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World's Longest Rivers

Name the world's longest rivers, according to Wikipedia.
This is the length from mouth to furthest source
Tributaries don't count separately, since they are already included in the length of the main river
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: December 30, 2022
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First submittedMarch 25, 2013
Times taken85,897
Average score44.8%
Rating4.84
5:00
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Km
River
Miles
6,650
Nile
4,130
6,400
Amazon
3,976
6,300
Yangtze
3,917
6,275
Mississippi
3,902
5,539
Yenisei
3,445
5,464
Yellow
3,395
5,410
Ob
3,364
4,880
Paraná
3,030
4,700
Congo
2,922
4,444
Amur
2,763
Km
River
Miles
4,400
Lena
2,736
4,350
Mekong
2,705
4,241
Mackenzie
2,637
4,200
Niger
2,611
3,969
Brahmaputra /
Ganges
2,466
3,672
Murray
2,282
3,650
Tocantins
2,270
3,645
Volga
2,266
3,610
Indus
2,250
3,596
Shatt al-Arab
2,236
Km
River
Miles
3,185
Yukon
1,980
3,180
São Francisco
1,976
3,078
Syr Darya
1,913
3,060
Salween
1,901
3,058
Saint Lawrence
1,900
3,057
Rio Grande
1,900
2,888
Danube
1,795
2,809
Irrawaddy
1,857
2,740
Zambezi
1,703
+2
Level 27
May 7, 2013
So I first thought: Why should Chinese people name a river Huang He (Yellow), sounds a bit too... you know. I researched it and it says it's because of yellow mud in the river and I already thought...
+16
Level 55
Mar 23, 2019
Just... no.
+6
Level 49
Nov 10, 2020
Bruh yellow is is like a top 5 color.
+1
Level 65
Jun 18, 2013
How could I forget Salween?!
+1
Level 54
Aug 7, 2013
Tough quiz. Managed 14. Never heard of some of these rivers.
+5
Level 77
May 26, 2014
19. Don't know when those Russian rivers stuck in my head.
+2
Level 66
Dec 18, 2014
you´re missing Nizhnyaya Tunguska , Madeira and Purus
+7
Level 76
Apr 15, 2015
Those are all tributaries of other rivers so they don't count.
+4
Level 70
Sep 11, 2015
I realize this is an older quiz, but it would be really educational for some of us, if you could add the river's location (by country) in the answers.
+1
Level 43
May 17, 2017
Agreed, although I know the majority now, when I was first learning this would've helped!
+1
Level 71
Sep 12, 2015
Complex river lengths should be noted as in Brahmaputra/Ganges, eg. Mississippi/Missouri ....... Murray/Darling etc. PS What does Shatt al-Arab mean in English?
+1
Level 82
Oct 24, 2019
It means The Arab's River
+2
Level 43
Dec 16, 2022
You probably know the Shatt al-Arab/Arab's River by the name Tigris River. (It's a river in Iraq)
+1
Level 50
Mar 22, 2024
And Euphrates
+1
Level 68
Sep 14, 2015
The Missouri and Mississippi individually are long enough to qualify, but the combination (Missouri + LOWER MISSISSIPPI FROM ST LOUIS SOUTH) is the 4th longest combo river system.

From Wikipedia (your named source):

The Missouri River is the longest river in North America. Rising in the Rocky Mountains of western Montana, the Missouri flows east and south for 2,341 miles (3,767 km) before entering the Mississippi River north of St. Louis, Missouri. The river takes drainage from a sparsely populated, semi-arid watershed of more than half a million square miles (1,300,000 km2), which includes parts of ten U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. When combined with the lower Mississippi River, it forms the world's fourth longest river system.

