How many rivers are there on earth? The longest rivers in the world. The smallest and most tortuous

Selecting the longest rivers in the world is a non-trivial task. The beginning of a river is considered to be the tributary farthest from the mouth. However, its name does not always coincide with the name of the river, which introduces difficulties in measuring the length. The error in calculations may also be due to seasonal changes.

There are also difficulties with the mouth - some rivers simply do not have one (for example, Cubango). Or the mouth is a funnel-shaped estuary expanding towards the ocean.

In our list we will name the ten longest river systems in the world, taking into account the length of their tributaries.

10. Congo – length 4700 km

It is the deepest river in the world (measured depth is more than 220 meters) and the second after the Amazon in terms of drainage basin size (3,680,000 sq. km).

The river originates deep in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It is fed by the Lualaba River, which itself is fed by the Luvoa and Luapula rivers. And those, in turn, are connected with Lake Mveru and Lake Bangwelo. The Chambeshi River also flows into Luapula.

The Congo River makes up most of the border between the DRC and its eastern neighbor, the Republic of the Congo.

The Congo River got its name from the Kingdom of Kongo, which was located on the left bank of the river's mouth. And the name Zaire, by which the river was known in the 16th and 17th centuries, comes from a Portuguese adaptation of the word nzere (“river”) from the Kikongo language.

9. Amur – 5052 km

This majestic Far Eastern river originates in Western Manchuria where two large rivers - the Shilka and the Argun - merge. The Kerulen and Onon rivers are also considered as a source of the Amur.

The Amur flows east along the Russian-Chinese border and slowly turns into a large arc, receiving several tributaries.

The Chinese call the Amur "Black Dragon River". According to legend, the Black Dragon defeated the evil White Dragon, who was the owner of the river and in every possible way disturbed the local residents. Cupid enters.

8. Lena-Vitim – 5100 km

The easternmost of the three great rivers of Siberia (including the Ob and Yenisei) that flow into the Arctic Ocean.

The Lena, together with its right tributary Vitim, is the eighth largest river on Earth. And the only one in the world whose channel is entirely located in permafrost areas.

The source of the Lena is a small swamp, which is located ten kilometers west of Lake Baikal.

Spring and summer floods cause the river level to rise by 10-15 meters. Because of this, its shores are sparsely populated. All surrounding buildings will be demolished during the spill.

7. Yenisei – 5238 km

Originating from the city of Kyzyl, the Yenisei River follows a northern course into the Kara Sea, where it forms the Yenisei Bay. It serves as a natural border between Western and Eastern Siberia.

The largest tributaries of the Yenisei are: the Angara River, the Selengai River, and the right tributary of the Selenga - Ider.

6. Ob-Irtysh – 5410 km

Two huge Siberian rivers, meeting each other, create the longest watercourse in Russia.

The Ob is shorter in length than the Irtysh. But at the same time, it is more full-flowing and in the Ob-Irtysh connection plays the role of the main river. It is formed by the confluence of two Altai rivers - Katun and Biya.

The beginning of the Irtysh River is located in the mountains on the Mongolian-Chinese border. There it is known as the Black Irtysh (or, in Chinese, Ertsisihe). And for the first 450 km of its route, the river flows through China. She faces a much longer journey—1,735 km—through the lands of Kazakhstan. And then it crosses the border with Russia in the Omsk region. And in the Khanty-Mansiysk region it meets the Ob River.

Thus, the Irtysh, although not the longest river in the world, bears the title of the longest tributary river.

5. Yellow River – 5464 km

Translated from Chinese, this river is called “Yellow” because of the color of the silt. It is the third longest river in Asia.

The Yellow River is known as the "cradle of Chinese civilization" due to the crucial role it played in the development of Chinese culture. As with the Yangtze, the presence of human settlements near the Yellow River dates back to the Paleolithic era, and the fertile basins facilitated the growth of agricultural communities.

Before modern dams were built, the Yellow River was extremely prone to flooding. Because of this, she was given nicknames such as "The Sorrow of China" and "The Scourge of the Sons of Han." The worst flood in modern human history occurred in China in the spring of 1887 and, according to various sources, claimed from 1.5 to 7 million lives.

4. Yangtze - from 5800 to 6300 km according to various sources

The Yangtze River holds the title of the longest river in Asia. It has played a major role in the history, culture and economy of China and continues to do so to this day. Its existence was a key factor in the emergence of human settlements, the growth of agriculture, and the development of civilization in East Asia.

Today, the prosperous Yangtze River Delta produces up to 20% of China's gross domestic product (GDP), and the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River is the world's largest hydroelectric power plant. Due to the impact of human infrastructure, some sections of the river are now protected nature reserves.

3. Mississippi-Missouri-Jefferson – from 6275 to 6420 km

This river, as its name suggests, is entirely associated with the United States of America. While each river individually wouldn't make the top five, they are grouped together as the Missouri River meets the Mississippi near St. Louis and the Missouri connects with the Jefferson River in Montana.

2. Nile – 6852 km

Most people answer the question: “What is the name of the longest river on Earth?” will be called the Nile River. Although this "blue vein of Africa" ​​predominantly flows through Egypt, it also passes through nine other African countries: Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Most of them belong to .

The largest lake in Africa, Lake Victoria is considered the main source of the Nile.

About 300 million people depend on this river for water supply and crop irrigation. There is even an Aswan hydroelectric complex that uses the energy of the Nile. Its construction was completed in 1970, and since then this system of structures has been used to provide electricity to the Egyptian population. It currently supplies about 20 percent of the country's electricity. The Aswan Dam also controls the summer flooding of the Nile, which threatens large-scale flooding.

1. Amazon is the longest river in the world 6992 km

It is the largest river in the world by drainage area (6,915,000 sq. km). For comparison: the Nile drainage basin is 3,349,000 square meters. km.

However, the debate about which is the longest river in the world - the Amazon or the Nile - does not stop. It's all about identifying the origins of the Amazon. Scientists and explorers have been trying to determine the source of the river since the 1600s. Over the years, five rivers in southwestern Peru have been given the honor of being called the source of the Amazon. Eventually, the upper reaches of the Apurimac River were considered its source.

According to the results of a study conducted in 2014, it turns out that the Amazon originates from the Cordillera mountain Rumi Cruz, located upstream of the Peruvian Mantaro River. This river then converges with the Apurimac River, and further downstream they are joined by other tributaries to form the Ucayali River. Finally, the confluence of the Ucayali and Marañon Rivers forms the Amazon.

If we take into account the latest data, then from 75 to 92 kilometers are added to the length of the Amazon. So the question of which is the longest river on Earth can be confidently answered - the Amazon.

