with pancake ice, snow cover and ice floes torn off the coast, autumn ice drift.

The ice cover on the rivers is established mainly as a result of traffic jams - the accumulation of ice floes in shallow waters, in winding and narrow places and their freezing with each other and with the banks. Small rivers freeze before large ones.

The duration of freeze-up and ice thickness is different and depends on climatic conditions. For example, r. The Volga in the middle reaches is covered with ice for 4-5 months and the thickness of the ice is up to 1 m, r. Lena in the middle reaches - 6-7 months with an ice thickness of up to 1.5-2 m. The thickness and strength of the ice determine the possibility and duration of river crossings and movement on their ice - along winter roads. During freeze-up on rivers, phenomena such as polynyas can be observed: dynamic - in rapids sections of the channel, thermal - in places where warm groundwater exits or industrial water is discharged.

In areas with permafrost and severe frosts river ice is frequent - ice growths in the form of flat-convex ice bodies at the outpouring river water to the surface due to the narrowing of the free flow area. The thickness of ice floes is on average 3-5 m. Along the length of the river, they are usually arranged in chains for tens of kilometers, sometimes narrowing, sometimes expanding, depending on the shape of the river valley. There are cases when the ice "captured" villages. The largest icing in the world (according to V. M. Kotlyakov) - Bolshaya Momskaya (more than 100 km 3) exists in the river valley. Moma, the right tributary of the Indigirka. It has a length of 40 km and a thickness of 3-8 m. The flow of groundwater participates in its formation. Often on the rivers you can see nearby, it would seem, antagonistic phenomena - polynyas and ice. In fact, they are closely related to each other: with their upper edge, icing adjoins polynyas at the outlets of relatively powerful warm springs.

On the rivers there are congestion - blockage of the living section of the river by the mass of the intra-water and bottom broken ice. They impede the operation of the hydroelectric power station, as ice clogs the water intake openings of the dams. Finally, complete freezing of rivers is also possible (in the northeast of Siberia and Alaska).

The opening of rivers in spring occurs 1.5-2 weeks after the air temperature passes through 0 °C due to solar heat and parish warm air. The melting of ice begins under the influence of melted snow water entering the river, strips of water appear near the banks - rims, and when snow melts on the ice surface - thawed patches. Then ice shifts occur, it collapses, spring ice drift and floods are observed. On the rivers flowing from the lakes, in addition to the main river ice drift, there is a secondary ice drift caused by the removal of lake ice. The flood height depends on annual amount snow reserves in the watershed, the intensity of spring snowmelt and rain during this period. On rivers flowing from north to south, ice drift and floods in different segments pass at different times, starting from the lower reaches, there are several peaks of floods, and in general everything is calm, but stretched out in time (Dnieper, Volga, etc.).

Water regime of rivers characterized by a cumulative change in time levels and volumes of water in the river.

Water level- the height of the water surface of the river relative to a certain zero mark.

Characteristic periods with certain levels and volumes of water in the river are called phases water regime. At different rivers they are different and depend on climatic conditions and the ratio of food sources: rain, snow, underground and glacial.

The main phases of the water regime are high water and low water.

High water - a high and prolonged rise in the water level in the river, which is repeated annually in the same season, accompanied by flooding of the floodplain. During this period, the rivers have the highest water content. The flood falls most of annual runoff of rivers (up to 60-80%). Floods are caused by the spring melting of snow on the plains, the summer melting of snow and ice in the mountains and in polar regions, long heavy rains in the warm period of the year. Depending on what is the cause of the flood, this period on different rivers occurs in different seasons of the year, for example, in summer on the river. Ganges, Indus, Yangtze, Mekong due to monsoonal summer rains and melting of glaciers in the mountains; in winter on the Mediterranean rivers (Guadiana, Guadalquivir, etc.) due to winter rains.

Table 33

Dominant Power Source	Dominant runoff	Continents and parts of the world
				North America	South America		Australia
Snowy
rain
Underground
Glacial
Internal runoff areas

e - areas of internal runoff of a large area.

low water(low water) - a period of long lower levels and water flow in the river with the predominance of underground feeding. Summer low water is due to intense evaporation and seepage of water into the ground, despite the largest number rainfall at this time. Winter low water is the result of a lack of surface nutrition. At this time, the rivers exist only due to groundwater.

