Measuring the length of rivers is not an easy task, which, however, has been greatly simplified since the advent of artificial satellites. But even with the help of images from space to determine exact length river is not possible. Difficulties in determining the beginning of the river may be due to a large number tributaries. Of all tributaries, the one that begins at the farthest point from the mouth is considered the beginning of the river, giving the river a total total length, and the name of this tributary is usually not the same as the name of the river. It can also be difficult to determine where the river ends, because the mouth of the river is often an estuary, gradually widening and opening into the ocean.
Estuary (from lat. aestuarium - flooded mouth of the river) - a single-arm, funnel-shaped mouth of the river, expanding towards the sea. One can think of an estuary as a place where the sea is wedged into the mainland/island due to the washing out of rocks.
Seasonal changes also contribute to the complexity of calculating the total length of river systems. This list shows the lengths of river systems, that is, rivers, taking into account their longest tributaries.
10. Congo - Lualaba - Luvua - Luapula - Chambeshi
Congo - a river in Central Africa flowing into the Atlantic Ocean. The length of the river system of the Congo - Lualaba - Luvua - Luapula - Chambeshi - 4700 km (The length of the Congo River is 4374 km). This is the deepest and second longest river in Africa, the second river in terms of water content in the world after the Amazon.
The width of the river is on average 1.5-2 km, but in some places it reaches 25 km. The depth of the river reaches 230 m - this is the deepest river in the world.
The Congo is the only major river that crosses the equator twice.
9. Amur - Argun - Muddy channel - Kerulen
Amur - a river in the Far East in East Asia. It flows through the territory of Russia and the border between Russia and China, flowing into the Sea of Okhotsk. The length of the river system Amur - Argun - Muddy duct- Kerulen is equal to 5052 km. The length of the Amur is 2824 km
8. Lena - Vitim
Lena - a river in Russia, the largest river in Eastern Siberia, flows into the Laptev Sea. The length of the Lena-Vitim river system is 5100 km. The length of the Lena is 4400 km. The river flows through the area Irkutsk region and Yakutia, some of its tributaries belong to the Transbaikal, Krasnoyarsk, Khabarovsk Territory, Buryatia and the Amur region. Lena is the largest Russian rivers, whose basin lies entirely within the country. It freezes in the reverse order of opening - from the lower reaches to the upper reaches.
7. Ob - Irtysh
Ob - river in Western Siberia. It is formed in Altai at the confluence of the Biya and Katun. The length of the Ob is 3650 km. At the mouth it forms the Gulf of Ob and flows into the Kara Sea.
The Irtysh is a river in China, Kazakhstan and Russia, the left, main, tributary of the Ob. The length of the Irtysh is 4248 km, which exceeds the length of the Ob itself. The Irtysh, together with the Ob, is the longest watercourse in Russia, the second longest in Asia and the seventh in the world (5410 km).
Irtysh - the longest tributary river in the world
6. Huang He
Huang He is a river in China, one of largest rivers Asia. The length of the river is 5464 km. The Huang He originates in the eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau at an altitude of over 4000 m, flows through the lakes Orin-Nur and Dzharin-Nur, spurs of the Kunlun and Nanshan mountain ranges. At the intersection of the Ordos and the Loess Plateau, it forms a large bend in its middle course, then through the gorges of the Shanxi Mountains it enters the Great Chinese Plain, along which it flows for about 700 km until it flows into the Bohai Bay of the Yellow Sea, forming a delta in the area of its confluence.
Translated from Chinese its name is "Yellow River", which is associated with an abundance of sediment, giving a yellowish tint to its waters. It is thanks to them that the sea into which the river flows is called Yellow.
Yellow River - Yellow River
5. Yenisei - Angara - Selenga - Ider
Yenisei - a river in Siberia, one of the greatest rivers world and Russia. It flows into the Kara Sea of the North Arctic Ocean. Length - 3487 km. Length waterway: Ider - Selenga - Lake Baikal - Angara - Yenisei is 5550 km.
Angara - a river in Eastern Siberia, the largest right tributary of the Yenisei, the only river flowing from Lake Baikal. It flows through the territory of the Irkutsk region and Krasnoyarsk Territory Russia. Length - 1779 km.
4. Mississippi - Missouri - Jefferson
Mississippi - main river largest river system in North America. The source is located in Minnesota. The river mainly flows in southbound and reaches a length of 3770 kilometers, ending in a vast delta in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Missouri is a river in the United States, the largest tributary of the Mississippi. The length of the river is 3767 km. It originates in the Rocky Mountains, flows mainly in the eastern and southeast directions. It flows into the Mississippi near the city of St. Louis.
