Major Rivers of the World

37 rivers drawn on the map — Nile to Amazon, which sea each enters, cities on rivers, records and river disputes.

On this map (37)

Nile · Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan, Egypt (Blue Nile: Ethiopia) — River · Lake Victoria / Ethiopia → Mediterranean. World’s longest river (~6,650 km); White Nile from Lake Victoria + Blue Nile from Ethiopia meet at Khartoum
Congo · DR Congo, Congo, Angola, CAR; basin reaches Cameroon — River · crosses the Equator twice. Crosses the Equator twice; 2nd largest discharge after the Amazon
Niger · Guinea, Mali, Niger, Benin, Nigeria — River · boomerang course. Rises near the Atlantic but flows inland first — a boomerang to the Gulf of Guinea
Zambezi · Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique — River · Victoria Falls → Indian Ocean. Victoria Falls are on the Zambezi ✓ (UPSC 2005)
Limpopo · South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique — River · crosses Capricorn twice. Crosses the Tropic of Capricorn twice (like the Mahi and the Tropic of Cancer)
Orange · Lesotho, South Africa, Namibia (border) — River · to the Atlantic. South Africa–Namibia border in its lower course; diamonds at its mouth
Okavango · Angola, Namibia, Botswana — River · inland delta. Never reaches the sea: it dies in the Okavango Delta of the Kalahari (UNESCO site)
Volga · Russia — River · longest in Europe → Caspian. Longest river of Europe; flows into the Caspian ✓ (UPSC 2020)
Danube · Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Ukraine — River · Black Forest → Black Sea. Crosses ten countries — more than any river
Rhine · Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, France, Netherlands — River · Alps → North Sea. Europe’s busiest waterway; Ruhr industries; Rotterdam at its mouth
Thames · United Kingdom — River · London → North Sea. Flows through London to the NORTH Sea — “Thames — Irish Sea” ✗ (UPSC 2020)
Seine · France — River · Paris → English Channel. Flows through Paris to the English Channel
Dnieper · Russia, Belarus, Ukraine — River · Kyiv → Black Sea. Kyiv stands on it; the Kakhovka dam on it was destroyed in 2023
Yangtze · China — River · longest in Asia. Longest river of Asia (~6,300 km); Three Gorges Dam, world’s largest power station
Huang He · China — River · “Sorrow of China”. Yellow River: carries loess silt, floods, shifts course — “China’s Sorrow”
Mekong · China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam — River · Tibet → South China Sea. Does NOT flow through Malaysia (UPSC 2004)
Irrawaddy · Myanmar — River · Myanmar → Andaman Sea. Myanmar’s lifeline; flows into the Andaman Sea
Salween · China, Myanmar, Thailand (border) — River · Tibet → Andaman Sea. One of the longest free-flowing rivers; part of the Myanmar–Thailand border
Tigris · Turkey, Syria (border), Iraq — River · Mesopotamia. Baghdad and Mosul stand on it; joins the Euphrates as the Shatt al-Arab
Euphrates · Turkey, Syria, Iraq — River · Mesopotamia. Longest river of West Asia; Turkey’s dams cut water to Syria and Iraq
Jordan · Israel, Jordan, Syria, West Bank — River · to the Dead Sea. Flows from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea; overuse is shrinking the Dead Sea
Amu Darya · Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan — River · to the Aral Sea. Once fed the Aral Sea; diverted for cotton, so the Aral shrank (UPSC 2018)
Syr Darya · Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan — River · to the Aral Sea. The Aral Sea’s other feeder
Ob · Russia, Kazakhstan, China (Irtysh) — River · Siberia → Arctic. Siberian rivers flow north to the Arctic; their mouths freeze first, so the upstream floods into swamps (UPSC 1991)
Yenisey · Mongolia, Russia — River · Siberia → Arctic. Biggest river system flowing into the Arctic Ocean
Lena · Russia — River · Siberia → Arctic. Flows through permafrost to the Laptev Sea
Amur · Russia | China — River · Russia–China border. Forms a long stretch of the Russia–China border; flows to the Sea of Okhotsk
Mississippi–Missouri · USA — River · bird’s-foot delta. Longest river system of North America
St. Lawrence · Canada, USA — River · Great Lakes → Atlantic. Drains the Great Lakes; the St. Lawrence Seaway lets ships reach them
Colorado · USA, Mexico — River · Grand Canyon. Carved the Grand Canyon (USA — UPSC 2009); so over-used it rarely reaches the sea
Rio Grande · USA | Mexico — River · US–Mexico border. Forms the Texas–Mexico border
Mackenzie · Canada — River · Canada → Arctic. Canada’s longest river, to the Beaufort Sea
Yukon · Canada, USA — River · Alaska → Bering Sea. Klondike gold-rush river
Amazon · Peru, Colombia, Brazil — River · largest by discharge. Largest river by volume and basin; about a fifth of all river water entering the oceans
Orinoco · Venezuela, Colombia — River · Venezuela. Flows through the Llanos grasslands; Angel Falls lies in its basin
Paraná · Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina — River · Itaipu dam. Itaipu dam on the Paraná is a Brazil–Paraguay joint project ✓ (UPSC 2005)
Murray–Darling · Australia — River · Australia. Australia’s biggest river system; food bowl irrigation, drought stress

Asked in exams

UPSC 2023Part of the Congo basin → Cameroon
UPSC 2007Longest of Amazon, Amur, Congo, Lena → Amazon
UPSC 2005Victoria Falls → Zambezi
UPSC 2020Zambezi — Indian Ocean ✓
UPSC 2020Volga — Caspian Sea ✓
UPSC 2020Thames — Irish Sea ✗
UPSC 2006Huangpu River → Shanghai
UPSC 2004Mekong does not run through → Malaysia
UPSC 2020Mekong — Andaman Sea ✗
UPSC 1991Siberian river swamps → frozen mouths block the flow
UPSC 1988Bird’s-foot delta → Mississippi
UPSC 2009Grand Canyon → USA
UPSC 2007Longest of the four → Amazon
UPSC 2005Itaipu dam → Brazil and Paraguay

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