+1
Level 77
Dec 30, 2022
I was pretty shocked when Missouri wasn't on here at all. There's some dispute whether or not the Missouri or the Mississippi is the longest river in North America and to not see Missouri on here at all was a bit surprising.
+1
Level 63
Jan 5, 2023
It's counted with Mississippi because it's a tributary
+2
Level 63
Jun 12, 2016
Is the Nizhnyaya Tunguska River counted in the Yenisei?
+2
Level 63
Jun 12, 2016
Is the Puruś counted as the Amazon?
+2
Level 63
Jun 12, 2016
Also, is the Madeira-Mamoré-Grande-Caine-Rocha also included in the Amazon?
+8
Level ∞
Apr 15, 2017
Yes, yes, and yes. Are these rhetorical questions?
+3
Level 82
Aug 14, 2016
Should Parana be Rio de la Plata, on the same basis as Shatt al-Arab? Anyway, fun quiz. Got the first twelve without missing one and then nine of those remaining. Embarrassingly I missed Murray, despite being Australian. Broadly the equivalent of an American missing Mississippi.

Also - Wikipedia now lists the Amazon as longer than the Nile (6992 km for Amazon, 6853 km for Nile).

+3
Level 57
Aug 23, 2017
+1 -- I was unhappy to see that La Plata is not accepted, but its tributary is an answer, contrary to what quiz description says.
+1
Level 20
Jan 5, 2023
I could be wrong, but as far as I know name "La Plata" refers only to the estuary section and it's something between a river and a bay.
+1
Level 41
Feb 16, 2019
It doesn't say that.

In Wikipedia, it said 1. Nile River - 6,650 km, 2. Amazon River - 6,400 km.

+1
Level 42
Aug 27, 2016
If you liked this quiz, try out mine: http://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/128879/deepest-rivers-in-the-world
+1
Level 63
Nov 16, 2016
If you enjoyed this quiz, try this scrambled one for a challenge. http://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/174746/word-scramble-rivers
+2
Level 57
Jan 22, 2017
where is Madeira River of 3240 km. ?
+1
Level 71
Jan 25, 2017
If you think you know your rivers try ...... 'Mal's Capital City Rivers'.
+2
Level 68
May 29, 2017
Got 19/28. Had I really thought for a while I might have gotten 2 more at most, but on quizzes where i dont know all of them I don't wait for the timer to run out.
+18
Level 49
Aug 14, 2017
Stop this miles madness! We want km!
+2
Level 66
Sep 5, 2019
In this case it doesnt matter much. But when it is about distance between cities it does. (no matter how other try to bash it and say well relatively it is still the same like 10-50 is relative with 16-80. But that is just trying to be hatefull for the fun of it because that is not how the mind works. Or when it is about height of people for instance, yes, you see 5.6 is less than 5.8 but it doesnt mean a thing, one could mean 1.20m and the other 2.20... It doesnt give you a picture in your head you can use. That why in this case it really doesnt matter, because I dont have pre-existing pictures in my mind about the length of rivers, just big bigger biggest.)
+2
Level 82
Oct 24, 2019
I've only ever seen people making a case similar to what you said.. such as in this instance it really doesn't matter and it's silly to complain. Never seen anyone being hateful while pointing this out.
+1
Level 72
Sep 27, 2023
I propose that all lengths should be quoted in furlongs. Then, for those that can only compare lengths in kilometers, they would simply have to divide the figure by 5 to get a good approximation, rather than having to multiply by 8 first.
+1
Level 58
Aug 14, 2017
Shatt al-Arab is called Karun in Persian and it marks part of the Iran-Iraq border. Could we please get a "/ Karun" added? Seeing as the only Arab state the river and its tributaries run through is Iraq
+2
Level 66
Aug 15, 2017
Would've thought that Rio de la Plata works for Paraná just like Ganges and Brahmaputra both work.
+1
Level 39
Aug 15, 2017
I missed Mekong, and I went there a month ago, Niger and Zambezi. SHAME ON MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!
+29
Level 60
Aug 29, 2017
Please accept more spellings for Ob.
+2
Level 59
Sep 10, 2017
It will be nice if the continents are mentioned....
+1
Level 62
Jan 10, 2018
Terrible Source! Go to the US Dept of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin for a far better and accurate source. Missed and misspelled several rivers and incorrect distances. Really a bad quiz.. Wikipedia??? I am submitting one accurate per a better source of course never will be featured.
+6
Level ∞
Jan 11, 2018
Hi there. What, specifically, is misspelled? I took a look at your quiz, and the list looks very similar except that you include tributaries. In my opinion, Wikipedia is usually the best source for things like this because the information can be vetted by multiple people. Additionally it is almost always more current.
+11
Level 77
Sep 17, 2018
And there's nothing better for a river than a current.

