Monday, July 26, 2010

WOLD NATURES PLACES


Yorkshire Wolds
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Coordinates: 54°00′22″N 0°26′24″W / 54.006°N 0.440°W / 54.006; -0.440
Yorkshire Wolds
Hills

A winter view across the Yorkshire Wolds
Country
England
State
United Kingdom
Region
Northern England
District
East Riding of Yorkshire

The location of the Yorkshire Wolds in Northern England
The Yorkshire Wolds are low hills in the counties of East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire in northeastern England. The name also applies to the district in which the hills lie.
On the western edge the Wolds rise to an escarpment which then drops sharply to the Vale of York. The highest point on the escarpment is Bishop Wilton Wold (also known as Garrowby Hill), which is 246 metres (807 feet) above sea level. To the north, on the other side of the Vale of Pickering, lie the North York Moors, and to the east the hills flatten into the plain of Holderness.
The largest town in the Wolds is Driffield, with other places including Pocklington, Thixendale and Kilham, the original capital of the Wolds.
Contents[hide]
1 Geology and Natural History
2 Climate
3 Areas and notable settlements
3.1 The Northern Wolds and Flamborough Head
3.2 The Capital Wolds
3.3 The Southern Wolds
3.4 Central Wolds
3.5 The Western Wolds
4 History and archaeology
5 Culture and media
6 Wolds Way
7 See also
8 References
9 External links
10 Further reading
//
[edit] Geology and Natural History
The hills are formed from chalk, and make an arc from the Humber estuary west of Kingston upon Hull up to the North Sea coast between Bridlington and Scarborough. Here they rise up to form cliffs, most notably at Flamborough, Bempton Cliffs and Filey; Flamborough Headland is designated a Heritage Coast. On the other side of the Humber, the chalk formations continue as the Lincolnshire Wolds; in fact, one can view the Humber as cutting through a single formation. The Humber Bridge was built at the point due to its geological stability.
Most of the area takes the form of an elevated, gently rolling plateau, cut by numerous deep, steep-sided, flat-bottomed valleys of glacial origin. The chalk formation of the hills provides exceptionally good drainage, with the result that most of these valleys are dry; indeed, surface water is quite scarce throughout the Wolds. Typically the valleys are hard to see from above, creating the visual impression that the landscape is much flatter than is actually the case. The unusual topography results in an "upside-down" farming system - livestock (mostly sheep and cows) graze the valleys, with the hills above used for crops.
[edit] Climate
Located in the northern part of the UK, the Yorkshire Wolds have a temperate maritime climate which is dominated by the passage of mid latitude depressions. The weather is very changeable from day to day and the warming influence of the Gulf Stream makes the region mild for its latitude. The higher ground of the Wolds results in their being slightly cooler than the surrounding lowland areas and drifting snow is a problem in winter.The average total annual rainfall is 729mm with rain falling on 128 days of the year. January is usually the coldest month and December the wettest.The warmest month is August and the driest is February.[1][2]

Recordings made at High Mowthorpe on the western scarp of the Wolds

Recordings made at High Mowthorpe on the western scarp of the Wolds
[edit] Areas and notable settlements
[edit] The Northern Wolds and Flamborough Head

Map of the northern area of the Yorkshire Wolds
The Wolds reach the sea at Flamborough Head where the chalk cliffs plunge over 130 metres (430 ft) to the North Sea [3]. To the south of Flamborough lies the resort town of Bridlington and to the north the sheer cliffs at Speeton overlook Filey Bay. Inland the high Wolds scarp overlooks the Vale of Pickering.
The so called Great Wold Valley traverses the area. It is occupied by a small stream called the Gypsey Race. This stream empties its waters into Bridlington harbour. The valley of the Gypsey Race turns south and then east in two right angle bends, one at Burton Fleming, the other at Rudston. In dry conditions the stream frequently dries up in parts of its course and re-emerges downstream.
Another notable feature of this area of the Wolds is Danes Dyke, a great ditch extending across Flamborough Head. The dyke consists of double ramparts, a ditch which is about sixty feet wide and twenty feet deep and a further rampart which rises to eighteen feet above ground level. The origin of this feature is obscure although it is certainly not Danish.[4]
Bempton Cliffs is a seabird colony and an R.S.P.B. nature reserve.