Table of the longest rivers in the world

The full list contains 171 rivers, more than 1000 km long.

The existence of life on our planet cannot be imagined without rivers. They are also the largest sources of fresh water for territories that cover an area of ​​tens of thousands of square kilometers. It was the big rivers that became the cradles of human civilization. Today, a million people live along them. An excellent example would be the Yangtze or the Nile.
Of course, there is a dispute between individual groups of scientists and even entire countries about the longest and largest river in the world. Entire expeditions are sent in search of new sources in order to add several tens of kilometers to the length of the river.

The largest, largest and longest rivers in the world. List.

1. Amazon (6992 m.) - 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.
The Amazon is the absolute record holder both in length and in terms of deep water and basin area. For many years it was believed that the longest river in the world was the Nile, but new research carried out through the comparison of photographs from space and computer data processing has refuted this long-known fact. The Amazon turned out to be 140 km longer than the Nile!

In 2011, according to the results of a global 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 different plants and animals. According to researchers, per 10 km² of tropical forest there are 1.5 thousand species of flowers, 750 species of trees, 125 species of mammals, 400 species of birds and countless invertebrate animals. Many of their species are not even described or identified. The Amazon and its tributaries are home to up to 2,000 species of fish, one of which is the well-known voracious predatory piranha.

The largest tropical rainforest on the planet 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 between 25-28°C and it rains very often. There is practically no wind in the forest - the lush vegetation does not allow gusts of air to pass through. Even during a storm, only the tops of the trees sway here, and below reigns twilight and peace.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the world's longest underground river was discovered under the longest land 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 unofficial name is Hamza, in honor of the scientist who discovered it. The flow speed of the Hamza River does not exceed several meters per year, and the width is about 400 meters.

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 is the second largest, largest and longest river in the world and the longest river in Africa.
The Nile is a true “river of life”, as it is the only river in North Africa that crosses the sands of the Sahara without drying up. The constant water flow is carried out due to precipitation falling in the upper reaches of the river.

Almost all settlements in Egypt are located along the Nile bed and almost all economic activities are concentrated. The waters of the world's second longest river are used for irrigation and electricity production (the Nile's energy resources are estimated at 50 GW), fishing 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 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 the White Nile and flows through semi-deserts and deserts to Khartoum, receives the main tributary - the Blue Nile and, under the name Nile proper, flows to the Mediterranean Sea, at the confluence with which it 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. To regulate the flow of one of the longest rivers in the world, the following dams were built: Gebel Auliya on the White Nile, Aswan and Aswan High. The construction of dams protected the population from annual floods. This, on the one hand, deprived agriculture of the most important natural fertilizer - silt, but, on the other hand, it increased the area of ​​irrigated land and made it possible to harvest three crops per year from the fields.

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.
The Yangtze River originates in the eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau at an altitude of about 5,600 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 Chinese Plain, where the river is often divided into branches, with the width of the main channel reaching 2 km or more. In the area where it flows into the East China Sea, the Yangtze forms a large delta with an area of ​​about 80 thousand km².

Four of China's five largest freshwater lakes drain into the Yangtze. The third of the longest rivers in the world has about 700 tributaries, the largest of which are the Yalongjiang, Minjiang, Jialingjiang, Tuo, Hanshui (Juhe).
The Yangtze River is of great cultural and economic importance to 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 world's busiest waterways. The volume of freight traffic in 2005 reached 795 million tons.
Covering a fifth of China, the Yangtze River basin is home to a third of the country's population and produces about 20% of GDP. The world's largest hydroelectric power station, the Three Gorges Hydroelectric Power Station, was built on the longest river in Eurasia.
The Yangtze River is home to a variety of animals, including several endangered species such as the Chinese river dolphin, Chinese alligators and Korean sturgeon. In the basin of the third of the largest, largest and longest rivers in the world, there are several nature reserves and part of the Three Parallel Rivers National Park, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

4. Mississippi (6275 km) - the fourth largest, largest and longest river in the world and the longest, largest and largest river in North America. Mississippi

Description of the Mississippi River - the fourth largest, largest and longest river in the world and the longest river in North America.
The Mississippi is one of the world's greatest rivers. Together with the Missouri, it is the fourth longest river in the world and the largest, largest and longest river in North America. The Mississippi flows through ten US states from north to south. The source of the river is considered to be Nicolette Creek (according to other sources, Lake Itasca), the Mississippi flows into the Gulf of Mexico. The 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 km2, which is 40% of the area of ​​the United States, not counting Alaska.
The length of the Mississippi River is 3950 km (according to the Great Soviet Encyclopedia) or 3774 km (Wikipedia). It takes a drop of water 90 days to travel from its source to the mouth of a river.
When talking about the Mississippi as the fourth longest river in the world, it should be kept 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 (3,774 km) or its tributary, the Missouri (3,767 km). In our classification of rivers by length, we proceeded from determining the length of the river from the source of its longest tributary to the mouth. Considered this way, the Mississippi is definitely the longest river in North America.
The Mississippi is 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 areas of the country. The rivers of the Mississippi system are of great economic importance. The total length of the basin's shipping routes is over 25 thousand square meters. km. A number of large power plants have been built on tributaries of the Mississippi.
The river is fed by mixed snow and rain. The right tributaries bring mainly meltwater formed by snowmelt in the Rocky Mountains, while the left tributaries feed the Mississippi with rain and stormwater. The Mississippi regime is characterized by spring-summer floods and stormy rain floods.
The longest, largest and largest river in North America is divided into three sections, the boundaries of which are where its largest tributaries, the Missouri and Ohio, flow into the Mississippi.
In the upper section, the river flows through small lakes, overcoming rocky rifts and rapids in many places, the most significant of which are in the cities. Minneapolis (St. Anthony Falls), Davenport and Keokak. From Minneapolis to the mouth of the Missouri, the river is locked; there are more than 20 dams in this section.

In the middle section, the fourth longest river in the world flows predominantly in one channel. The width of the river valley, limited by steep slopes, is 15-20 km. In the middle section, the Mississippi has an interesting feature: for 150-180 km, the dirty, muddy waters of the Missouri flow next to the relatively clear water of the Mississippi without mixing.
In the lower section, the Mississippi River flows through a vast valley that gradually widens 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, and vast floodplain swamps that are 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 km long, flowing into the Gulf of Mexico.

