Top 10 Deepest Rivers in the World (2024)
Want to know about the deepest rivers in the world? Civilization was created by rivers and it is the reason why its importance cannot be emphasized enough. Not only do rivers provide food, and water needed for agriculture, but also transport.
The potential of rivers is enormous and they represent a real treasure. This post highlights the 10 deepest rivers in the world. To create the selection, data from several sources such as Encyclopedia Britannica and WWF Panda were compared. The depth is expressed in meters.
Top 10 Deepest Rivers in the World
- Congo River, Africa
- Yangtze River, China
- Danube River, Europe
- Zambezi River, Africa
- Mekong River, Asia
- Amazon River, South America
- Yellow River, China
- Hudson River, United States
- Sao Lourenco River, Brazil
- Mississippi River, United States
For better understanding and noting the depth and width of the deepest rivers in the world we have given details of each of the rivers below.
10. Mississippi River, United States – Depth 61 Meters
The Mississippi River is approximately 3701.4 km long and flows throughout the United States. The river is comprised of 3 parts and these are smaller, upper, and middle Mississippi. It is the fourth longest river in the world and ranks tenth in this selection, of the 10 deepest rivers in the world.
9. Sao Lourenco River, Brazil – Depth 65 Meters
The São Lourenço River covers an area of the 1,344,200 km² basin including Canada and the United States. The river starts at the end of Lake Ontario and then flows into the Atlantic Ocean.
According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, the river was the main artery for the timber trade in the 19th century. With the development of the São Lourenço waterway, large parts of Canada and the United States are connected with the rest of the world.
8. Hudson River, United States – Dept 66 Meters
The river is 506.9 km long and its basin covers about 36,260 km². The Hudson River reaches its widest point in Haverstraw Bay, which is between Westchester and Rockland counties. Pollution represents a major problem for this river and several attempts have been made to preserve the river and its ecological value.
7. Yellow River, China – Depth 80 Meters
The Yellow River is also called Huang He, but it was earlier known as Hwang Ho. After the Yangtze, the Yellow River is the second longest river in China and is mainly known for the amount of sediment it transports.
It is known as the “Mother River of China” because the basin of this river is the cradle of northern Chinese civilizations. The Yellow River tends to flood and is responsible for some of the deadliest floods in human history.
6. Amazon River, South America – Depth 91 Meters
The Amazon River is the second longest river in the world, which carries an enormous volume of water with an average discharge of 219,000 m 3 / sec of water. The river is prone to changes during the year, for example, during the dry season its width can be around 4 or 5 km in certain places, while in the rainy season, it can increase to 50 km.
Read Also: Top 10 Longest Rivers In Nigeria
The Amazon River has the largest drainage basin in the world, around 7,050,000 km². According to WWF Panda, one-sixth of all freshwater that drains into the world’s oceans passes through the Amazon Delta, which is 320 km wide.
5. Mekong River, Asia – Depth 100 Meters
The Mekong River, famous for its rich biodiversity with 20,000 plant species, is 4345.2 km long and is the longest river in the Southeast Asia area. The countries that the river flows from include China, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The Mekong River basin covers 795,000 km².
4. Zambezi River, Africa – Depth 116 Meters
Along with its tributaries, the Zambezi River forms the fourth-largest hydrographic basin in Africa. The source of the river is the plateau of Central Africa and empties into the Indian Ocean. In the language of the Tonga people, Zambezi means “The Great River”. At the end of the upper course of the Zambezi River are the beautiful Victoria Falls.
3. Danube River, Europe – Depth 178 Yards
The Danube River originates in the Black Forest, SW, Germany as Brigach and Brege rivers, which are much smaller and after that, it is known as the Danube. It is the second longest river in Europe right after the Volga. Known as Danubius during the Roman Empire, the Danube River flows through many countries, including 4 capital cities, Vienna, the capital of Austria, Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, Budapest, the capital of Hungary, and Belgrade, the capital of Serbia.
2. Yangtze River, China – Depth 200 Yards
The Yangtze River is the longest in Asia, and in Chinese, it is known as Chang Jiang, Long River. The river has great importance when it comes to economy, culture, as well as history.
The largest hydroelectric plant in the world, Três Gorges uses it for electricity generation, tourism, and flood protection. The Yangtze River is the third longest river in the world.
Read Also: Top 10 Largest Dams In The World
1. Congo River, Africa – Depth 250 Meters
Finally, the leader in this selection of the 10 deepest rivers in the world, the Congo River is formerly known as the Zaire River and is 4,667 km long. The second longest river on the continent just after the Nile, the Congo River originates in Zambia between the Tanganyika and Nyasa lakes.
Congo River is the Deepest river on Earth, it dumps 43,300 cubic meters of water into the Atlantic Ocean, slightly less than the Amazon. Congo is crucial to the economic development of Central African countries.