The length of the Mississippi - Missouri - Jefferson river system is 6275 km.
3. Yangtze
The Yangtze is the longest and most abundant river in Eurasia, the third river in the world in terms of full flow and length. It flows through the territory of China, has a length of about 6300 km, the basin area is 1,808,500 km².
2. Nile
The Nile is a river in Africa, one of the two longest rivers in the world.
The river originates in the East African Plateau and flows into the Mediterranean Sea, forming a delta. In the upper reaches, it receives large tributaries - Bahr el-Ghazal (left) and Achva, Sobat, Blue Nile and Atbara (right). Below the mouth of the right tributary of the Atbara, the Nile flows through the semi-desert, having no tributaries for the last 3120 km.
For a long time, the Nile water system was considered the longest on Earth. In 2013, it was established that the Amazon has the longest river system. Its length is 6992 kilometers, while the length of the Nile system is 6852 kilometers.
Feluca - a small deck vessel with peculiar oblique sails in the form of a trapezoid or a triangle cut from one corner.
1. Amazon
The Amazon is a river in South America, the largest in the world in terms of basin size, full flow and length of the river system. It is formed by the confluence of the Maranion and Ucayali rivers. The length from the main source of Maranion is 6992 km, from the source of Apacheta discovered at the end of the 20th century - about 7000 km, from the source of Ucayali over 7000 km.
However, there are long rivers not only on the ground, but also under it. Hamza is an informal name for the underground current under the Amazon. The opening of the "river" was announced in 2011. unofficial name given in honor of the Indian scientist Valiya Hamza, who has been exploring the Amazon for more than 45 years. Hamza flows at a depth of about 4 km underground through porous soils parallel to the Amazon. The length of the "river" is about 6000 km. According to preliminary calculations, the width of Hamza is about 400 km. The flow rate of the Hamza is only a few meters per year - this is even slower than the glaciers move, so it can be called a river rather conditionally. Hamza flows into the Atlantic Ocean at great depths. The water of the Hamza River has a high salinity level.
20 longest rivers, excluding the length of tributaries
- Amazon - 6992 km
- Nile - 6852 km
- Yangtze - 6300 km
- Yellow River hotels - 5464 km
- Mekong - 4500 km
- Lena - 4400 km
- Parana hotels - 4380 km
- Congo - 4374 km
- Irtysh hotels - 4248 km
- Mackenzie hotels - 4241 km
- Niger - 4180 km
- Missouri - 3767 km
- Mississippi - 3734 km
- Ob - 3650 km
- Volga - 3530 km
- Yenisei hotels - 3487 km
- Madeira - 3230 km
- Purus - 3200 km
- Indus - 3180 km
- Yukon -3100 km
Australia is the smallest continent in the world, located in southern hemisphere. The area of Australia with the islands is less than 8 million square meters. km, the population is about 23 million people.
Western and South coast the mainland is washed by the Indian Ocean, the north - the Timor and Arafura seas indian ocean, eastern - Coral and Tasman seas Pacific Ocean. extreme points Australia: in the north - Cape York, in the west - Cape Steep Point, in the south - Cape Southeast, in the east - Cape Byron. Distance from extreme north to extreme southern points mainland is 3200 km, from western to eastern - 4100 km. Parallel east coast The Great Barrier Reef stretches for 2300 km.
The coast of the mainland is slightly indented. Available large bays Great Australian in the south and Carpentaria in the north. There are two peninsulas in northern Australia. largest area, Cape York and Arnhem Land. This continent includes adjacent islands - Tasmania, Melville, Kangaroo, etc.
The mainland lies on the ancient Australian platform, which passes into the East Australian Fold Belt. Average Height Australia is 215 m above sea level, and most of the mainland is occupied by plains and up to 95% of the territory is below 600 m. In the eastern part of the mainland, the Big Dividing Range, which includes several flat-topped mountain systems. In the western part of the continent there is a plateau up to 500 m high with table mountains and ridges, in the central part there is a lowland with a large lake Eyre. On the territory of the mainland there are deposits of minerals, such as stone and brown coal, copper, iron ore, bauxite, titanium, polymetallic and uranium ores, diamonds, gold, natural gas, oil.
Most of Australia is located in the tropical climate zone. northern regions- in equatorial belt(with a hot climate and frequent summer rains), the southern ones are in the subtropics (with a predominance of precipitation in winter). In the middle part of the continent, 70% of the territory is dominated by a desert and semi-desert climate. On the east coast hot tropical maritime climate where precipitation occurs predominantly in summer period. The amount of average annual precipitation decreases from east to west.