A sudden short-term non-periodic rise in the water level in a river is called flood. Unlike floods, floods occur in all seasons of the year: in summer they can be caused by heavy rains; in winter - by melting snow during thaws; in the mouths of some rivers due to the surge of water from the seas (autumn floods on the Neva River in St. Petersburg are caused by the surge of water from the Gulf of Finland by western winds).

The autumn rise of water in the rivers, sometimes called leash period, is associated with a decrease in temperature and a decrease in evaporation, and not with an increase in precipitation - there are less of them than in summer, although cloudy weather is more common in autumn.

The forecast of the water content of rivers and their regime during the year has great importance to address issues of wise use of countries' water resources. The forecast of runoff during floods is very important, which in some years are extremely high and lead to negative consequences.

According to the conditions of nutrition and water regime, the rivers are divided into separate groups. The first such classification was created by A. I. Voeikov(1842-1916) in 1884. Later it was improved by M.I. Lvovich in 1964 at the expense of quantification the role of individual river sources and the seasonal distribution of runoff. He singled out six zonal types of the water regime of lowland rivers.

Rivers of the equatorial type have abundant rain food, a large and relatively uniform runoff throughout the year, a slight increase in it is observed in the autumn of the corresponding hemisphere. These are the Amazon, Congo and other rivers.

Rivers tropical type. The runoff of these rivers is formed due to monsoonal summer rains in the subequatorial climatic zone and predominantly summer rains in east coasts tropical zone, so the flood is summer. This type includes the rivers Niger, Orinoco, Nile.

Rivers subtropical type in general, they are predominantly rain fed, but two subtypes are distinguished according to the seasonal distribution of runoff: on the western coasts of the continents in the Mediterranean maritime climate the main runoff is winter (R. Guadiana, Guadalquivir, Duero, Tajo, etc.), on the eastern coasts in a monsoon climate - summer (tributaries of the Yangtze River, Huang He River).

Rivers moderate type. Within the temperate climate zone, four subtypes of rivers are distinguished according to their sources of food and the seasonal distribution of runoff. On the western coasts, in a maritime climate near rivers, it is predominantly rain fed with a uniform distribution of runoff throughout the year with some increase in winter due to reduced evaporation (Seine, Thames, etc.); in areas with transitional climate from sea to conti-
the mental rivers have a mixed diet with a predominance of rain over snow, with a low spring flood (Elbe, Oder, Vistula); in areas continental climate near the rivers, snow and spring floods are predominantly (Volga, Ob, Yenisei, Lena); on the eastern coasts with a monsoonal climate, the rivers are mainly fed by rain and summer floods.

Rivers subarctic type have predominantly snow nutrition with an almost complete absence of underground due to permafrost. These rivers are cold period years (8-9 months) freeze to the bottom and have no runoff. The high water on rivers of this type is summer, since they break up in late May - early June (Yana, Indigirka, Khatanga, etc.).

Rivers polar type v short period summers are fed by snow and glaciers and runoff, while most of the year they are frozen.

Similar types and subtypes of the water regime are typical for rivers, the flow of which is formed in more or less the same type. climatic conditions. The regime of large transit rivers crossing several climatic zones is more complicated. It is all the more difficult for the rivers of mountainous regions, which are characterized by the laws of vertical zonality. With an increase in the height of the mountains near the rivers, the share of snow, and then glacial nutrition, increases. Therefore, the rivers that start in the mountains and are additionally fed by snow and glaciers are characterized by summer floods (Amu Darya, Syr Darya, etc.). Summer floods are especially intense and even catastrophic on rivers that start high in the mountains, and in the middle and lower reaches are abundantly fed by monsoon rains: the Indus, the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, the Mekong, the Irrawaddy, the Yangtze, the Yellow River, and others.

Economic importance and protection of rivers

Rivers have a lot economic importance. They are associated with the formation and development human society. Since historical times, rivers have been used as sources of fresh drinking water, communication routes, for fishing and fish farming, timber rafting, irrigation and watering of lands, and water supply to the population. They are used to supply water industrial enterprises, receiving electricity.

Rivers are of great aesthetic and recreational importance, being places of recreation and various sports activities. They serve as collectors, water receivers for drainage reclamation of wetlands.

