Natural wonders · Curated list
Nile, Amazon River, Danube and 27 more, ranked by how much of the world has written about each one.
Most written-about first. Each description summarises the river's Wikipedia article, which its name links to.
1
Major river in northeast Africa
Uganda Rwanda Sudan Ethiopia Egypt
A major river of northeast Africa that flows north into the Mediterranean Sea. At 7,088 kilometers (4,404 mi), no river in the world is longer, though it carries far less water than other great rivers such as the Congo or the Amazon.
Wikidata · Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0
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2
Major river in Northern South America
A river of South America, the world's largest by the volume of water it discharges, and either the longest or the second-longest river system in the world, a title it disputes with the Nile.
Wikidata · Photo: Neil Palmer/CIAT, CC BY-SA 2.0
3
Second-longest river in Europe
Germany Slovakia Moldova Romania Bulgaria Croatia Hungary Austria Serbia
A European river, second in length only to the Volga. It runs through Central and Southeastern Europe, from Germany's Black Forest to the Black Sea, which it enters through the Danube Delta in Romania.
Wikidata · Photo: Gabor Eszes ( UED77 ), CC BY-SA 3.0
4
Major river in Western Europe
France Germany Liechtenstein Switzerland Austria
One of Europe's major rivers, which rises in the southeastern Swiss Alps, in the Swiss canton of Graubรผnden.
Wikidata · Photo: Jรถrg Braukmann, CC BY-SA 4.0
5
River in Russia; the longest river in Europe
Europe's longest river, and the longest in the world to drain into an inland basin with no outlet to the ocean. It runs through Russia, from the centre of the country to the south, and empties into the Caspian Sea.
6
Major river in the United States
The main river of the biggest drainage basin in the United States, and second in length there only to the Missouri.
7
Major river in Asia
A river of Asia crossing the border between India and Bangladesh, 2,525-kilometre-long (1,569 mi). Its source is high in the west of the Himalayas, within Uttarakhand, an Indian state.
Wikidata · Photo: Wedstock 2011, CC BY-SA 2.0
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8
River in Central Africa
Once also called the Zaire River, Africa's second-longest river after the Nile, and third in the world by the volume of water it carries, behind the GangesโBrahmaputra and the Amazon. Measured at depths of about 220 m (720 ft), it is the deepest river on record.
9
Longest river in Asia
Also called the Yangzi River or Chang Jiang, China's longest river and the world's third-longest. From Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau it flows, mostly eastward, for 6,236 kilometers (3,875 mi), counting the Dam Qu River, its longest source stream, to the East China Sea.
Wikidata · Photo: Tan Wei Liang Byorn, CC BY 3.0
10
River in Asia
A river of Asia that crosses borders and the Himalayas, in South and Central Asia, 3,180 km (1,980 mi) long. It rises in China's Tibet Autonomous Region, where it is called Sengge Zangbo, and runs northwest through disputed Kashmir, first through Ladakh, under Indian administration, then Gilgit-Baltistan, under Pakistani administration; after the Nanga Parbat massif it turns sharply left and runs south-by-southwest through several provinces of Pakistan, then splits and flows into the Arabian Sea, its main channel reaching it near the port city of Karachi.
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11
Major river in West Africa
Guinea Niger Nigeria Mali Benin
West Africa's main river, roughly 4,180 kilometres long, with a drainage basin covering 2,117,700 kmยฒ (817,600 sq mi).
Wikidata · Photo: upyernoz from Haverford, USA, CC BY 2.0
12
Major river in China
Also called Huang he, China's second-longest river and the sixth-longest in the world, an estimated 5,464 km (3,395 mi) long, with a drainage basin of 795,000 kmยฒ (307,000 sq mi). From the Bayan Har Mountains it runs mostly east, then enters the Ordos Loop, 1,500 km (930 mi) long, which heads northeast from Gansu across the Ordos Plateau and turns east in Inner Mongolia.
13
14
Major river in northern France
A river in the north of France, 777-kilometre-long (483 mi), whose drainage basin lies in the Paris Basin, covering most of northern France.
Wikidata · Photo: User Arpingstone on en.wikipedia, Public domain
15
River in Turkey, Iraq, and Syria
The more easterly of Mesopotamia's two great rivers; the other is the Euphrates. It flows south from the Armenian Highlands through the Arabian and Syrian Deserts, then joins the Euphrates and reaches the Persian Gulf.
Wikidata · Photo: Dรปrzan cรฎrano, CC BY-SA 3.0
16
River in southern England
Called the River Isis along some stretches, a river flowing through southern England, London included. At 215 miles (346 km), no river lying wholly in England is longer, and in the United Kingdom only the River Severn is.
17
Major river in Eastern Europe
Also called the Dnepr or Dnipro, one of Europe's great rivers crossing borders. It rises in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, and flows through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Some 2,200 km (1,400 mi) in length, draining 504,000 square kilometres (195,000 miยฒ), it runs further than any other river in Belarus or Ukraine, and is fourth in Europe after the Ural, the Danube and the Volga.