Large river systems of the mainland - Murray, Darling, Flinders. characteristic feature Australia is the presence of screams - rivers that fill with water only after heavy rains.
On extensive interior spaces mainland are the Great Gibson Desert, Victoria, the Great Sandy Desert, etc. Salt lakes can often be seen here. A belt of semi-deserts with shrubs extends around the deserts. In the northern, eastern and southeastern regions, semi-deserts are replaced by savannahs. AT mountainous areas and grow along the coast woodlands from palm trees, tree ferns and eucalyptus trees. Among the wild animals in Australia, rabbits, pigs, wild dogs. Among endemic animals there are many marsupial forms (kangaroos, wombats, marsupial wolves, marsupial moles).
The entire territory of the mainland and the island of Tasmania is occupied by the country of the Commonwealth of Australia. The state is divided into six states: Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania. Indigenous people make up only 2% of total strength population, the rest of the inhabitants are the descendants of Europeans and Asians who colonized the mainland after its discovery in the 17th century. High level development Agriculture and the mining industry have brought the country to a leading position as a supplier of wheat, coal, gold, iron ore to the world market.
Remember the importance of water for other components of nature and for humans. What properties does water have? Which of them have geographical importance? What kind water bodies belong to land waters?
Distribution inland waters sushi. Water is distributed across the continents extremely unevenly. There are areas where there is an abundance of rivers, lakes, there are extensive swamps, and in some areas there is practically no surface water, except for rare drying lakes. Of all the continents, the most "wet" (water-provided) - South America. If all the waters flowing down from this continent in a year are distributed in an even layer over its area, then a layer of water more than 500 mm thick will be obtained. This quantity is called the sink layer (8.1). In Antarctica, almost all water is in solid form, and does not flow into the ocean, but collapses in large blocks, forming icebergs. But in terms of volume fresh water Antarctica is many times larger than all the continents combined. It is estimated that the fresh water reserves contained in Antarctic ice, are approximately equal to the flow of all the rivers of the Earth for more than 500 years.
The distribution of inland waters over the territory of the continents most of all depends on the climate, but other factors also play a role. On the distribution of rivers, lakes, swamps, glaciers, on the form river valleys and lake basins, the conditions for the occurrence of groundwater are affected by relief and geological structure terrain. For example, even with low rainfall, swamps can occur if the terrain is flat and difficult to drain.
All kinds of inland waters play huge role in nature and in human life. However, the most prominent place is occupied by rivers.
Rivers. On all continents of the Earth, except for Antarctica, there are large and small river systems. South America has the most extensive river network, receiving the most precipitation.
There are almost no territories on this continent devoid of rivers. The huge basins of the Amazon, Orinoco, Parana occupy most of the mainland (8.2). Most rivers originate in the mountains, cut through mountain ranges and high plateaus and plateaus, forming rapids and waterfalls. Then they go out to flat plains, spread widely, turn into a dense network water arteries. Material carried by rivers from high places fills depressions earth's crust. The Amazonian, Orinokskaya, Laplatskaya lowlands are vast flat plains composed of river sediments.
The river network of North America has a similar structure. Here, the areas of endorheic regions are also small. Many rivers carry water to the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. The largest of these is the Mississippi system, which collects water from the Cordillera, the Appalachians, and the American plains (8.3). Stormy rivers flow into the Pacific Ocean, cutting through the Cordillera. The Mackenzie River, which has an extensive network of tributaries, flows into the Arctic Ocean. Short full-flowing rapids flow into the Hudson Bay.
Rivers Eurasia carry almost half of all the waters flowing from the land of the planet into the World Ocean. In terms of river runoff, the continent surpasses all continents. Of the 14 greatest rivers in the world (more than 3 thousand km long), most of them are located in Eurasia: Yangtze, Huang He, Mekong, Indus, Lena, Ob, Yenisei, Volga.
Rivers are unevenly distributed across the mainland. The most powerful river systems are located in Asia - in its northern, eastern and southeastern parts. AT central regions river network is almost non-existent. Europe is dominated by small rivers. The largest rivers of Eurasia originate in the depths of the mainland high in the mountains and spread in all directions to the marginal plains. In the upper reaches they are all mountainous, in the lower reaches they are flat, calm and wide. Flowing out of the mountains, the rivers lose speed, expand the valley and deposit the material brought in it - alluvium. Alluvial are major plains Eurasia.
