Amzon river

The Amazon River (US /ˈæməzɒn/ or UK /ˈæməzən/; Spanish and Portuguese: Amazonas) in South
America is the largest river by discharge of water in the world, and the second in length.

The headwaters of the Apurímac River on Nevado Mismi had been considered for nearly a century
as the Amazon’s most distant source, until a 2014 study found it to be the Cordillera Rumi Cruz at
the headwaters of the Mantaro River in Peru.[4] The Mantaro and Apurímac confluence, and with
other tributaries form the Ucayali, which in turn confluences with the River Marañón upstream
of Iquitos, Peru, to form what countries other than Brazil consider to be the main stem of the
Amazon. For Brazil this section of the river is the Solimões until it confluences with the Rio Negro[5] at
the Meeting of Waters (Portuguese: Encontro das Águas) at Manaus, the river's largest city.

At an average discharge of about 209,000 cubic metres per second (7,400,000 cu ft/s;
209,000,000 L/s; 55,000,000 USgal/s) — approximately 6,591 cubic kilometres per annum
(1,581 cu mi/a), greater than the next seven largest independent rivers combined — the Amazon
represents 20% of the global riverine discharge to the ocean.[6] The Amazon basin is the
largest drainage basin in the world, with an area of approximately 7,050,000 square kilometres
(2,720,000 sq mi), and accounts for roughly one-fifth of the world's total river flow. The portion of the
river's drainage basin in Brazil alone is larger than any other river's basin. The Amazon enters Brazil
with only one-fifth of the flow it finally discharges into the Atlantic Ocean, yet already has a greater
flow at this point than the discharge of any other river.[7][8]

Amazon River Facts

Check out these fun Amazon River facts for kids. Learn about where the Amazon River is located, how
long it is, the wildlife that it supports and more. Enjoy our range of interesting facts about the Amazon
River.

 The Amazon River is located in South America. It runs through Guyana, Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and
Peru.
 The length of the Amazon River is approximately 6400 kilometres (4000 miles).
 During the wet season, the Amazon River can reach over 190 kilometres (120 miles) in width.
 There are no bridges that cross the Amazon, mostly because there is no need, the majority of the Amazon River runs
through rainforests rather than roads or cities.
 The largest city along the Amazon River is Manaus. Located in Brazil it is home to over 1.7 million people.
 There are over 3000 known species of fish that live in the Amazon River, with more constantly being discovered.
 Anacondas lurk in the shallow waters of the Amazon Basin, they are one of the largest snakes in the world and
occasionally attack larger animals such as goats that get to close the water.
 The Amazon River is also home to the piranha, a meat eating type of fish! Being carnivores, piranhas are known to attack
in groups, preying on livestock that strays into the water and possibly appearing in one or two of your own nightmares!
 Want to know more about the Amazon? Check out our Amazon rainforest facts.

Nile

The Nile (Arabic: ‫النيل‬, Eg. en-Nīl, Std. an-Nīl; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲁⲣⲱ, P(h)iaro; Ancient Egyptian: Ḥ'pī and Iteru)
is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the
world.[2] It is 6,853 km (4,258 miles) long. The Nile is an "international" river as its water resources
are shared by eleven countries, namely, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo-
Kinshasa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Sudan and Egypt.[3] In particular, the Nile is the
primary water source of Egypt and Sudan.[4]

The Nile has two major tributaries, the White Nile and Blue Nile. The White Nile is considered to be
the headwaters and primary stream of the Nile itself. The Blue Nile, however, is the source of most
of the water andsilt. The White Nile is longer and rises in the Great Lakes region of central Africa,
with the most distant source still undetermined but located in either Rwanda or Burundi. It flows
north through Tanzania, Lake Victoria, Uganda and South Sudan. The Blue Nile
(Amharic: ዓባይ , ʿĀbay[5][6]) begins at Lake Tana in Ethiopia[7] and flows into Sudan from the
?

southeast. The two rivers meet near the Sudanese capital of Khartoum.

The northern section of the river flows north almost entirely through the Sudanese desert to Egypt,
then ends in a large delta and empties into the Mediterranean Sea. Egyptian
civilization and Sudanese kingdomshave depended on the river since ancient times. Most of the
population and cities of Egypt lie along those parts of the Nile valley north of Aswan, and nearly all
the cultural and historical sites of Ancient Egypt are found along riverbanks.

In the ancient Egyptian language, the Nile is called Ḥ'pī or Iteru, meaning "river", represented by
the hieroglyphs shown on the left (literally itrw, and 'waters' determinative).[8] In Coptic, the
words piaro (Sahidic) or phiaro (Bohairic) meaning "the river" (lit. p(h).iar-o "the.canal-great") come
from the same ancient name.
 The English name Nile and the Arabic names en-Nîl and an-Nîl both derive from the Latin Nilus and
the Ancient Greek Νεῖλος.[9][10] Beyond that, however, the etymology is disputed.[10][11] One possible
etymology derives it from a Semitic Nahal, meaning "river".[12] The standard English names "White
Nile" and "Blue Nile", to refer to the river's source, derive from Arabic names formerly applied only to
the Sudanese stretches which meet at Khartoum.[10]

Nile River Facts

Check out these fun Nile River facts for kids. Learn about where the Nile River is located, its
relationship to Ancient Egypt, how long it is, the agriculture it supports and more. Enjoy our range of
interesting facts about the Nile River.