Wikidata · Photo: Original uploader was Knutux at lt.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
18
River that flows to the Dead Sea
Also called the River Jordan or Nahr Al-Sharieat, an endorheic river of the Levant 251-kilometre-long (156 mi), running roughly from north to south through the Sea of Galilee and ending in the Dead Sea. It passes by or through Palestine, Israel, Syria and Jordan.
Wikidata · Photo: User:Matthรคus Wander, Public domain
19
Major river in Central Europe
One of Central Europe's major rivers. From its source in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic it crosses much of Bohemia and then Germany, reaching the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 kilometres northwest of Hamburg.
20
Major river in Southeast Asia
China Cambodia Laos Thailand Vietnam
A river crossing borders in Southeast and East Asia, the world's twelfth-longest and Asia's third-longest, an estimated 4,909 km (3,050 mi) in length. It drains 795,000 kmยฒ (307,000 sq mi) and carries 475 kmยณ (114 cu mi) of water a year.
Wikidata · Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0
21
Major river in Central Europe
At 1,047 kilometres, Poland's longest river, and the longest river flowing into the Baltic Sea. Its basin reaches into three other countries and covers 193,960 kmยฒ (74,890 sq mi), 168,868 kmยฒ (65,200 sq mi) of it in Poland.
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22
Major river in the Russian Far East and Northeast Asia
Also called the Heilong River, a river of Northeast Asia that flows all year and forms the natural border between Northeast China and the Russian Far East. The Amur proper is 2,824 km (1,755 mi) long, with a basin of 1,855,000 kmยฒ (716,000 miยฒ).
Wikidata · Photo: User:Refrain, Public domain
23
River in China, India and Bangladesh
A river crossing borders, flowing through Southwestern China, Northeastern India and Bangladesh. In Assam it is called the Brahmaputra, in Tibetan the Yarlung Tsangpo, in the Mishmi language the Siang/Dihang River, and in Bangladesh the Jamuna River.
24
Major river in Siberia
A major river of western Siberia, Russia. With the Irtysh, its tributary, it makes the world's seventh-longest river system, 5,410 kilometres (3,360 mi) long.
Wikidata · Photo: Ondลej ลฝvรกฤek, CC BY 2.5
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25
River in Russia
A river of the Russian Far East, the easternmost of Siberia's three great rivers flowing into the Arctic Ocean; the others are the Yenisey and the Ob. It is 4,294 km (2,668 mi) long, with a vast basin of 2,490,000 kmยฒ (960,000 miยฒ), making it the world's eleventh-longest river and the longest to lie wholly inside Russia.
Wikidata · Photo: "synchroswimr"/Stacy , Minneapolis, CC BY 2.0
26
Major river in southern Africa
Africa's fourth-longest river, its longest flowing east, and the biggest African river entering the Indian Ocean. It drains 1,390,000 kmยฒ (540,000 miยฒ), a little under half the Nile's basin.
Wikidata · Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0
27
Major river in Russia and Kazakhstan
Also called the Yaik, a river running through Kazakhstan and Russia along the continental boundary of Asia and Europe. It rises in the southern Ural Mountains and flows into the Caspian Sea.
Wikidata · Photo: Ds02006 ( talk ), Public domain
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28
Fifth-longest river in Europe (Russia)
Fifth in length among Europe's rivers. It runs from the heart of Russia south to the Sea of Azov, ranks among the country's biggest rivers, and was once a key route for merchants from the Byzantine Empire.
Wikidata · Photo: High Contrast, CC BY-SA 2.0 de
29
Major river in central United States
The longest river in the United States, crossing the country's Central and Mountain West regions. Its source is in the eastern Centennial Mountains, part of the Rockies' Bitterroot Range in southwestern Montana, and it winds east and south for 2,341 mi (3,767 km) before it meets the Mississippi to the north of St. Louis, Missouri.
Wikidata · Photo: Tim Kiser ( w:User:Malepheasant ), CC BY-SA 2.5
30
Longest river in France
France's longest river, and the 171st-longest in the world. It is 1,006 kilometres (625 mi) long and drains 117,054 kmยฒ (45,195 sq mi), over a fifth of France's land, yet on average it carries only half as much water as the Rhรดne.
Every Wikidata item that is a river, or a kind of river, and that has its own English Wikipedia article, ranked by the number of Wikimedia sites with a page about it โ Wikipedia's language editions, mostly, and sister projects such as Wikiquote. That counts how many communities independently thought it worth describing, and nobody can buy a place on it. The top 30 are shown.
Fetched from Wikidata on 2026-09-25. Each description is this site's summary of the entry's Wikipedia article, which its name links to: the wording is ours, the facts are Wikipedia's, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. To correct an entry, correct it there; the next refresh carries the change.
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