The wide involvement of rivers in the economic turnover has become disastrous for them. Unfortunately, many rivers are heavily polluted with industrial and domestic wastewater, pesticides and mineral fertilizers from fields and runoff from livestock enterprises. Not everywhere along the banks of the rivers there are water protection zones. Many of the rivers, especially those flowing in the southern regions, where there is a great need for irrigation, are heavily analyzed. For this reason, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya no longer flow into the Aral Sea, and it is rapidly drying up. Rivers need protection and support for their natural water regime and its reasonable improvement through the creation of reservoirs, canals and various works in the riverbed and basin.

A river basin is a land area into which underground groundwater and various reservoirs flow. All of them enter the system of a certain river, but the regimes of the surface and underground catchment areas do not coincide. Since it is difficult to trace the sources of groundwater, it is the tributaries of the river that form the basis of the basin.

Water exchange between the main river, lakes and small rivers occurs regularly, which ensures the regime of the river basin. Between neighboring reservoirs there is a border along the line of watersheds.

Types of river basins

Scientists distinguish two types of river basins - runoff and endorheic. Endorheic basins include the waters of rivers and lakes, which are not connected to the oceans through the main river. They vary in location, shape and size. Accordingly, waste areas are those that, as a result, have access to the ocean.

Everything river basins are characterized by the length of the main river and the area of ​​the river catchment, the volume of water runoff and the stability of the riverbed, sources of food and hydro-regime conditions. According to the length of the river are divided into large, medium and small. The rivers are fed by rainwater, snow, glacial, underground, and the waters of streams, lakes and small rivers are also important. Most often, river basins have a mixed supply when there are several sources of water.

The largest river basins in the world

It is believed that every river has a pool, regardless of whether it flows into another river, sea or ocean. The largest basins of the following rivers:

• Amazon;
• Congo;
• Mississippi;
• Parana;
• Yenisei;
• Lena;
• Niger;
• Amur.

Depending on the area of ​​river basins, they are, first of all, of great economic importance. Rivers are the main source fresh water. Their waters are used to irrigate fields, irrigation systems are created, applied water resources and in industry (metallurgy, energy, chemical industry). River basins play an important role in fishing. One of the functions of rivers is recreational.

Thus, the main river, together with tributaries and groundwater sources, forms a river basin. The more reservoirs flow into the river, the more abundant the pool becomes. Since water resources are of paramount importance for people's lives, they are actively used in various sectors of the economy and everyday life. This leads to the depletion of some water bodies, but in order to avoid this, it is necessary to rationally use the waters of the planet's river basins.

Drainage basin, or catchment area - part of the earth's surface, including the thickness of the soil, from which a river or river network receives water supply. The catchment area genetically determines the quantity and quality of runoff, thereby laying down the main parameters of natural water resources.

Each river basin has surface and underground watersheds. A surface catchment is a section of the earth's surface from which water flows into a river network. An underground catchment area is a part of the soil stratum, from which water enters the river network underground. The surface catchment may not coincide with the underground.

A river that flows directly into the sea or into an endorheic lake is called the main one; the rivers flowing into the main one are tributaries of the first order, then there are tributaries of the second order, the third, etc. The totality of the main river with all tributaries forms a river system. The ratio of the total length of all rivers in the basin (or other territory) to the area characterizes the density of the river network.

On the territory of Russia, 8 of the 50 largest world river basins are located in whole or in part: the basins of the Ob, Yenisei, Lena, Amur, Volga, Dnieper, Don, and Ural rivers.
most large area the basin is possessed by the river Ob - 2990 thousand km2; the length of the river is 3650 km (from the source of the Katun River - 4338 km, from the source of the Irtysh River - 5410 km).

In the basin of the Yenisei River (the area of ​​​​the basin is 2580 thousand km2, the length of the river is 3487 km; the length from the sources of the Small Yenisei River is 4102 km) there is a unique one, which, together with adjacent territories, including protected areas, belongs to the World Natural Heritage sites.
The area of ​​the Lena River basin is 2490 thousand km2. The river, 4400 km long, originates on the slopes of the Baikal Range, flows into, forming a large (about 30 thousand km2) delta.

