During the existence of the Earth, the work of researchers does not decrease. After all, life on the planet is constantly changing under the influence of various factors - nature is being updated, and human activity is making its contribution. Therefore, it is not easy to unambiguously answer the question: “What is the longest river in the world?”
For a long time the palm belonged to the Nile River. But modern painstaking research has yielded more objective and unexpected results. It turns out that now the Nile is ahead of the Amazon. Brazilian scientists have found a new source of the Ucayali River, this circumstance made it possible to increase the length of the continuous Amazonian river channel to 7000 km. Therefore, the Amazon is recognized as the longest river.
Most of the South American river flows in Brazil, and the rest of its branches are located in the lands of Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia. During the rainy season, the river floods an area the size of England with its waters. The inhabitants of the waters of the Amazon are so diverse that the inhabitants of the Atlantic Ocean cannot be compared with them.
It is difficult to unambiguously choose one of the Russian rivers,which will rightly be called "The Longest River in Russia". After all, it is not always possible to accurately measure the length of a river channel, since the sources and tributaries of the river, located on the territory of neighboring states, play their role.
According to statistics, it is the Lena River that should become the champion and receive the honorary title as the longest river in Russia. After all, its length from the very source, located near the ridge of the deep-water Lake Baikal, to the mouth, which flows into the Laptev Sea, is 4400 km.
In winter, the Lena River can freeze to the very bottom, and when hot summers come, it dries up. In some places, its depth can reach the level of 0.5 m. Although, with the first portion of life-giving moisture coming from the tributaries, the river comes to life and becomes raftable - below Osetrov, ships rushing along the waterway to the ocean begin to appear.
Americans are proud of the mighty river flow of the Mississippi, which divides the United States into two parts, crosses the territory of ten states and carries its waters to the Atlantic. According to data taken from the American Encyclopedia, the length of the Mississippi river system is 6275 km. It originates from the Jefferson River in Montana, flows into the waters of the Missouri and ends up in the Gulf of Mexico. This allows her to be awarded the appropriate title: "The longest river in the United States." It occupies the rightful fourth position among other river systems of the planet.
The headwaters of the Mississippi have raging waterfalls and steepthresholds. Among the waterfalls, St. Anthony stands out, the height of the indomitable fall of its waters is as much as 15 m. There are dams between the cities of St. Louis and Minneapolis, the work of which helps to provide local residents with electricity.
During the spring flood, floods begin, flooding a large area. The Mississippi River basin occupies almost half of American land. The longest river provides permanent work for ship owners.
