What is the longest river in the world?
Geography Nature Rivers World's Longest
Regarding which river is the world's longest, this is actually quite an interesting topic, as the answer isn't fixed and there's a bit of controversy.
Traditional Answer: The Nile River
In our old textbooks, or in most people's minds, the world's longest river is the Nile River.
- Length: Approximately 6,650 kilometers.
- Location: It is in Africa, flowing from south to north, finally emptying into the Mediterranean Sea.
- Significance: The Nile River is very famous because it was the cradle of ancient Egyptian civilization. It can be said that without the Nile, there would be no ancient Egypt.
So, if you answer the Nile River, it's definitely not wrong; this is the most classic and widely known answer.
New Research and Challenger: The Amazon River
However, things have changed in recent years. Another super river—the Amazon River—has posed a challenge.
The Amazon River is in South America, and its water volume is undeniably the world's largest, several times more than the Nile, Yangtze, and Mississippi rivers combined; it's truly the "King of Rivers."
The point of contention lies in its length. Measuring the length of a large river is very complex, and the key is how you define its "source." A river's source isn't a tap; it's formed by the confluence of countless small streams and rivulets. So, which is the furthest stream that counts as the true starting point?
- In the past, it was generally believed that the Amazon River was slightly shorter than the Nile, approximately 6,400 kilometers.
- However, scientists later used new technologies like satellites and GPS to find a more distant source of the Amazon River in the Andes Mountains. According to these new measurement data, the Amazon River's length might reach nearly 7,000 kilometers, thus surpassing the Nile.
In Summary
So, the current situation is:
- Traditional view: The world's longest river is the Nile River.
- Latest research: Increasing evidence suggests that the Amazon River might actually be the longest.
You can tell your friends this: people used to say it was the Nile, but now many geographers believe the Amazon River is the true leader. However, regardless of how its length ranks, the Amazon River's water volume is undoubtedly the world's largest, and there's no dispute about that!