Most of the Amur River basin is located in Russia. The Amur is one of the largest rivers in the Far East region (length 2824 km; from the source of the Argun River - 4440 km; basin area 1855 km2). A serious problem of the river is the intensive development of the right bank of the river by the PRC, in connection with which, in the last decade, the load on the ecosystems of the basin has sharply increased. The wasteful use of natural resources, with a significant difference between Chinese environmental regulations and Russian standards, leads to a change in the natural resource potential, in particular, to a deterioration in the state of valuable species commercial fish, disruption of seasonal migration routes of ungulates and protected species of waterfowl, change in the fairway of the river as a result of uncontrolled excavation in the water protection zone, pollution of it with harmful substances.
The area of ​​the drainage basin of the Volga River - the largest in Europe - is 1360 thousand km2, that is, 62.2% of the European part of Russia, 8% of the area of ​​Russia, almost 13% of the territory of Europe. 2600 rivers flow directly into the Volga (length 3530 km), and in total there are more than 150 thousand watercourses in the basin with a length of more than 10 km. Its largest tributaries are the Oka and Kama rivers. The catchment area of ​​small rivers is 45% total area pool.

	Name	Length (km)	Basin area (thousand km²)	Average water discharge at the mouth (thousand m³/s)	The highest water flow at the mouth (thousand m³/s)	Solid runoff (million tons/year)
	Amazon
	Nile
	Yangtze
	Mississippi - Missouri
	Huanghe
	Ob (with Irtysh)
	Parana (from the origins of Paranaiba)
	Mekong
	Amur (from the sources of Argun)
	Lena
	Kongo (with Lualaba)
	Mackenzie (from the headwaters of the Peace River)
	Niger
	Yenisei (from the origins of the Small Yenisei)
	Volga
	indus
	Yukon
	Danube
	Orinoco
	Ganges (with Brahmaputra)
	Zambezi
	Murray
	Dnieper

5 largest, longest and largest rivers in the world by continent. Descriptions and characteristics of rivers.

1. The Amazon (6992 m) is the largest, longest and largest river in the world and South America.

Description of the Amazon River - the longest river in the world and South America.

Amazon is an absolute record holder both in length and in full-flowing and area of ​​the basin. For many years it was believed that longest river in the world is the Nile, but the latest research, conducted by comparing photographs from space and computer data processing, refuted this long ago known fact. The Amazon turned out to be 140 km longer than the Nile!

In 2011, according to the results of the world competition, the Amazon was recognized as one of the seven natural wonders of the world. And this is no coincidence. The Amazon is not only the longest, largest and largest river in the world and in South America, but also a unique place on our planet, home to more than a million species of various plants and animals. According to researchers, per 10 km² rainforest there are 1.5 thousand species of flowers, 750 species of trees, 125 species of mammals, 400 species of birds and countless invertebrates. Many of their species are not even described or identified. Up to 2,000 species of fish live in the Amazon and its tributaries, one of which is the well-known voracious predatory piranha.

The world's largest tropical rainforest is located in the basin of the longest river in the world. The climate here is hot and humid, all year round The air temperature fluctuates only within 25-28°C and it rains very often. There is practically no wind in the forest - lush vegetation does not let in gusts of air. Even during a storm, only the tops of the trees sway here, and twilight and peace reign below.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the longest underground river in the world was discovered under the longest land-based river in the world., flowing parallel to the Amazon at a depth of 4000 m. It originates in the Andes and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Its so far unofficial name is Hamza - in honor of the scientist who discovered it. The speed of the river Khamza does not exceed a few meters per year, and the width is about 400 meters.

The main characteristics of the Amazon River. Description of the longest river in the world in numbers. Table.

river name	Amazon
Length of the Amazon River:
From the main source of Maranyon
From the source of Apachet	about 7000 km
From the source of Ucayali	over 7000 km
Continent	South America
	Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana
Source of the Amazon River	Confluence of the Maranion and Ucayali rivers
Source coordinates	4°26′25″ S sh. 73°26′50″ W d.
Mouth of the Amazon River	Atlantic Ocean
Mouth coordinates	0°35′35″ S sh. 49°57′22″ W d.
Swimming pool	7,180,000 km²
Water consumption
Average annual runoff	about 7000 km³
solid stock	498 million tons/year
river slope
Speed ​​of the Amazon River
Main tributaries on the right	Jurua, Purus, Madeira, Tapajos, Xingu, Tocantins
Main tributaries on the left	Isa, Japura, Rio Negro
Annual amount of rainfall

2. Nile (6852) - the second of the largest, largest and longest rivers in the world and the longest river in Africa.

Description of the Nile River - the second of the largest, largest and longest rivers in the world and the longest river in Africa.