5. Yellow River (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.

The Yellow River is one of the world's greatest rivers, the second longest river in Asia and the fifth longest river in the world. The name of the river means "Yellow River" in Chinese. The yellow color of the river's waters is given by the abundance of sediment, of which there is so much in the river that the sea into which it flows is called the Yellow Sea. The Yellow River ranks first in the world in terms of sediment volume (1.3 billion tons/year).
The Yellow River originates in the eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau at an altitude of over 4000 m, flows through lakes Orin-Nur and Dzharin-Nur, spurs of the Kunlun and Nanshan mountain ranges. When crossing the Ordos and the Loess Plateau, in its middle course it forms a large bend, then through the gorges of the Shanxi Mountains it enters the Great Chinese Plain, along which it flows about 700 km before flowing into the Bohai Bay of the Yellow Sea, forming a delta in the confluence area. 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.

The Yellow River is fed by rain; in the mountainous part of the basin it is also fed by 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 levels of up to 5 m on the plains and up to 20 m in the mountains. In order to protect against floods, a system of dams with a total length of more than 5,000 km was built along the river. Dam breaks led to catastrophic floods, accompanied by large-scale destruction and changes in the river bed (the maximum change in the river bed was about 800 km). Due to the incredible catastrophic floods, the Yellow River received the nickname “The Mountain of China.” It is known that over the past two thousand years, the Yellow River has overflowed its banks more than a thousand times, broken through dams, and at least 20 times significantly changed the trajectory of its bed. In 1931, during the Yellow River flood, according to various estimates, from 1,000,000 to 4,000,000 residents of the North China Plain died.

But despite this, the Yellow River basin provides about 140 million people with drinking water and water for irrigation. A number of hydroelectric power stations were built on the river. Through the Grand Canal, the fifth largest, largest and longest river 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 - upper, middle and lower reaches. The upper course of the river passes through the northeast of the Tibetan Plateau and the Loess Plateau of northwestern China; the middle course includes the valley between Ordos and Shaanxi and the gorges further downstream; the lower course of the river runs along the Great Chinese Plain.

6. Ob River (with Irtysh)

The Ob River is one of the largest rivers not only in Russia, but throughout the world. It flows from south to north across Western Siberia almost parallel to the greatest Russian river, the Yenisei. A mighty stream flows in the north into the Kara Sea. At the confluence there is a huge bay. It is called the Gulf of Ob, and its length exceeds 800 km. This is a kind of river mouth, called an estuary in scientific circles. It is characterized by the absence of river sediments. Their creation is hampered by sea currents. In Russia, in addition to the Ob Bay, the Yenisei Bay can also be called an estuary.

Like all the large rivers of Siberia, they flow into the Laptev Sea, a marginal sea of ​​the Arctic Ocean. To some extent, Lena can be called a pioneer: after the melting of the glacier and the formation of flora and fauna, it was this river that was one of the first to blaze a path to the sea, exploring the endless taiga expanses of Siberia.

The name “Lena”, familiar to Russian speakers, has nothing in common with a woman’s name - it is only a derivative of the Evenki word of the Tungus-Manchu language group “Elu-Ene”, which translates as “Big River”. The Evenki hydronym was used by the discoverer of the river, the Russian explorer Pyanda (Penda), who explored the river in 1619-1623, following downstream from the modern region of Kirensk to Yakutsk. Like all the great rivers of Siberia, the Lena flows north, emptying into the Laptev Sea, a marginal sea of ​​the Arctic Ocean.

The question of what exactly is considered the source of the Lena is still open." The latest versions point to a mountain stream at an altitude of 1650 m. Following further along the channel, the waters of the Lena, depending on the conditions, change their character, showing all types of temperament: choleric - in at the beginning of its journey, phlegmatic in the middle, sanguine in the lower and melancholic in the delta.
According to the nature of the river flow, three sections are distinguished: from the source to the village of Kachug, from Kachug to Zhigansk the middle flow, and from Zhigansk to the mouth - the lower section.
Before the Manzurka River flows into it near the village of Kachug, Lena descends along the Baikal ridge and lies in the mountainous Cis-Baikal region, here its character can be compared to choleric. With its small size in this part (width 5-7 m), its flow speed does not fall below 9 km/h.
Next, Lena follows to Ust-Kut and lower to the confluence of the Chaya and Vitim rivers, here her character becomes closer to phlegmatic. This is especially noticeable after the Olekma flows into it and a significant expansion of the channel from the village. News to Yakutsk, where it reaches 5 km. The slopes of the river in the middle reaches are most often covered with coniferous trees with occasional meadows appearing.
Then the river, in its undisturbed movement, expands even more, reaching 7-9 km in the riverbed even before the Aldan flows into it. And with Aldan and Vilyuy, which enters later, the width of the Lena reaches 10 km (up to 20 on island sections), and the depth exceeds 16-20 m. In the Zhigansk region, the Lena narrows and therefore its character becomes sanguine: the flow becomes lively and powerful, reaching its maximum strength.

11. Congo River

Congo (Zaire, Lualaba) is a river in Central Africa, mainly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (partially flows along its borders with the Republic of Congo and Angola), the deepest and second longest river in Africa, the second most water-rich river in the world after the Amazon. In the upper reaches (above the city of Kisangani) it is called Lualaba. The only major river that crosses the equator twice. The basin area is 4,014,500 km². Length - 4374 km. The river slope is 0.36 m/km.
It originates from the settlement of Mumena.
The length of the Congo from the source of Lualaba is 4374 km (from the source of Chambeshi - over 4700 km). The basin area is 4,014,500 km². The source of the Lualaba originates in the southeast of the DRC, on a plateau near the border with Zambia. According to other sources, the source of the Congo is the Chambeshi River, which forms between lakes Nyasa and Tanganyika at an altitude of 1590 meters above sea level. It flows into Lake Bangweulu, flows out of it as Luapula, flows into Lake Mweru, flows out of it as the Luvua River and joins Lualaba. The upper reaches of the Congo (Lualaba), located within plateaus and plateaus, are characterized by alternating rapids and leveled pools with a calm current. The steepest drop (475 m at a distance of about 70 km) of Lualaba is in the Nzilo Gorge, with which it cuts through the southern spurs of the Mitumba Mountains. Starting from the city of Bukama, the river flows slowly, strongly meandering, along the flat bottom of the Upemba graben. Below the city of Kongolo, Lualaba breaks through the crystalline rocks of the Port d'Enfer (Hell's Gate) gorge, forming rapids and waterfalls; further downstream, several more groups of waterfalls and rapids follow one after another. Between the cities of Kindu and Ubundu the river flows calmly again in a wide valley. Just below the equator, it descends from the edges of the plateau into the Congo Basin, forming the Stanley Falls.
After Stanley Falls near the city of Kisangani, the river changes its name to Congo. In the middle course, contained within the Congo Basin, the river is calm with a slight fall (on average about 0.07 m/km). Its channel, predominantly with low and flat, often swampy banks, is a chain of lake-like extensions (up to 15 km in places), separated by relatively narrowed (up to 1.5-2 km) sections. In the central part of the Congo Basin, the floodplains of the river and its right tributaries Ubangi and Sanga merge together, forming one of the largest periodically flooded areas in the world. As you approach the western edge of the depression, the appearance of the river changes: it is compressed here between high (100 m or more) and steep bedrock banks, narrowing in places to less than 1 km; depths increase (often up to 20 - 30 m), the current accelerates. This narrowed section, the so-called Channel, passes into the lake-like expansion of Stanley Pool (about 30 km long, up to 25 km wide), which ends the middle course of the Congo.
In the lower reaches of the Congo, it breaks through to the ocean through the South Guinea Plateau in a deep (up to 500 m) gorge. The width of the channel here decreases to 400-500 meters, in some places to 220-250 meters. Over the course of 350 km between the cities of Kinshasa and Matadi, the river descends 270 m, forming about 70 rapids and waterfalls, collectively called Livingston Falls. The depths in this area are 230 m or more, making the Congo the deepest river in the world. At Matadi, the Congo enters the coastal lowland, the channel widens to 1-2 km, the depths in the fairway reach 25-30 m. Near the city of Boma, the Congo estuary begins, the width of which in the middle part reaches 19 km, then decreases to 3.5 km and increases again towards the mouth, where it is 9.8 km. The top and middle part of the estuary are occupied by an actively forming young delta. The continuation of the estuary is the Congo underwater canyon with a total length of at least 800 km.