Rivers of Eurasia are extremely diverse in terms of food types and runoff regime. The same river crossing different climatic zones, feeds on waters from different sources, overflows with floods and becomes shallow in different time. Most of the rivers have atmospheric feeding: mixed - snow and rain or predominantly rain. These are the rivers of the outskirts of the mainland with non-continental climates. High water on different rivers occurs at different times of the year, depending on the onset of the rainy season or the snow melting. Along the rivers of the continental regions leading role groundwater plays a role in nutrition. During low water, some dry up completely. Rivers originating in the mountains of Europe, in the center, in the east and southeast of Asia, are fed by the waters of melting glaciers. Asian rivers flowing through permafrost also have a glacial type of nutrition.
River basins. Rivers carry water collected from 65% of the territory of Eurasia to all four oceans of the planet. A third of the continent's surface has no runoff into the oceans. Accordingly, the territory of Eurasia is divided into five drainage basins. Four of them are ocean basins, and the fifth is an internal runoff basin. This is the largest internal runoff basin on the planet.
Swimming pool Arctic Ocean occupies the northern edge of Eurasia. "Record holders" of the basin: Lena - has the longest length - 4400 km; the Ob (3650 km, with the Irtysh 5410 km) - the largest catchment - about 3000 km 2 (Fig. 39); Yenisei (from the confluence of the Big and Small Yenisei - 3487 km) - takes out the most a large number of water - 630 km 3 / year (Fig. 40). These rivers originate in the mountains. They flow to the ocean along the plains - low or elevated, from south to north - crossing several natural areas. A significant part of their valleys is located in the permafrost zone. They feed on melted snow, rain and glacier waters. In winter they freeze, and many of their medium-sized tributaries freeze to the bottom.
Basin rivers Pacific Ocean - Yangtze (6380 km) (Fig. 41), Huang He (4845 km), Mekong(4500 km) (Fig. 42), Amur(2850 km) - have a monsoon type of regime and are distinguished by high water. In the summer, when the rainy season begins and the snow melts in the mountains, up to 80% of them annual runoff. The water level at this time rises by 20-40 m. severe floods. At this time, the rivers flood their valleys and fill them with a thick layer of loose sediments. The longest river on the continent second only to the Nile, the Amazon and the Mississippi, Yangtze. It begins in Tibet, breaks through rapids into the alluvial plain, where it flows among boundless lakes and swamps. At the confluence with the East China Sea, it forms a narrow long estuary - a funnel-shaped extended mouth. It's shaped by power sea tides rising up the river for several hundred kilometers. By the rivers of the basin indian ocean also monsoonal. The largest are Indus (3180 km), Brahmaputra (2900 km) (Fig. 43), Ganges(2700 km), Tigris, Euphrates- originate high in the mountains. Bo Ђ Most of their valleys lie in foothill troughs, and the rivers tirelessly fill them with alluvium. Its thickness in the Ganges valley reaches 12 km. The Ganges-Brahmaputra system in terms of water content is the third after the Amazon and the Congo: 7700 m 3 of water is carried into the ocean every second. Over 500 km from the ocean, the Ganges begins to form branches of a giant delta - the largest in the world. the globe(with an area of more than 80 thousand km 2).
From the rivers of other river basins Atlantic Ocean are diverse. They do not form large systems, have a smaller and more uniform flow, all possible power sources. Some of them freeze in winter, while others do not freeze over. Polomaputra (space image)
water and floods occur at different times. The largest river Danube(2850 km) - begins in the Black Forest mountains and flows through the territory of nine countries. Mountainous, rapids in the upper reaches, in the middle and lower it becomes a typical flat river - calm, with a wide floodplain and numerous oxbow lakes. The river cuts through the Carpathians in a narrow valley and, splitting into branches, flows into the Black Sea.
Swimming pool internal runoff takes central part mainland. Its rivers are usually short and do not form a dense network. They feed mainly on groundwater and often do not bring water to rare lakes, getting lost in the sands of deserts.
Not at all typical for the basin is its main river Volga(3530 km) - largest in Europe. It crosses the East European Plain from north to south. In the upper and middle reaches, the river is very full-flowing - it is fed by abundant waters of melted snow and rain. To the south, they dry up, but the consumption increases - for evaporation and household needs. The Volga flows into the Caspian, forming a powerful delta consisting of hundreds of channels and islands.
lakes Eurasia are numerous and varied. They are unevenly distributed over the territory and differ in the origin of the basins, size, nutrition, temperature regime, salinity.