Nile is the true "river of life", as it is the only river North Africa that crosses the sands of the Sahara without drying up. A permanent stream is carried out due to precipitation falling in the upper reaches of the river.

Along the Nile are almost all settlements Egypt and concentrated almost all economic activity. The waters of the second longest river in the world are used to irrigate fields and generate electricity ( energetic resources Nile are estimated at 50 GW), fisheries and fish farming, water supply and shipping.

The Nile originates on the East African Plateau (Kagera River), flows through Lake Victoria (some sources indicate this particular lake as the source of the Nile River). The exit from the plateau is characterized by an abundance of rapids and waterfalls. After the confluence of the El Ghazal river, the river is called White Nile and flows through semi-deserts and deserts to Khartoum, receives the main tributary - the Blue Nile and, under the name of the Nile itself, flows to the Mediterranean Sea, at the confluence of which forms a vast delta.

Floods in different parts of the river occur in different seasons: in the equator region - in the summer and winter seasons, in the northern part of the river - in the summer and autumn periods. Dams built to regulate the flow of one of the longest rivers in the world: Gebel-Auliya on the White Nile, Aswan and High Aswan. The construction of dams protected the population from annual floods. This, on the one hand, deprived Agriculture the most important natural fertilizer- silt, but, on the other hand, increased the area of ​​irrigated land and made it possible to harvest three crops a year from the fields.

The main characteristics of the Nile River. Description of the second of the longest, largest and largest rivers in the world and the longest river in Africa in numbers. Table.

river name
Length of the Nile River:
Rukarara - Kagera - Nile
From lake. Victoria to the Mediterranean
Current direction	From south to north
Continent
Countries in the drainage basin	Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt
Largest cities	Cairo, Khartoum, Aswan, Alexandria
Source of the Nile River	The confluence of the rivers Rukarara and Kagera
Mouth of the Nile River	Mediterranean Sea
Mouth coordinates	31°27′55″ s. sh. 30°22′00″ E d.
Nile Delta area	24 thousand km 2
Swimming pool	2.8-3.4 million km²
Water consumption	average 2600 m³/s
solid stock	62 million m 3 /year
Main tributaries on the right	Achva, Sobat, Blue Nile and Atbara
Main tributaries on the left	El Ghazal

3. Yangtze (5800 km) - the third of the largest, largest and longest rivers in the world and the longest, largest and largest river in Eurasia.

Description of the Yangtze River - the third of the largest, largest and longest rivers in the world and the longest river in Eurasia.

yangtze river originates in the eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau at an altitude of about 5600 km and flows through China from west to east, making a large turn to the south after Qinghai Province. The lower course of the Yangtze passes through the southern part of the Great Plain of China, where the river often divides into branches, while the width of the main channel reaches 2 km or more. In the area where it flows into the East China Sea, the Yangtze forms a large-scale delta with an area of ​​about 80 thousand km².

Four of China's five largest freshwater lakes drain into the Yangtze. The third longest river in the world has about 700 tributaries, the largest of which are the Yalongjiang, Minjiang, Jialingjiang, Tuo, Hanshui (Juhe).

The Yangtze River has a huge cultural and economic importance for the country. This is China's main waterway. The total length of the waterways of the Yangtze basin exceeds 17 thousand km. The river is one of the busiest waterways in the world. The volume of freight traffic in 2005 reached 795 million tons.

The Yangtze River basin, which covers a fifth of China, is home to a third of the country's population and produces about 20% of GDP. The world's largest hydroelectric power plant, the Three Gorges HPP, was built on the longest river in Eurasia.

The Yangtze River is home to many animals, including several endangered species such as the Chinese river dolphin, Chinese alligators and Korean sturgeons. On the territory of the basin of the third largest, largest and longest rivers in the world, there are several nature reserves and part of the listed Three Parallel Rivers National Park world heritage UNESCO.

