Fun facts about rivers

The São Francisco River, known in English as the San Francisco River, is a large river in Brazil. With a length of 2,914 kilometres (1,811 mi), it is the longest river that runs entirely in Brazilian territory, and the fourth longest in South America and overall in Brazil.

From the “Names” section

The Rhine is one of the major rivers of Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss–Liechtenstein border, then part of the Swiss–Austrian border. From Lake Constance downstream, it forms part of the Swiss–German border.

From the “Name” section

The Senegal River ; Wolof: Dexug Senegaal, Arabic: نهر السنغال, romanized: Nahr as-Siniġāl, Hassaniyya pronunciation: [nahrˤ əs.säjnigaːl], French: Fleuve Sénégal) is a 1086-kilometre-long (675 mi) river in West Africa; much of its length marks part of the border between Senegal and Mauritania.

From the “Geography” section

The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia.

From the “Etymology” section

The Orange River is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of 2,432 km (1,511 mi), the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibia to the north.

From the “Course” section

The Zambezi is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers 1,390,000 km2 (540,000 mi2), slightly less than half of the Nile's.

From the “Course” section

The Amur River or Heilong River is a perennial river in Northeast Asia, forming the natural border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China. The Amur proper is 2,824 km (1,755 mi) long, and has a drainage basin of 1,855,000 km2 (716,000 mi2).

From the “Name” section

The Nile is a major north-flowing river in northeast Africa which empties into the Mediterranean Sea. At 7,088 kilometers (4,404 mi) long, it is the longest river in the world, although the volume of water it carries is much smaller than other major rivers such as the Amazon or the Congo.

From the “Names and etymology” section

The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of 5,464 km (3,395 mi) and a drainage basin of 795,000 km2 (307,000 sq mi).

From the “Etymology” section

The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Southwestern China, Northeastern India, and Bangladesh. It is known as the Brahmaputra in Assam, Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in the Mishmi language, and Jamuna River in Bangladesh.

From the “Names” section

The Ob is a major river in Russia. It is in western Siberia, and with its tributary the Irtysh forms the world's seventh-longest river system, at 5,410 kilometres (3,360 mi). The Ob forms at the confluence of the Biya and Katun which have their origins in the Altai Mountains.

From the “Names” section

The Mekong or Mekong River is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth-longest river and the third-longest in Asia with an estimated length of 4,909 km (3,050 mi) and a drainage area of 795,000 km2 (307,000 sq mi), discharging 475 km3 (114 cu mi) of water annually.

From the “Names” section

The Volga is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of 3,531 km (2,194 mi), and a catchment area of 1,360,000 km2 (530,000 sq mi).

From the “Name” section

The Don is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire.

From the “History” section

The Yenisei or Yenisey is the fifth-longest river system in the world, and the largest to drain into the Arctic Ocean.

From the “Etymology” section

The Rio Grande, in the United States, or the Río Bravo, in Mexico, also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo, is one of the principal rivers in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico.

From the “Geography” section

The Mississippi River is the primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri.

From the “Name and significance” section

The Mackenzie River is a river in the Canadian boreal forest and tundra. It forms, along with the Slave, Peace, and Finlay, the longest river system in Canada, the second largest drainage basin of any North American river after the Mississippi.

From the “Geography” section

The Orinoco is one of the longest rivers in South America at 2,140 km (1,330 mi). Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1,000,000 km2 (390,000 sq mi), with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia.

From the “Etymology” section

The Lena is a river in the Russian Far East and is the easternmost river of the three great rivers of Siberia which flow into the Arctic Ocean, the others being Ob and Yenisey.

From the “Course” section

The Irrawaddy River is the principal river of Myanmar, running through the centre of the country. Myanmar's most important commercial waterway, it is about 1,350 mi (2,170 km) long.

From the “Names” section

The Tigris is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, before merging with the Euphrates and reaching to the Persian Gulf.

From the “Etymology” section

The Colorado River is one of the principal rivers in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The 1,450-mile-long (2,330 km) river, the 5th longest in the United States, drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states.

From the “Course” section

The Dnieper or Dnepr, also known as the Dnipro, is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea.

From the “Names” section