12. Mackenzie River

The Mackenzie (English and French Mackenzie, slave Deh Cho - “big river”) is the largest river in Canada and the entire American north with a length of 1738 km. Named after Alexander Mackenzie, who discovered it.
It is a navigable river; the length of the navigable routes of the entire Mackenzie river system is 2200 km - from Waterways on the Athabasca River to the port of Taktoyaktuk on the coast of the Arctic Ocean. The largest settlements are Aklavik, Inuvik, Fort Norman, Fort Providence and the oil field center of Norman Wells.
It was discovered and first climbed by A. Mackenzie from June 29 to July 14, 1789. It was originally called the Disappointment River.
Tributaries
R. Drank
R. Liard
R. Big Bear
R. Arctic Red River
R. Karkaju
R. Ruth
R. Mountain
R. Hare Indian

The source of the Mackenzie River is considered to be the Great Slave Lake; the river basin also includes the large Canadian lakes Woollaston, Clare, Athabasca and Great Bear. The last lake is connected to the river through the Bolshaya Medvezhya tributary. The average water flow at the mouth of the river is ≈10,700 m³/s, which puts the river in second place among the rivers of North America after the Mississippi. The relatively small flow of the Mackenzie is due to the blocking effect of the Rocky Mountains to the west, which reduce the influence of the Pacific Ocean in the lower part of its catchment.
The Mackenzie, like more than half of Canada's rivers, belongs to the Arctic Ocean basin. Arctic rivers are fed mainly by snow and rain. In the central and northern regions of the country, rivers and lakes are covered with ice for 5 to 9 months. The Mackenzie freezes in September - October, opens in May, and in the lower reaches - in early June; snow and rain food; spring-summer flood.
The river valley is formed by strata of alluvial and fluvio-glacial sediments, is heavily swamped, and covered with spruce forest.

13. Niger River
The Niger (French Niger, English Niger [ˈnaɪdʒər], Yoruba Niger, Ọya) is the most important river in West Africa. The length is 4180 km, the basin area is 2,117,700 km², the third according to these parameters in Africa after the Nile and the Congo.
The source of the river is on the slopes of the Leono-Liberian Upland in southeastern Guinea. The height of the source is 745 m above sea level. The river flows through the territory of Mali, Niger, along the border with Benin, and then through the territory of Nigeria. It flows into the Gulf of Guinea of ​​the Atlantic Ocean, forming a delta in the area of ​​its confluence. The largest tributary of the Niger is the Benue River.
The exact origin of the name of the river is unknown and there has been a debate about this among researchers for a long time.
A popular belief is that the name of the river comes from the Tuareg nehier-ren - “river, flowing water”. According to one hypothesis, the name of the river comes in turn from the words “Egerev n’Egerev”, which in Tamashek (one of the Tuareg languages) means “great river” or “river of rivers”. This was the name given to the Niger and some other peoples who lived on its banks.
There is also a hypothesis according to which the derivative of the name of the river is the Latin word niger, that is, “black.” This hypothesis assumes that historically the words “Niger” and “negro” are of the same root, since the latter also comes from the word “black”.
The aborigines living close to the banks call the river differently in certain sections of the course: Joliba (in the Mandingo language - “big river”), Mayo, Eghirreu, Iso, Quorra (Quarra, Kowara), Baki-n-ruu, etc. etc., but the vast majority of these names translated mean “river”.
The source is located on the slopes of the Leon-Liberian Upland in southeastern Guinea. In its upper reaches the river is called Djoliba. The river flows northeast, crossing the border with Mali. In its upper and lower reaches, the Niger has rapids and flows mainly in a narrow valley. In its middle reaches, the Niger has the character of a flat river. From the Guinean city of Kourousa to the Malian capital of Bamako, and also below the city of Segou, the Niger flows through a wide valley and is navigable. Below the Malian city of Ke Masina, the Niger divides into several branches, forming an internal delta. In the inland delta region, the Niger Valley is heavily swamped. Previously, at this point, the Niger flowed into an endorheic lake. In the Timbuktu region, numerous branches are connected into one channel. The river then flows east along the southern border of the Sahara for 300 km. Near the town of Burem, the Niger turns southeast and flows in a wide valley all the way to its mouth, and is navigable. The river flows through the territory of Niger, where there are numerous dry riverbeds (wadis) that once flowed into Niger, along the Benin border, then flows through Nigeria and flows into the Gulf of Guinea, forming a vast delta with an area of ​​24 thousand km². The longest branch of the delta is Nun, but the deeper Forcados branch is used for navigation.
The main tributaries of the Niger: Milo, Bani (right); Sokoto, Kaduna and Benue (left).
The Niger is a relatively “clean” river; compared to the Nile, the turbidity of its water is about ten times less. This is due to the fact that the upper reaches of the Niger pass through rocky terrain and do not carry much silt. Like the Nile, the Niger floods every year. It begins in September, peaks in November, and ends by May.
An unusual feature of the river is the so-called internal Niger delta, formed in a place where the longitudinal channel slope is greatly reduced. The area is an area of ​​multi-branch riverbeds, marshes and lakes the size of Belgium. It has a length of 425 km with an average width of 87 km. Seasonal floods make the inland delta extremely favorable for fishing and agriculture.
Niger loses approximately two-thirds of its flow in the inland delta section between Ségou and Timbuktu due to evaporation and seepage. Even the waters of the Bani River flowing into the delta near the city of Mopti are not enough to compensate for these losses. The average loss is estimated at 31 km³/year (the amount varies greatly from year to year).
After the inland delta, many tributaries flow into the Niger, but evaporation losses remain very high. The volume of water entering Nigeria in the Yola region was estimated at 25 km³/year before the 1980s and 13.5 km³/year during the eighties. The most important tributary of the Niger is the Benue, which joins it at Lokoja. The volume of tributaries in Nigeria is six times greater than the volume of the Niger itself when it enters the country. Towards the delta, Niger's flow increases to 177 km³/year (data before the 1980s, during the eighties - 147.3 km³/year.

