9 Rivers of Superlatives

There are hundreds of rivers in the world. Some are remarkable for their length or width, others are popular for their panorama or color... This is a list of rivers that are champions in their categories.

1. The Deepest River in the World - Congo River

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The Congo River is a river in Africa, and is the deepest river in the world, with measured depths in excess of 230 m (750 ft). It is the third largest river in the world by volume of water discharged, though it has only one-fifth the volume of the world's largest river, the Amazon. Additionally, its overall length of 4,700 km (2,920 mi) makes it the ninth longest river.

2. The World's Longest River on an Island - Kapuas River

Kapuas River  photo source

The Kapuas River (located on the island Borneo) is the longest river in all of Indonesia, stretching for 1.143 km (710 mi) linking Pontianak to Sanggau as well as the Sintang and Kapuas Hulu Regencies. It is also the world's longest river on an island, a little longer than the Sepik River (1,126 km or 700 mi),the longest river on the island of New Guinea. Kapuas river rises in the mountains of Kapuas Hulu near the border with Sarawak, Malaysia, and flows west. It empties into the South China Sea about 20 km south of the city of Pontianak. The river drains the extensive Lake Sentarum area, an extensive protected reserve of wetlands and freshwater lakes, and intermittently flooded forests.

3. The Largest Sinking River in the World - Trebišnjica

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Trebišnjica River is a river in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It used to be a sinking river, 96,5 km (60 mi) long above the ground. With a total length of 187 km (116 mi) above and under the ground, it was the largest sinking river in the world.

4. The World’s Shortest River - Roe River

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The 61m (200 ft) long Roe River is a weird river. It is recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s shortest river. It is a river that runs between Giant Springs and the Missouri River in Great Falls, Montana, USA. Since 2006, the Guinness Book of Records does not list a shortest river category anymore.

5. The Most Colorful River in the World - Caño Cristales

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Caño Cristales is a Colombian river located in the Serrania de la Macarena, province of Meta. The river is commonly called "The River of Five Colors," "The Liquid Rainbow" or even "The Most Beautiful River in the World" due to the algae produced colors like red, yellow, green and blue at the bottom of the river giving it a unique appearance.

Caño Cristales   photo source

6. The World’s Dirtiest River - Citarum River

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Citarum River is a weird river located in West Java, Indonesia. It is considered as the world’s dirtiest river. Walungan Citarum, its local name, has an important role in the life of the Javanese people. The river is economically and agiculturally important but the river is heavily polluted by human activity. There are approximately 5 million people who live in the basin of the river. A $500 million worth of loan had been granted by a prominent bank for the cleaning of the very polluted Citarum River.

7. The World's Highest Major River - Yarlung Zangbo

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The Yarlung Tsangpo River is the highest major river in the world. Its longest tributary is the Nyang River. In Tibet the river flows through the South Tibet Valley, which is approximately 1200 km (745 mi) long and 300 km (185 mi) wide. The valley descends from 4.500 m (14.750 ft) above sea level to 3000 metres (9.850 ft). As it descends, the surrounding vegetation changes from cold desert to arid steppe to deciduous scrub vegetation. It ultimately transitions into a conifer and rhododendron forest. The tree line is approximately 3,200 m (10.500 ft).

8. The World's Widest River - Rio de la Plata

Rio de la Plata  photo source

Many people believe that Amazon is the widest river in the world, which is not true at all. Amazon is basically the largest river in the world, and the credit for this goes to its length of 6.400 km (4.000 mi) - which also makes it the second longest river in the world next only to river Nile in Africa. The distinction of being the widest river in the world goes to South American river - Rio de la Plata, which boasts of a maximum width of 140 mi (225 km). Rio de la Plata is formed as a result of confluence of two rivers - River Uruguay and Paraná River in South America. Even though it is a river, Rio de la Plata behaves more like an estuary owing to which it is typically characterized by a mixture of freshwater and seawater.

9. The Longest River in the World - Nile

Nile River  photo source

Nile River in Africa, is the longest river on Earth. Nile River flows along the 6.650 km or 4.132 miles and flow through nine countries: Ethiopia, Zaire, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan, South Sudan and of course Egypt. The Nile has a very important role in the civilization, life and history of the Egyptians since thousands of years ago. One important role from the Nile is the ability to produce fertile soil as a result of sedimentation along the river basin. By the existence of this fertile soil make the inhabitants of Egypt can develop the farming and the Egyptian civilization developed since thousands of years ago.

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