The northern part of the continent, covered by an ancient ice cover, is dotted with glacial lakes. The largest (including the largest in Europe Ladoga and Onega lakes) occupy tectonic troughs deepened by the glacier. Many glacial lakes are also in the mountains Central Asia and in the Himalayas. Distributed in southern Europe, western and southeastern Asia karst lakes. Far East and the Japanese islands are rich volcanic lakes. Widespread in river valleys floodplain old lakes. A significant part of the Eurasian lakes have basins tectonic origin. Exactly this big lake world - Caspian, as well as Aral and Balkhash. Their hollows are remnants ancient ocean Tethys. The largest lakes in central Europe - Constance and Balaton- located in foothills. Areas of continental rifts occupy the deepest lakes - Baikal (1637 m) and Dead Sea. Lake in a tectonic basin Issyk-Kul.
Lakes of areas with a humid climate are fresh, with continental - in varying degrees salty. The salinity of endorheic lakes is especially high.
The surface of this endorheic lake in Arabia is the lowest place on Earth's land - 405 m below sea level. individual years the water level drops to -420 m, and salinity, usually 260-270 ‰, rises to 310 ‰. organic life in the waters of the lake is impossible, hence its name - the Dead Sea (Fig. 45).
The groundwater. Swamps. The underground waters of Eurasia are concentrated in major basins. East and Southeast Asia are especially rich in them. The wide distribution of swamps and wetlands is another feature of Eurasia. Bogs are typical in the tundra and forest-tundra, in the zone permafrost, are very widespread in areas with a monsoonal climate.
permafroston no continent planets(except Antarctica) not as widespread as in Eurasia. In the Asian part of the continent, it extends south to 48°N. w (Fig. 47). Permafrost formed during ancient glaciation. The current climate in high latitudes contributes to its conservation (relict permafrost), and in inland regions temperate zone- its formation (modern). The thickness of frozen rocks reaches its greatest thickness in the upper reaches of the Vilyui River in Yakutia - 1370 m.
Using Figure 47, compare the distribution of permafrost in North America and in Eurasia, in Europe and in Asia. What explains the differences in its distribution?
Glaciation in Eurasia, it is significant in area - 403 thousand km 2, but it accounts for only 0.75% of the mainland. Almost 90% of the glaciers of Eurasia - mountain . In Europe, the most powerful mountain glaciation is in the Alps, in Asia - in the Himalayas (30 times more extensive than the Alpine). Integumentary glaciation is developed on the northern islands.
In the Caucasus, in Scandinavia, in the Polar Urals, Taimyr, north-east Siberia, Kamchatka, the Japanese islands, glaciation is promoted by the oceanic (or coastal) position of the mountains, which makes it possible to delay precipitation. The formation of glaciers in Central Asia - in the Pamirs, Tibet, Kunlun, Karakorum, Tien Shan - is hindered by their dryness. continental climate but contributes to the huge height.
Rice. 47. Distribution of permafrost
State change water bodies under the influence of economic activity. Huge water wealth mainland is intensively used in the economy. However, due to the uneven distribution of inland waters across the territory, some regions experience an extreme lack of water resources, in others there is a problem of excessive surface moisture.
The shortage of water resources is especially acute inside the continent - in the basin of internal flow. Farming and people's lives here are possible only with artificial irrigation - irrigation. Often the water of the rivers is withdrawn completely, depriving water bodies of internal flow. It calls the chain environmental issues: soil salinization, increased wind erosion, desertification. Behind recent decades many small rivers and lakes have disappeared from the map of Eurasia, and some large rivers, for example Amu Darya and Syrdarya in Central Asia, cannot carry their waters to Aral Sea, which has turned into several small lakes because of this.
To remove excess moisture from the swampy woodlands of Europe and the lowlands of the Southern and South-East Asia carry out drainage works . Often dehumidification that does not take into account hydrological regime biocenoses, entails a chain of negative environmental consequences. The continental climate is growing, peat bogs are being destroyed, plant and animal species are disappearing forever, small rivers and lakes are drying up, and soil erosion is intensifying.
Intensive management leads to pollution of surface and groundwater with pesticides, mineral and organic waste, synthetic substances, oil products. "Infected" harmful substances « circulatory system The mainland, impregnating the surface rocks, carries these pollutants over long distances, spreading the "infection", and then takes it to the oceans. Although the most dense populated regions Eurasia is located in the basins of the largest rivers, in many of these territories there is an acute shortage of water resources, including clean water.
Due to global warming, one of the reasons for which is economic activity human, there is a rapid degradation of permafrost, intensive melting of glaciers, which leads to a gradual rise in the level of the World Ocean.
Bibliography
1. Geography Grade 9 / Tutorial for the 9th grade of institutions of general secondary education with the Russian language of instruction / Edited by N. V. Naumenko/ Minsk "People's Asveta" 2011