Key Features of the Yangtze River. Description of the third of the longest, largest and largest rivers in the world and the longest river in Eurasia in numbers. Table.

river name	Yangtze
river length Yangtze:	5800 km (according to other sources - 6300 km)
Current direction	West to East
Continent
Country in the catchment area
Largest cities located on the longest river in Eurasia and the third longest river in the world.	Panzhihua, Yibin, Luzhou, Chongqing, Yichang, Jingzhou, Shashi, Shishou, Yueyang, Xianning, Wuhan, Ezhou, Huangshi, Huanggang, Chaohu, Chizhou, Jiujiang, Anqing, Tongling, Wuhu, Hefei, Chuzhou, Maanshan, Taizhou, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Nanjing, Nantong, Shanghai
Source yangtze river	Tibetan Plateau
Coordinates	33°26′39″ s. sh. 90°56′10″ E d.
mouth yangtze river	East China Sea
delta area yangtze river	80 thousand km 2
Pool area yangtze river	1,808,500 km²
Average annual runoff
Water consumption
solid stock	280 million tons/year
Main tributaries	Yalongjiang, Minjiang, Jialingjiang, Tuo, Hanshui (Juhe)
The average rainfall in the Yangtze river basin

Description of the Mississippi River - the fourth of the largest, largest and longest rivers in the world and the longest river in North America.

Mississippi- one of the greatest rivers peace. Together with the Missouri, it is the fourth longest river in the world and the largest, largest and longest river. North America. The Mississippi flows through ten US states from north to south. The source of the river the Nicolette Creek River is considered (according to other sources, Lake Itasca, flows into the Mississippi v Gulf of Mexico. river basin(the third largest after the Amazon and Congo river basins) extends from the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians and from the Great Lakes region to the Gulf of Mexico, occupying an area of ​​3268 thousand km 2, which is 40% of the US area, not counting Alaska.

Length of the Mississippi River is 3950 km (according to the Great Soviet Encyclopedia) or 3774 km (Wikipedia). It takes 90 days for a drop of water to travel from the source to the mouth of the river.

Speaking of the Mississippi as the fourth longest river in the world, it should be borne in mind that we are talking about the length of the Jefferson-Missouri-Mississippi river system. In total, the length of the three rivers is 6275 kilometers. When it comes to the longest river in North America, various sources call either the Mississippi River (3774 km), or its tributary the Missouri (3767 km). In our classification of rivers by length, we proceeded from the definition of the length of the river from the source of its longest tributary to the mouth. With this approach, the Mississippi is definitely the longest river in North America.

Mississippi- a convenient waterway from the Gulf of Mexico to the central parts of the mainland, an important transport artery of the United States, connecting the developed industrial and agricultural regions of the country. The rivers of the Mississippi system are of great economic importance. The total length of the navigable routes of the basin is over 25 thousand square meters. km. A number of large power plants have been built on the tributaries of the Mississippi.

Feeding the river mixed, snow-rain. Right tributaries bring mainly melt water formed by snowmelt in rocky mountains, left tributaries feed the Mississippi with rain and storm water. The Mississippi regime is characterized by spring-summer floods and violent rain floods.

The longest, largest and largest river in North America is divided into three sections, the boundaries of which are the confluences of its largest tributaries, the Missouri and Ohio, into the Mississippi.

On the top section the river flows through shallow lakes, overcoming rocky rifts and rapids in many places, the most significant of which are in the years. Minneapolis (St. Anthony Falls), Davenport and Keokak. From Minneapolis to the mouth of the Missouri, the river is sluiced; more than 20 dams are located in this section.

In the middle area the fourth longest river in the world flows mainly in one channel. The width of the river valley, bounded by steep slopes, is 15-20 km. In the middle section of the Mississippi, interesting feature: for 150-180 km dirty, muddy waters Missouri flow next to relatively clear water Mississippi without mixing.

On the lower section the Mississippi River flows through a vast valley, gradually widening from 25 to 70 km. The river bed is winding, with numerous branches and oxbow lakes, forming in the lower reaches a labyrinth of channels, oxbow lakes, vast floodplain swamps flooded during floods. At the end of the delta, the longest, largest and largest river in North America branches into 6 main relatively short branches 20-40 meters long. km, flowing into the Gulf of Mexico.