This one of the largest rivers in Europe is also the ancestral home of the birth of civilization. The Danube is the sacred river of the Slavs. It is often mentioned in songs, fairy tales, legends and traditions of all Slavic peoples. In addition, the history of the Celts, Thracians, Illyrians and Greeks is connected with the history of the Danube. In ancient times, the Greeks called the Danube the same as the Thracians who lived along the banks of this river - Ister. And only later, already in Roman times, the river received its modern name, which was pronounced and written as Danubium. In the 7th century BC, the Greeks founded a colony south of the river delta and called it Istria.
The ancients first looked for the sources of the river near the Riphean Mountains. Then far to the north, and later in the land of the Celts in the Hercynian Forest. But already in 15 BC, during the reign of Tiberius, the true sources of the Danube were established: it begins on the massif now called the Black Forest with two sources at an altitude of 1 kilometer.
Since the reign of Augustus, the Danube became the border of the Roman state with the northern barbarians.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE DANUBE
Danube (Romanian Dunărea, Hungarian Duna, German Donau, Serbian Dunav, Slovak Dunaj, Bulgarian Dunav, Croatian Dunav, Ukrainian Danube, Latin Danubius, Danuvius, other Greek Ίστρος) - the second largest longest river in Europe (after the Volga), an “international” river, the longest river in the European Union.
Length - 2960 km.

The river originates in Germany, in the Black Forest mountains. Further, the Danube flows or is the border of ten countries: Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine; passing through the capitals of Central and Eastern Europe such as Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade. In addition to these ten countries, the Danube drainage basin covers the territories of nine more European countries. The Danube flows into the Black Sea, forming a delta in Romania and Ukraine; the Romanian part of which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Russian name of the river goes back to Praslav. *Dunajь, which was borrowed through Gothic. *Dōnawi from Celtic. Dānuvius. Polish scientist Jan Rozwadovsky suggested that the Slavs originally used the word *Dunajь to refer to the Dnieper (as can be heard in Ukrainian and Belarusian folklore). K. Moshinsky supported this assumption, believing that when some of the Slavs migrated to the vicinity of the Danube, the name of which was originally borrowed as *Dunavъ/*Dunavь, the name was transferred from the previously known river. Moshinsky was objected to by T. Ler-Splavinsky, who pointed out that the word “Danube” and its derivatives are used to name a dozen rivers and streams in the territory of Slavic languages, in addition, this word functions as an appellative in Polish and Ukrainian dialects. In this regard, Ler-Splavinsky restores for the Proto-Slavic language the common noun *dunajь “big water”, derived from Proto-I.e. *dhouna. Lehr-Splavinsky’s conclusions were ignored in the work of V. N. Toporov and O. N. Trubachev “Linguistic analysis of hydronyms of the Upper Dnieper region”, which derived the hydronym “Dunaec”, found on Slavic lands from the name of the Danube, for which this work was criticized by Z. Golomb .

A river in Germany with steep cliffs, fragrant vineyards, ancient castles perched on almost every peak. It is shrouded in numerous myths and legends, including the one about the beautiful siren Lorelei.
The main river in Germany is one of the most important shipping routes of Western European countries. Born in the Swiss Alps and occupying a basin with an area of ​​224.4 thousand km2, the deep river subsequently flows into the North Sea.
Rhine from a geographical point of view The Rhine is one of the most famous, longest and busiest rivers in Europe.
It originates, as already mentioned, in the Alps. The river covers most of Switzerland, all of Liechtenstein, as well as large areas in Germany and the Netherlands, areas in eastern France, western Austria.
There are many cities located along the picturesque banks of the mighty river.
The Rhine, a river in Germany whose name comes from the Celtic word renos ("raging stream"), appears as a noisy and seething torrent, raging in deep gorges. Its powerful flow slows down a bit as the river passes through Lake Constance. The stream then heads west to Basel.
There the river turns north and enters the Rhine Graben, a fault zone of the East African Plateau located between the Vosges Mountains to the west and the Black Forest to the east. The picturesque Rhine Valley (North German Lowland) stretches along the settlements of Bingen and Bonn. The largest cities located on the banks of the Rhine (a river in Germany) are Cologne and Dusseldorf.
Rotterdam, the leading port of continental Europe, is located near the mouth of the river. At the border with the Netherlands, the stream divides into two parallel delta branches, the Lek and the Val, crossing a wide and slightly marshy plain.

city ​​of Cologne and Cologne Cathedral

River cruises

The picturesque Rhine (a river in Germany), along the banks of which numerous medieval castles and towers are comfortably located, is a real attraction in several countries at once. The Rhine shines with indescribable beauty in the evenings, especially on New Year's Eve. At this time, a huge number of tourists and travelers come here who want to enjoy with their own eyes the wonderful spectacle of a romantic show with stunning fireworks.
A variety of boarding houses where you can rent a cozy room, as well as many bars and restaurants offer their services for the temporary stay of tourists.
Shipping
The shipping company was launched along the Rhine at the beginning of the 19th century, namely in 1817. From Basel to Kehl, shipping and shipping are not used on a large scale; ships with a carrying capacity of no more than 400 centners can pass through this space. From Kehl to Plittersdorf, ships can reach 2-3 thousand quintals, and, starting their journey from these places, shipping acquires considerable commercial importance.
Vessels weighing up to 12 thousand quintals can pass to Mannheim. Tributaries of the Rhine River The Rhine is the largest river in Germany - about 1233 km long, of which 865 km is in Germany. It is considered one of the most important waterways in Europe. A large number of large as well as small rivers flow into the Rhine (a river in Germany).
The main tributary from Alsace, Illinois, joins it at Strasburg. The shorter rivers Dreisam and Kinzig, which flow into the Rhine, flow from the Black Forest. The Neckar, which flows through a gorge as far as Heidelberg, enters the Rhine at Mannheim.
The Middle Rhine is the most exciting and romantic part of the river. High banks cover vineyards up to the village of Koblenz, where another tributary, the Moselle, joins the Rhine.

