Longest Rivers in the World: Nile, Amazon, Yangtze and Mississippi
Sixteen of the world's longest rivers, one or more from every inhabited continent. The Nile and the Amazon compete for first place, and the answer depends on where you say each river begins. Then come the Yangtze, the Mississippi system, the Yenisei, the Yellow River, the Ob, the Paraná, the Congo, the Amur, the Lena, the Mekong, the Mackenzie and the Niger. Europe's longest, the Volga, and the Danube complete the list.
Three pairs share their first letters: Amazon and Amur, Niger and Nile, Yellow and Yenisei.
Longest Rivers of the World Challenge Vocabulary: 16 Words to Find
Words run across, up and down, and diagonally; 6 of the 16 read backwards. The longest word is Mississippi, with 11 letters.
- Amazon: The largest river on Earth by volume, flowing about 6,400 km across South America to the Atlantic.
- Amur: A long river that forms much of the border between Russia and China.
- Congo: Africa's second-longest river and the deepest river in the world.
- Danube: Europe's second-longest river, about 2,850 km, flowing from Germany to the Black Sea.
- Lena: A Siberian river about 4,400 km long that flows into the Arctic Ocean.
- Mackenzie: The longest river system in Canada, flowing north to the Arctic Ocean.
- Mekong: A river about 4,900 km long that flows from Tibet through Southeast Asia to the South China Sea.
- Mississippi: The second-longest river in the United States, about 3,730 km, flowing to the Gulf of Mexico.
- Niger: West Africa's main river, about 4,200 km, which flows in a great arc to the Gulf of Guinea.
- Nile: Usually counted as the longest river on Earth, about 6,650 km, flowing north to the Mediterranean.
- Ob: A great river of western Siberia that flows into the Arctic Ocean.
- Parana: South America's second-longest river, about 4,880 km.
- Volga: The longest river in Europe, about 3,530 km, flowing to the Caspian Sea.
- Yangtze: The longest river in Asia, about 6,300 km, flowing across China to Shanghai.
- Yellow: The Yellow River, or Huang He, China's second-longest river, named for its yellow silt.
- Yenisei: A great Siberian river that flows north to the Arctic Ocean.
How to Solve the Longest Rivers of the World Challenge Word Search
"Mississippi", the longest word, runs down; look for its double S, twice, and double P. "Ob" is only two letters and reads backwards. Six words are diagonal, including "Mackenzie" and "Danube", which has the only D.
World Rivers Geography Activities
- Match each river to its continent.
- Rank the rivers by length, then check the answers.
- Discuss why the Nile and the Amazon both claim to be the longest.
Longest Rivers of the World Challenge Word Search FAQ
Who is the Longest Rivers of the World Challenge Word Search for?
Teens, adults and geography fans.
Which directions do the words run in?
Words run across, up and down, and diagonally; 6 of the 16 read backwards. 6 of them are diagonal.
Is there an answer key for the Longest Rivers of the World Challenge Word Search?
Yes. Download it from the printable section above: it is a separate PDF with all 16 words marked. Online, each word is crossed off the list the moment you find it.
More Rivers Word Searches
- Rivers of Asia and Continental Waterways Word Search: the great rivers of Asia.
- Rivers of Africa and Major Continental Waterways Word Search: the rivers of Africa.
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