Key Features of the Mississippi River. Description of the fourth longest, largest and largest rivers in the world and the longest river in North America in numbers.

river name	Mississippi
river length Mississippi:	3950 km (according to other sources - 3774), together with Missouri - 6420 km (according to other sources - 6275)
Current direction	From North to South
Continent	North America
Country in the catchment area	USA (98.5%), Canada (1.5%)
river source Mississippi	Nicollet Creek
Source coordinates	47°14′23″ s. sh. 95°12′27″ W d.
river mouth Mississippi	Gulf of Mexico
Mouth coordinates	29°09′13″ s. sh. 89°15′03″ W d.
delta area Mississippi River	OK. 32 thousand km 2
Pool area Mississippi River	3268 thousand km 2
Average annual runoff	about 600 m/km
Water consumption	7-20 thousand m³/s
solid stock	400 million tons/year
Right tributaries Mississippi River	Minnesota, Des Moines, Missouri, Arkansas, Red River
Left tributaries Mississippi River	Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio

5. Huang He (5464 km) - the fifth of the largest, largest and longest rivers in the world and the second longest river in Eurasia.

Description of the Yellow River - the fifth of the largest, largest and longest rivers in the world and the second longest river in Asia.

Huanghe- one of the greatest rivers in the world, is the second longest river in Asia and the fifth longest river in the world. The name of the river means "Yellow River" in Chinese. Yellow the waters of the river are given by an abundance of sediments, of which there are so many in the river that the sea into which it flows is called the Yellow. In terms of sediment volume, the Yellow River ranks first in the world (1.3 billion tons / year).

Huang He originates in the eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau at an altitude of over 4000 m, it flows through the lakes Orin-Nur and Dzharin-Nur, spurs of the Kunlun and Nanshan mountain ranges. At the intersection of the Ordos and the Loess Plateau, it forms a large bend in its middle course, then through the gorges of the Shanxi Mountains it enters the Great Chinese Plain, along which it flows for about 700 km until it flows into the Bohai Bay of the Yellow Sea, forming a delta in the area of ​​its confluence. According to various sources, the length of the river is from 4670 km to 5464 km, and the area of ​​​​its basin is from 745 thousand km² to 771 thousand km².

Feeding method of the Yellow River: rain, in the mountainous part of the basin also snow. The fifth of the longest, largest and largest rivers in the world has a monsoon regime during summer floods with a rise in water level of up to 5 m in the plains and up to 20 m in the mountains. For flood protection a system of dams with a total length of more than 5,000 km has been built along the river. Breaks of dams led to catastrophic floods, accompanied by large-scale destruction and a change in the river channel (the maximum change in the channel was about 800 km). Due to the incredible catastrophic floods, the Yellow River received the nickname "Mountain of China". It is known that over the past two thousand years, the Yellow River overflowed its banks more than a thousand times, broke through dams, and at least 20 times significantly changed the trajectory of its channel. In 1931, during a flood on the Yellow River, according to various estimates, from 1,000,000 to 4,000,000 inhabitants of the North China Plain died.

But despite this, the Yellow River basin provides about 140 million people drinking water and irrigation water. A number of hydroelectric power stations have been built on the river. Through the Grand Canal, the fifth of the largest, largest and longest rivers in the world is connected to the Huaihe and Yangtze rivers.

The Yellow River flows through a total of seven modern provinces and two autonomous regions, namely the following (from west to east): Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia Hui, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Shandong. The mouth of the Yellow River is located in Kenli County (Shandong).

The river is usually divided into three parts- upstream, middle and downstream. The upper course of the river runs along the northeast of the Tibetan Plateau and the Loess Plateau of northwestern China; the middle reaches include the valley between Ordos and Shaanxi and the gorges further downstream; the lower course of the river runs along the Great Chinese Plain.