Great quiz, btw.

+7
Level 58
Mar 13, 2018
Please accept Ganga for Ganges.
+2
Level 74
Jan 3, 2023
Agree. Ganga (the official name) should be accepted alongside Ganges (the anglicisation).
+1
Level 86
May 20, 2018
As soon as I started this quiz, I thought, "There are going to be a bunch of Russian rivers on here that I've never heard of." And I was so right.
+1
Level 67
Jan 8, 2023
I heard of them... But that doesn't mean that I remembered them.
+1
Level 71
Aug 3, 2018
25
+2
Level 41
Feb 16, 2019
The Nile River is actually the longest river in the world.
+2
Level 28
Feb 19, 2019
It was believed that it was for a long time, but more recently a new part of the Amazon was discovered, causing a slight dispute
+1
Level 50
Nov 9, 2019
Please accept Helong(jiang) for Amur, and Lancang(jiang) for Mekong. (Those Chinese names)
+3
Level 55
Mar 20, 2022
Heilongjiang, not helongjiang
+1
Level 50
Jun 9, 2023
Haha, don't focus on the spelling mistakes.
+1
Level 50
Jun 9, 2023
Also Nu(jiang) for Salween(river)! How could I have forgotten that?
+2
Level 76
Dec 2, 2019
I typed "Tigris" and it gave me "Shatt al-Arab". Are they the same river?
+2
Level 60
Jan 29, 2021
The Tigris merges with the Euphrates to become the Shatt Al-Arab.
+1
Level 46
Feb 6, 2020
Why is the Missouri river not in this quiz? it's as long as the Mississippi.
+1
Level 51
Feb 7, 2020
Because the Missouri is a tributary of the Mississippi River. Even though it is a very long river, it doesn't count because this quiz only includes main rivers, not tributaries.
+2
Level 51
Feb 7, 2020
I always misspell Syr Darya!
+1
Level 52
Jun 24, 2020
The only reason I got 18/28 is because I looked in the comments. Otherwise I knew about 6 of these rivers.
+3
Level 43
Mar 20, 2022
Same here. All the people salty they got one wrong asking for their spelling to be allowed really saved me.
+1
Level 71
Jan 5, 2023
If you want to cheat, just Google the answers
+1
Level 88
Sep 21, 2020
Rio de la Plata should be accepted for the Parana river. That's the mouth of the Parana after it merges with the Uruguay River.

Shatt Al Arab is listed for Euphrates and that's also just the mouth section after it merges with the Tigris. So that's equivalent.

+2
Level 61
Oct 13, 2020
Pls accept 'ganga' for 'ganges'
+1
Level 68
Nov 7, 2020
Yarlung Tsangpo???
+1
Level 56
Dec 30, 2022
A different name of (the upper reaches of) Brahmaputra.
+3
Level 71
Nov 7, 2020
I don't like this quiz at all. Please add kilometers! Most of the world does not understand miles. What is the source? Wikipedia has the Nile at #1, and most definitions of river agree, as do all other sensible lists. Why cite a source if you do not follow it? And why the random cutoff at 28? Please add more type-ins, I typed Rio de la Plata and did not get Paraná, for example. Still got 24 on first try though.
+1
Level 60
Jan 29, 2021
Frankly, rivers suffer from the coastline paradox, so depending on how long a measurement you use, their lengths change. Still, consistency with the broader world would be nice.
+1
Level 42
Feb 20, 2021
Look at the top it says no tributaries
+1
Level 14
Nov 8, 2020
Please change to Murray/Darling, Ob/Irtysh, Mississippi/Missouri etc.
+1
Level 46
Nov 9, 2020
Missed three. Bummer.
+1
Level 56
Nov 9, 2020
Hmm - 21 on first go and I missed the Lena. The russian rivers are OK as long as you are careful to go from west to east in order. Main problem was why no Irrawaddy - maybe it has shrunk. I never get the Rio Grande becasue it doesn't show on maps becasue of the very thick border, and perhaps a Wall! :-)

I would have got all of them in my youth - many years ago - although never sure where the San Francisco is.