On the right bank, where the beautiful Ehrenbreitstein fortress rises, the Lahn River flows into the mighty water artery. Below the city of Bonn, the Rhine Valley opens out into a wide plain, with the ancient city of Cologne conveniently located on the left bank of the river. The longest river in Europe The longest river (Rhine) on the map of Europe passes through or borders such countries as Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, France and the Netherlands. Its length is more than a thousand kilometers.
The Rhine flows through six countries and is culturally and historically one of the largest and deepest rivers on the continent. It is also the most important industrial and transport artery in the world. The main river in Germany also plays an important role in trade communications. Despite the fact that almost its entire length there are railway tracks located parallel to it. The Rhine is a river that flows through the most densely populated European countries with rich natural resources and industrial development.

Residents of the Russian Federation live in their own country and may not even know how many rivers there are in Russia. More than 2.5 million rivers flow through the country. Some of them are large and deep, and some are small. In this article we will talk about the most famous, as well as the largest rivers of Russia.

River Ob

This river is the largest in the entire country. The Ob is located in Siberia and was formed by the confluence of other rivers, the Biya and the Katun. The length of the river is almost 5.5 thousand km. This is what makes it stand out among other Russian rivers, since none of them has a similar length. The river flows into the Kara Sea.

It is believed that the name of the river has Arabic roots. From one Arabic language “Ob” is translated as “water”. According to the official version, the river received this name thanks to nomadic tribes who found refuge near these waters for a long time. One way or another, this river got its name back in the Middle Ages. According to another version, the name of the river means “snow”. The fact is that when the Ob freezes, it is difficult to identify it as a river, even if you stand close. It is even more difficult to do this when snow falls on it and then it completely resembles the ground. Hence the name – “snow”. The Ob has many other names, for example, such ancient people as the Nenets called it “Cape River”, and the Altaians gave it the name “Umardy”, which means “river of the North”.

This river has many tributaries, the main of which is the Irtysh. Also, the Ob has a huge number of shipping areas.

Here are some of them:

• Barnaul.
• Tomsky.
• Novosibirsk.
• Surgutsky, etc.

The Ob leads among other rivers in the number of ports and bridges. Also, this river is of enormous industrial importance for Russia, because it is home to quite a large number of fish, more than 50 species to be exact.

Yenisei River

This river is located in Siberia. The Yenisei flows into the Kara Sea. The length of the river is more than 4200 km. The etymology of the word has Evenk roots, the word “Yenisei” is translated as “Big Water”, in the original language - “Ionssi”. Long-time residents of Siberia called the river “Yenisei-father”.

This river is not just one of the largest in Russia, it is included in the list of the largest rivers in the world. Like the Ob, the Yenisei has many tributaries.

Here are some of them:

• Khemchik.
• Turukhan.
• Kan, etc.

The Yenisei is considered one of the main rivers of Russia, as it has an ancient geological structure that has developed historically. If you look down the river on the map, you will notice that there are a huge number of cities and settlements near it.

Here are some of them:

• Krasnoyarsk
• Zheleznogorsk
• Abakan.
• Yeniseisk, etc.

In the 19th century, a water canal was built that connected the Yenisei and Ob, but now the canal is abandoned and is not used by anyone. There are also 3 hydroelectric power stations located downstream of the river. After the construction of one of them, a real environmental disaster happened to the waters of the Yenisei. This problem is being solved.

Volga

Surface waters occupy 12.4% of the total territory of the country. Moreover, 84% is concentrated in the east of the Urals. On the territory of Russia there is one of the largest rivers in the whole world, and this is the Volga. Its basin occupies more than 30% of the European part of the Russian Federation. It flows through four regions and eleven republics.

If we list the rivers of Russia whose names are most often mentioned in history, the Volga will be in first place. Its length is more than 3,500 kilometers. This is the distance between Berlin and Moscow multiplied by two.
Of course, the Volga is simply of enormous economic importance, and has been used for hundreds of years as a transport route, as well as one of the main sources of hydropower.

If we talk about industrial production in Russia as a whole, then approximately 45% of enterprises use the resource of the river in question. All this suggests that the Volga is of great importance. If it weren’t for this body of water, life would be much more difficult for you and me.
The names of large rivers in Russia, such as the Volga and others, must be remembered, if only because we get more than 80% of all fish from them.

The Volga begins on the Valdai Hills. Every year people come there to take a sip of Volga water. In the indicated place, this river is a small spring, which becomes wider and deeper with every meter. Lotuses grow here - beautiful flowers that we all associate with the East. Many songs and plays are dedicated to this great and ancient river. You can talk endlessly about the beauty and grandeur of this river, but all this is little impressive if you don’t see the reservoir with your own eyes. You already know how many rivers there are in Russia, so let's talk about those that are of great importance for the development of the country.

Cupid, or "Black Dragon"

This giant is located in Transbaikalia. Crossing mountain ranges and plains, the Amur flows into the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. The river spreads across three states: Russia, Mongolia and China. Approximately three thousand kilometers of the border between Russia and China runs along the Amur. In China it is the Black Dragon River. According to legend, a very, very long time ago, two dragons lived here: a white one - evil, and a black one - good. When the black dragon defeated evil, he remained to live at the bottom. This name stuck with the Chinese.

It is noteworthy that on the border of the Amur Basin one can observe an amazing spectacle - the change of four physical-geographical zones. There are steppe and semi-desert zones, as well as forest and forest-steppe zones. During the entire existence of the Amur, more than thirty peoples of the world and different ethnic groups settled in these places. If you remember the names of large rivers in Russia, the Amur immediately comes to mind.

It is safe to say that the wetlands of the Far Eastern giant are considered a very valuable natural complex. The fact is that fish resources are reproduced here, and the river is of great importance for the migration of hundreds of thousands of birds. It is on the Amur that almost 95% of Far Eastern white storks nest, as well as 50% of white-naped and red-crowned cranes. There are more than 5,000 species of various plants and approximately 400 species of birds, as well as 70 species of mammals. One of the rarest is the Amur tiger.