 The length of the Nile River is approximately 6650 kilometres (4132 miles). It is believed to be the longest river in the world.
 Located in Africa, the Nile River lies in the following countries: Kenya, Eritrea, Congo, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania,
Rwanda, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.
 The Nile River has huge significance in regards to Ancient Egypt. Most of Ancient Egypt’s historical sites are located along
the banks of the Nile River including cities such as Luxor and Cairo.
 In 2004, the White Nile Expedition became the first to navigate the entire length of the Nile River. The expedition began in
Uganda and finished in Rosetta, taking four months and two weeks to complete.
 The Nile Delta in Northern Egypt is where the Nile River drains in to the Mediterranean Sea. It is around 160 kilometres
(100 miles) in length and spreads out over 240 kilometres (149 miles) of coastline. It is rich in agriculture and has been
farmed for thousands of years.
 Around 40 million people (half of Egypt’s population) live in the Nile Delta region.
 In 1787, the famous Rosetta stone was found in the Nile Delta in the city of Rosetta. This Ancient Egyptian artifact played a
key role in modern understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphics.
 The Aswan High Dam was built in 1970 to help regulate flooding of the Nile River. Before the Aswan Dam was built, years
that featured high levels of water could wipe out crops while years of low level water could produce famines and drought.
The dam helps control these water levels.

The Nile River is the longest river in the world.

The Nile flows into the Mediterranean Sea.

The largest source of the Nile is Lake Victoria.

The Nile has a length of about 6,695 kilometers (4,160 miles).

Its average discharge is 3.1 million litres (680,000 gallons) per second.
The Nile basin is huge and includes parts of Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Congo
(Kinshasa), Kenya.

The name Nile comes from the Greek “neilos”, which means valley.

The Ancient Egyptians called the river Ar or Aur (black) because of the colour of the
sediment left after the river’s annual flood.

Yangtze River Facts

The Yangtze River is the longest river in Asia, flowing 3,915 miles from the
Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China to the East China Sea. The Yangtze River is the
third longest river in the world after the Nile River in Africa and the Amazon
River in South America. The Yangtze River watershed is over 695,000 square
miles in size. The Yangtze River has been an important transportation route in
China for over 2000 years with settlements along its banks dating back to the
earliest human civilizations. Although some sections of the Yangtze are
protected nature reserves, pollution from agriculture and industry continues to
be a problem affecting the water and its ecosystem.
Interesting Yangtze River Facts:
The Yangtze River is called 'Chang Jiang' in Chinese, which means 'long river'.
The lower part of the river had once only been referred to as Chang Jiang but
eventually it becam the name for the entire river.

Local names for the Yangtze River vary among different regions. It is called
'Sichuan River', 'Jing Jiang', 'Wan Jiang', 'Yangzi Jiang', 'Jinsha River',
'Tongtian River', 'and 'Dangqu River'. It has also been called Blue River.

The earliest evidence of human activity on the banks of the Yangtze River
dates 27,000 years ago.

When the Yangtze River first appeared on maps made by the English it was
named Quian, and Quiansui - names given by Marco Polo.

The Yangtze River's source is Geladaindong Peak in the Tanggula Mountains

in the Quinhai province in the People's Republic of China. This area is part of
the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
The Yangtze River's watershed (area of land drained by the river) is more
than 695,000 square miles.

The Yangtze River tributaries include the Yalong, Min, Tuo, Jialing, Han, Wu,
Yuan, Zi, Xiang, Gan, and Huangpu.

The Yangtze River passes through many cities including Yibin, Luzhou,
Chongqing, Wanzhou, Yichang, Jingzhou, Yueyang, Wuhan, Jiujiang, Anging,
Tongling, Wuhu, Nanjing, Zhenjiang, Nantong, and Shanghai.

The Yangtze River basin is a major grain producing region. Rice accounts for
70% of the grain grown in the region, followed by wheat and barley. Other
crops grown in the region include cotton, beans, and maize.

The Yangtze River is home to the world's oldest existing dam-free irrigation
system. It is called the Dujiangyan Irrigation Project and is located west of
Chengdu City on Minjiang.

The first big dam constructed on the Yangtze River was the Gezhouba Dam,
in 1988. Three Gorges Dam was finished in 2009. It is a very large
hydropower project and is also responsible for flood control.

The first major bridge across the Yangtze River was the Wuhan Yangtze River
Bridge built in 1957. The number of bridges crossing the Yangtze River is now
in the hundreds.

Ocean-vessels are able to travel 1000 miles up the Yangtze River and smaller
boats can travel much further.

The Yangtze River valley floods each summer but because of river dykes
people are able to live there. Major floods have overflowed the dykes in some
years. Major floods that caused much devastation along the Yangtze River
occurred in 1931, 1935, 1954, and 1998.