+1
Level 66
Mar 16, 2022
it starts in Minas Gerais and ends in the Bahia/Pernambuco border in Brazil. Also, it's not San Francisco it is Sao Francisco
+1
Level 67
Nov 9, 2020
I thought I'd done woefully with 18 so was pleasantly surprised
+2
Level 52
Nov 9, 2020
"Mekong" should also accept the spelling "Mekhong," as that's how many people in southeast Asia write it in English.
+1
Level 42
Dec 5, 2020
When I tried Meekong I thought it wasn't on the list. I think it should be accepted
+1
Level 45
Jan 12, 2021
In the results, rather than sorting only by alphabet, I would recommend sorting by continent as well - it would be easier to see and understand.
+1
Level 64
May 18, 2021
Can you accept Makong for Mekong?
+2
Level 81
Mar 3, 2022
why
+1
Level 32
Jun 16, 2021
I got São Francisco wrong because I kept typing St Francis (I thought it wouldn't be translated)
+1
Level 38
Dec 18, 2021
What about Rio de Janeiro
+1
Level 59
Feb 21, 2022
thats a city mate
+2
Level 58
Aug 31, 2022
He knows, it was a bad joke
+1
Level 44
May 18, 2022
Just 12, forgot about Congo and Niger :(
+1
Level 70
Dec 30, 2022
Ten on the first shot...great quiz, I'll be studying !!
+8
Level 80
Dec 30, 2022
Did the length of some rivers significantly increase or something?
+1
Level 90
Dec 30, 2022
Exactly. No excuse for resetting this quiz.
+1
Level 77
Dec 30, 2022
Pretty sure there was some clarification about the tributaries. I don't remember seeing Schatt al-Arab last time when i tried Tigris.
+1
Level 80
Dec 30, 2022
It was there the last time I took this quiz. From what I can tell, the list is pretty much the same. I do think there may have been a few more rivers on the list last time. Maybe the Amu Darya or something like that.
+1
Level ∞
Dec 30, 2022
The list on Wikipedia changed to add the Irrawaddy. There were also some slightly differences in length but that would not have caused a reset.
+1
Level 73
Jan 5, 2023
With this addition, please accept Ayeyarwady as an alternative for Irrawaddy?
+1
Level 75
Jan 3, 2023
I was kinda hoping this one would reset for like 1000 years or so...
+1
Level 66
Jan 5, 2023
Can you accept Ayeyarwaddy for Irrawaddy?
+1
Level 68
Jan 6, 2023
Please accept different spellings for Yenisei
+1
Level 18
Apr 16, 2023
i only new Irrawaddy as irrawaddy not ayeyarwaddy
+1
Level 55
Jun 22, 2023
Thanlyin should be accepted for Salween
+1
Level 39
Aug 12, 2023
50 seconds, I need a life...
+1
Level 66
Aug 14, 2023
I'm no mathematician, but I believe there is an error in the Irrawaddy mile column. Danube seems correct, and Irrawaddy is a higher mileage and lower km than Danube.
+1
Level 67
Sep 12, 2023
I have some problems with that list, because it's just the first river copy-pasted from wikipedia. For instance in the Ob-Irtysh river system, the Irtysh is longer than Ob, yet it is not present in the quizz, or at least it isn't accepted as an answer, that would count into the Ob answer. The list is basically wrong, because it's not complete - a river system is a system of rivers, not a river, the tributaries don't count separately, I understand, but they should count as an answer for the river they contribute to, especially if they're longer than that river. Either change the title or change possible answers please.
+1
Level ∞
Sep 12, 2023
Irtysh will be accepted now.

That said, the quiz is accurate. Including tributaries doesn't really make sense.

+1
Level 43
Nov 15, 2023
Ermmm acutally, 4444KM=2761 miles and 4446KM is 2763 miles!....

Object Show omunity UNITE!

+1
Level 57
Mar 22, 2024
Only missed 3, just the Tocantins, Salween, and ob. Good thing I learned did the 100 largest rivers like 2 weeks ago cause that helped a lot with this quiz.