Major Rivers of the World
Part 2
Africa
- Africa is known as the cradle of mankind since it is believed that mankind originated from Africa.
- It is also home to one of the Ancient Civilisations in the world i.e., the Egyptian Civilisation.
- Hence let us take a look at the various rivers that was the reason for civilisation to grow there.
Congo:
- The Congo River formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile.
- Also, it is the second largest river in the world by discharge volume, following only the Amazon.
- It is also the world’s deepest recorded river, with measured depths around 219.5 m.
- Congo is the only major river to cross the Equator twice.
- The sources of the Congo are in the highlands and mountains of the East African Rift.
- Also, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Mweru, feed the Lualaba River, which then becomes the Congo below Boyoma Falls.
- Congo flows through the central Africa into the western Africa before finally discharging into the Atlantic Ocean.
Niger:
- The Niger is the third-longest river in Africa, exceeded by the Nile and the Congo River.
- Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border.
- It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Niger, on the border with Benin and then through Nigeria, discharging through a massive delta, known as the Niger Delta into the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean.
Nile:
- The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest river in the world, though this has been contested by research suggesting that the Amazon River is slightly longer.
- Its drainage basin covers eleven countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Republic of the Sudan, and Egypt.
- Nile is also the lifeblood of the Egyptian Civilisation so much so that they considered upper Egypt as the southern part since the Nile flowed from South to North.
- The Nile has two major tributaries – the White Nile and the Blue Nile.
- The White Nile is traditionally considered to be the headwaters stream.
- However, the Blue Nile is the source of most of the water of the Nile downstream, containing 80% of the water and silt.
- The White Nile is longer and rises in the Great Lakes region.
- It begins at Lake Victoria and flows through Uganda and South Sudan.
- The Blue Nile begins at Lake Tana in Ethiopia and flows into Sudan from the southeast.
- The two rivers meet at the Sudanese capital of Khartoum.
- The northern section of the river flows north almost entirely through the Nubian Desert to Cairo and its large delta, and the river flows into the Mediterranean Sea at Alexandria.
Orange:
- The Orange River is the longest river in South Africa.
- It rises in the Drakensberg mountains in Lesotho, flowing westwards through South Africa to the Atlantic Ocean.
- The river forms part of the international borders between South Africa and Lesotho and between South Africa and Namibia, as well as several provincial borders within South Africa.
- Historically, the river played an important role in the South African diamond rush, with the first diamonds in the country being discovered in alluvial deposits on the Orange.
Australia
- Australia is the smallest out of the seven continents and the second least populated after Antarctica.
- The continent of Australia is sometimes known by the names Sahul Australia-New Guinea, Australinea, Meganesia, or Papualand to distinguish it from the country of Australia.
- Let us take a look at the rivers of the island continent.
Murray:
- The Murray River is Australia’s longest river.
- The Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia’s highest mountains, then meanders northwest across Australia’s inland plains.
- It forms the border between the states of New South Wales and Victoria as it flows into Southern Ocean.
Darling:
- The Darling River is the third-longest river in Australia.
- It originates from Northern New South Wales to its confluence with the Murray River at Wentworth, New South Wales.
- The Darling is in poor health, suffering from over-allocation of its waters to irrigation, pollution from pesticide runoff, and prolonged drought.