In recent years, the situation on the Amur has worsened significantly. This is due to active human intervention in the river ecosystem. The fact is that more than one hundred million people live in the Amur basin, and this is only about China. If we still know exactly how many rivers there are in Russia, then in a few years the Amur may not exist, and man will be to blame for everything.

River Don

The Don River is one of the largest rivers in the European part of Russia, its length is 1870 km, its basin area is 422 thousand km², and in terms of volume of water it passes, it is the fourth in Europe after the Volga, Dnieper and Danube.

This river is one of the most ancient, its age is 23 million years, its sources are located in the small town of Novomoskovsk (Tula region), the small river Urvanka begins here, which gradually grows and absorbs the water of other tributaries (there are about 5 thousand of them) spills into a wide channel and flows over large areas of southern Russia, flowing into the Taganrog Bay of the Sea of ​​​​Azov.

The main tributaries of the Don are the Seversky Donets, Khoper, and Medveditsa. The river is rapids and shallow, has a typical flat character, and such large million-plus cities as Voronezh and Rostov-on-Don are located here. The Don is navigable from its mouth to the city of Voronezh, there are several reservoirs and the Tsimlyanskaya hydroelectric station.

Northern Dvina River in Russia

The Northern Dvina is a navigable river. Located in the north of Russia, in its European part. At first glance, this river is unremarkable, but if you look deeper into its history and geography, you can find some interesting facts.

At one time (approximately from the middle of the 16th to the beginning of the 17th century), this river was the only route that connected the Russian Empire with those countries that were located in Northern and Western Europe at that time. This route was actively used by merchants and diplomats. By the middle of the 19th century, its importance for the foreign trade of the Russian Empire had decreased significantly. However, in order to defend some cities in a possible war (for example, Arkhangelsk), the mouth of this river was very suitable.
This river is not very large - its length is only 744 km. If we compare it with the Volga, the largest and longest Russian river, the Northern Dvina is five times inferior to it - the length of the Volga is 3530 km.

Two rivers - Sukhona and Yug - merge into one, called the Malaya Northern Dvina. All this happens near the city of Veliky Ustyug, located in the Vologda region. And this city is interesting because the Russian residence of Father Frost is located there.
After this, it turns north and flows through Arkhangelsk and its environs. The high-water Vychegda River brings its waters into the Northern Dvina watercourse immediately after Arangelsk, after which the river continues its movement strictly north. Just before it flows into the Dvina Bay, the White Sea, it merges with another river called Pinega.

The source of the Northern Dvina is located at the confluence of two rivers: the Sukhona and the Yuga. The Northern Dvina flows into the White Sea. The river is home to many rare species of fish: bream, burbot, roach, pike. Migratory fish are of industrial importance: lamprey and salmon, and in the delta you can find smelt and river flounder.

Neva River in Russia

One of the most magnificent rivers in Russia is the Neva. Lake Ladoga serves as the mouth of 30 rivers, and only the Neva flows out of it and continues its significant journey. Free, luxurious and characteristic, she invariably adorns St. Petersburg. Poems are written in honor of it, because the river is no less loved by all Russians than the city of St. Petersburg itself.

The Neva is often called the most uncontrollable river. It changes its depth and width every half kilometer. Therefore, it has difficulty resisting the forces of the wind, and there are many known cases when the Neva brought disaster to its coastal residents. The beautiful river can be different and can show a changeable “character” in every possible way. Under dark clouds she becomes threatening and gloomy, during sunset she becomes colorful, and in the autumn she especially tries to show her temper, but it is impossible not to fall in love with her.

The river, unlike other bodies of water, receives its nutrition from the lake. Due to the steep banks, ships can approach both of them closely. Large-scale floods occur occasionally. The Gulf of Finland is gaining water, and the Neva is becoming a real disaster for the local population.

Ural

The Ural opens the top ten largest Russian rivers. Its length is 2422 km, and the basin area is 231 thousand square meters. km. The Urals flows into the Caspian Sea. In terms of its length in Europe, the river is second only to the Volga and Danube. Until 1775, one of the largest water arteries in the country was called Yaik, which means “wide”. By decree of Catherine II, the river was renamed and received the name Ural. Now it serves as a natural water border between Europe and Asia.

Irtysh

The Irtysh is one of the largest rivers in Russia and the largest tributary of the Ob. Its length is 4248 km, which exceeds the length of the largest river. Together they form a length of 5410 km. The area of ​​the Irtysh basin is 1 million 643 thousand square meters. km. The water artery flows through the territory of three states: Russia, Mongolia and China. The Irtysh is a mixed-fed river. The underwater world of the tributary is quite rich in various species of fish: representatives of sturgeon, carp, whitefish, pike, etc. live here. The river waters are used for irrigation and water supply.

The river coast is a favorite vacation and travel destination for many people. On your day off, you can have a picnic on the shore with friends or family, enjoy fishing, swimming, boating, kayaking and enjoying the beauty of the surrounding nature.

In contact with

The largest water arteries

A huge number of people live along river banks, which often become the population’s only means of subsistence: they are sources of drinking water, food and energy. Industrial enterprises and river ports operate uninterruptedly, and they also carry a significant supply of fresh water. Russia is a country rich in water resources. It is difficult to count how many rivers there are in Russia.

Important! According to experts, there are up to 2.5 million rivers on the territory of the Russian Federation. A special catalog has been compiled, where they are all arranged alphabetically for ease of search.

The table shows the longest and deepest:

Large rivers differ not only in names, but also in length, area, speed and type of flow, landscapes, inhabitants and fauna, and among them there are obvious “record holders”. Each of them is unique in its own way.

The longest river in Russia is the beautiful Lena. It is believed that she is the fastest. Its length is 4,400 km, and the basin area is 2,490,000 sq. km.

It originates not far from, and its mouth is in the Laptev Sea in Yakutia. The main tributaries are the Mama, Aldai, Chaya, and Vilyui. It is located 10th in the world in terms of total length and 8th in terms of depth.

It feeds mainly on melt and rainwater. It flows through the territory of the Irkutsk region, the Republic of Yakutia, its beauty is admired by residents of Transbaikalia, Khabarovsk Territory and Buryatia. The pool is entirely located in Russia.

Its resources are truly inexhaustible: There have never been dams here, so there is enough food in the water for fish and comfortable living conditions have been formed. The flora and fauna are rich, even species listed in the Red Book live here: Siberian sturgeon, sterlet. And on the banks there is the beautiful Lena Pillars National Park, which is often visited by foreign tourists.