The main characteristics of the Yellow River. Description of the fifth of the longest, largest and largest rivers in the world in numbers.

river name	Huanghe
river length Huanghe:	According to various sources, from 4670 km to 5464 km
Current direction	West to East
Continent
Country in the catchment area
Largest cities	Lanzhou, Yinchuan, Wuhai, Baotou, Luoyang, Zhengzhou, Kaifeng and Jinan
Source the Yellow River	Tibetan Plateau
Source coordinates	34°59′33″ s. sh. 96°03′48″ E d.
mouth the Yellow River	Yellow Sea
Mouth coordinates	37°47′03″ s. sh. 119°18′10″ in. d.
delta area the Yellow River	127 thousand km 2 (given by G.E. Reinik and I.B. Singh)
Pool area the Yellow River	from 745 thousand km² to 771 thousand km²
Water consumption	2000 m³/s
solid stock	1.3 billion tons/year
Right tributaries the Yellow River
Left tributaries the Yellow River	Wudinghe, Fynhe

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The longest river in the world is the Nile

Nile- the longest river in the world, its length is 6,690 km from the source of the Luvironza River in Burundi, Central Africa, to its mouth at its confluence with the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile flows from south to north and its basin is about 2,850,000 sq. km, which is approximately equal to one tenth of the area of ​​Africa, including the territories of Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, and Congo (Kinshasa). Its waters support virtually all agriculture in the most densely populated parts of Egypt, are the source of irrigation for almost all of Sudan's food crops, and are widely used throughout the basin for navigation and hydroelectric power.

The deepest river in the world - the Amazon

River Amazon the second longest river in the world in terms of length. Its length is about 6,296 km, it is formed by the connection in the northern Peruvian Andes of the two main sources - the Ucayali and the shorter Maranon. The Amazon flows through all of northern Brazil and empties into the Atlantic Ocean near the city of Belem. The Amazon is the deepest river in the world (carries more water than any other river in the world). The basin with tributaries is huge and is 6,475,000 sq. km, which is approximately 35% of the territory of South America. The Amazon draws water from both hemispheres and flows not only through Brazil, but also through parts of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela. The average depth of the river over its greater length is 50 m. The slope of the river is very small: Manaus, 1,610 km upstream, is only 30 m higher than Belem near the river delta. Seagoing vessels with a landing of 4 m can reach Iquitos in Peru, which is 3,700 km from Atlantic Ocean. Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia have international ports on the Amazon.

The following table shows the largest rivers in the world, including their name, source, where they flow and their length:

	Name rivers	Source	Mainland	Where flows into	Length, km
		Tributaries of Lake Victoria		Mediterranean Sea
	Amazon	Glacial lake, Peru	South America	Atlantic Ocean
	Mississippi-Missouri	Red Rock River, Montana, USA	North America	Gulf of Mexico
	Yangtze	Tibetan Plateau, China		China Sea
		Altai, Russia		Gulf of Ob Kara Sea
	Huanghe	Eastern Kunlun Mountains, China		Bohai Bay of the Yellow Sea
	Yenisei	Tannu-Ola mountains, south of Tuva, Russia		Arctic Ocean
	Paraná	confluence of the Paranaiba and Rio Grande rivers, Brazil	South America	bay of la plata atlantic ocean
	Irtysh	Altai, Russia
	Zaire (Congo)	confluence of the Lualaba and Luapula rivers		Atlantic Ocean
	Amur	confluence of the Shilka and Argun rivers		Tatar Strait of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk
	Lena	Lake Baikal, Russia		Arctic Ocean
	Mackenzie	source of the Finlay River, British Columbia, Canada	North America	Beaufort Sea (Northern Arctic Ocean)
	Niger	Futa Jallon, Guinea		gulf of guinea atlantic ocean
	Mekong	Tibetan Plateau		South China Sea
	Mississippi	Lake Itasca, Minnesota, USA	North America	Gulf of Mexico
	Missouri	Confluence of the Jefferson, Gallatin and Madison Rivers, Montana, USA	North America	Mississippi river
	Volga	Valdai Hills, Russia		Caspian Sea
	Madeira	The confluence of the Beni and Mamore rivers, the border of Bolivia and Brazil	South America	Amazon river
	Purus	Peruvian Andes	South America	Amazon river

Thus, the Nile is the longest river in the world, with a length of approximately 6,690 kilometers, and also the largest river in Africa. The second largest river in the world, the Amazon, is also the longest river in South America. The third largest river, the Mississippi, together with the Missouri River, is the largest river in North America. The fourth largest river, the Yangtze, is the longest river in Asia. And, being only the eighteenth largest in the world, the Volga is the longest river in Europe.

So, we have reviewed the 20 most big rivers world, eight of which flow in Asia, eight in America, three in Africa and only one of the 20 largest rivers in the world - in Europe.