The smallest and most tortuous

Now let's see what it's called the shortest river in Russia. The opposite of Lena is Reiroa, which is located in Abkhazia in the Gagra region and is a record holder. The length of the river is only 6-17.7 m - these are the smallest figures in the world, depending on the time of year and the proximity of the coastline. It feeds on the waters of the Krubera-Voronya underground cave, so the water temperature is constantly low and equal to 11 degrees even in the summer.

The river is quite deep, the water flow is about 2 cubic meters per second, and not a single case of drying out has been recorded. It is a current from a karst cave that crosses the beach and flows into the Black Sea.

The most winding river in Russia Piana with the largest number of turns, loops, bends. Located in the Nizhny Novgorod region and Mordovia. The length is approximately 400 km, while from the beginning to the end the distance is no more than 60 km. A large number of tributaries flow into the Piana, the largest of which are:

• Vadok,
• Eat,
• Kelya,
• Couples,
• Rauja.

The width varies along the entire length, at the source it is equal to 90 m, in the middle - about 50 m, and towards its end - 10-20 m. The average depth is 3 m, and in the deepest places it reaches 6 m. The banks are quite steep, with cliffs, and high. Not far from the village of Pilekshevo there is an interesting and even mysterious place - Devil's Turn. Here the riverbed turns sharply 90 degrees, and at this turn a small river flows into Piana.

Attention! Local residents attribute mystical properties to the area near Piana, associated with the appearance of evil spirits on the shores and other mysterious events.

Along the banks there are numerous settlements, as well as the famous Ichalovsky forest with karst caves, and in the Perevozsky district in the village of Ichalka the Ichalkovskaya hydroelectric power station was built.

Let's climb the mountains

Let's consider How are mountain rivers different? Their main feature is the speed of the flow; they do not form large valleys and meanders, but flow, as a rule, along mountain gorges with steep banks.

Most originate in and only then descend to the plains.

They are characterized by a slope, a large number of waterfalls and rapids.

In our country, many rivers are mountainous; even more rivers are mountainous in only one part, and when they descend to meadows and steppes, they become flat. By territorial basis they are divided into:

• Crimean,
• Pre-Caucasian,
• North Caucasian,
• Far Eastern,
• East Siberian.

In the mountainous part of the Crimean peninsula, the river system is very developed; from its southern part, the drainages are short, turbulent, with many waterfalls: Uchan-Su, Uzkn-Bash. In the western part Belbek, Chernaya, Alma, flowing into the Black Sea.

The Stavropol Upland divides the entire water system of the region into the western group of the Azov Sea and the eastern group, belonging to the Caspian Sea. The most famous and largest in the Caucasus are Kuban and Terek. They begin in the mountains, near the Kuban not far from the famous Elbrus, and the Terek - on Mount Zilgahokh. Less extended: Kagalnik, Beisug, Chelbas, Kuma.

Far Eastern rivers are also interesting for their flow patterns. The famous Amur in the upper part is mountainous, flows through rocky gorges and develops a high flow speed, gradually decreasing towards the city of Blagoveshchensk. On the Sikhote-Alina ridges Many mountain streams flow down from the eastern side, the largest being Tumnin, 270 km long. On the northeast coast there are numerous rivers flowing down from the ridges: Anadyr, Okhota, Uda.

Most of the rivers in Eastern Siberia are mountainous. Such is the beauty of the Yenisei, Lena, Indigirka, Kolyma. They abound with rapids and whirlpools.

Central part of the country

Among the rivers of the European part of Russia The Volga occupies a dominant position. This territory contains the most famous and large rivers with an ancient history, rich flora and fauna.

The Volga, of course, is considered the largest, its length is 3888 km, area - 1360 sq. km. It is clearly visible on the map. It begins on a hill from an underground source and flows into the Caspian Sea.

The Volga has a lot of tributaries, 200 streams and rivulets, the largest of them are the Kama and Oka. Artificial reservoirs and hydroelectric power stations are installed here:

1. Kuibyshevskaya.
2. Volgogradskaya.
3. Cheboksary.

Along the banks of the Volga there are protected natural and national parks Samara Luga. Conditionally The Volga is divided into 3 parts:

• top,
• average,
• lower

The upper segment flows in a forest area from the beginning of the Volga to Nizhny Novgorod, the middle part flows mainly through forest-steppe and steppe, and the lower part flows in conditions of semi-desert and endless steppes. The temperature regime differs from natural due to the construction of reservoirs and hydroelectric power stations. In summer, the water temperature stays at 23-26 degrees; in winter, the surface is almost always covered with a layer of ice.

Volga shipping, because there are large port cities along the coast. The lower part of the Volga is the richest in flora and fauna; unique insects, animals, fish and plants along the banks are represented here in large quantities.

What other rivers of the European part are included in this list.

Kama. It is located in 5th place in terms of length, approximately 200 tributaries flow into it, the largest: Vyatka, Belaya, Chusovaya.

Dams, reservoirs and hydroelectric power plants constantly regulate and control water. At the source it is surrounded by mountainous terrain and steppes, and when it flows into the Volga, birch groves and forest-steppes begin along the banks.

Oka. The second significant tributary of the Volga. The length of the Oka is 1480 m. The source is near the village of Maloarkhangelsk, and in the Nizhny Novgorod area it flows into the Volga.

The change in landscape along different banks is interesting: the right bank is high, with cliffs and steep slopes, and the left bank is low, behind which there are numerous flooded meadows and fields. Toward the mouth, nature transforms a little, here the river becomes wider, faster-flowing, and pine trees and deciduous groves appear along the banks.

Don. The length is 1970 km, and the area is impressive - 450 thousand square meters. km. The source is located in the Tula region, flows from the Urvanka stream, and the mouth is the Sea of ​​​​Azov in the Taganrog Bay. It is characterized by a slow, sedate flow, so that the expression “quiet” fully corresponds to the character of the Don, the valley is wide, flat with a high right bank. At the lower reaches, the width is 15 km, the depth reaches 12-15 meters. The Don has a lot of tributaries, about 5200. Khoper, Medveditsa, Manych, Northern Donets, Sal are the most significant.

The Don is fed by meltwater, groundwater and rain make up a third. On the banks you can see forest-steppes, where several large cities, river ports, nature reserves and hydroelectric power stations are concentrated. Water flow plays a significant role in the life of the region and industry.

The largest rivers in Russia - names, locations

Toponomics of Russian rivers

Conclusion

In our country there are many beautiful, unique, large and small, flowing through mountain ranges and gently sloping rivers and streams, containing huge reserves of drinking water and creating a unique landscape, natural conditions for people’s lives, the growth and development of flora and fauna. We must try to preserve this natural beauty of the Russian rivers and leave a legacy for future generations.