The Rudston Monolith. Britain's tallest standing stone.
Notable settlements include Flamborough village, North Landing and South Landing on Flamborough Headland. The village of Reighton which extends down the steep scarp face of the Wolds has many buildings made of the local chalk. Hunmanby was once a large market town and its buildings are centered on the old triangular market place. A series of villages lies at the foot of the northern scarp of the Wolds each having a parish which contains an area of chalk hillside, fertile benches and marshy land on the Vale of Pickering. Fordon is one of the smallest villages in England consisting of only a few farms and a small church some parts of which are of Norman construction. Wold Newton and Burton Fleming lie in the Great Wold Valley. A gigantic round barrow called Willy Howe lies between Wold Newton and Thwing and at Rudston[5] Howe, a topographic name from Middle English, originated with the Old Norse word haugr meaning a small hill or a man-made mound or barrow.[6] Britain's tallest standing stone can be seen in the church yard. Boynton Hall was the home of William Strickland who is reputed to have brought turkey to England.[5] On the Wold top there are many traces of pre-historic peoples such as the barrows at Willerby Wold and Sharpe Howes above Folkton.[4]
[edit] The Capital Wolds
On the seaward dip slope of the Wolds there is a series of villages extending from Bridlington to Driffield. These mark the spring line and the natural boundary between the chalk Wolds and the clay of Holderness. Driffield lies central to the crescentic shape of the Wolds area and since all of the Wolds are within easy reach it has become an important market town and is known as the Capital of the Wolds.[4]

Burton Agnes Hall
Villages of note include: Nafferton, which lies just off the A166 road and boasts a pretty mill pond fed by springs, Wansford to the south, lies on the Driffield canal and it has a church built by Sir Tatton Sykes in 1868. Close to Ruston Parva is Danes Graves, an archaeological site consisting of some 500 small round barrows marking Iron Age burials at least one of which yielded a corpse buried with a chariot and harness.[4] Burton Agnes boasts the ruins of a manor house dating from 1170 A.D. and a fine Hall and gatehouse of the Elizabethan period. Kilham was a prosperous market town in the Medieval period but was replaced by Driffield in the 19th century as the Capital of the Wolds. In this area there is a long continuity of settlement with an Iron Age cemetery, two Roman roads and an Anglian cemetery all in close proximity. Sledmere village has a uniformity of aspect which reveals its history as an 'estate' village. Close by is Sledmere House, the home of the Sykes family since the 18th century.[7]
[edit] The Southern Wolds

The southern area of the Yorkshire Wolds
In the south the Wolds are at their narrowest. Here they lie between the plain of Holderness to the east and the Vale of York to the west. The Humber Estuary cuts through the chalk formation leaving the Yorkshire Wolds to the north and the Lincolnshire Wolds to the south. In Roman times the estuary was crossed by a ford.[4] The Humber Bridge now spans the estuary. This area has fine agricultural land and many attractive villages, notable amongst which are: Walkington with its village pond and church of All Hallows: Bishop Burton which lies in a green hollow and has 19th century whitewashed cottages close to a village green with a large pond: Cherry Burton sits in a shallow valley in the shadow of the beautiful St Michael's and All Angels Church: Skidby which has an intact working windmill dating from 1821 which is now an agricultural museum.[5] North Newbald is sited in a narrow valley on the western scarp of the Wolds and has a famous cruciform Norman church dedicated to St Nicholas.[4]
[edit] Central Wolds
The western scarp of the Wolds reaches is highest point at Garrowby Hill. It is well dissected and attractive wooded dales occur along the scarp with small becks flowing down to the Vale of York below. The market towns of Pocklington and Market Weighton are sited between the wolds and the vale. Large parks and houses lie along the scarp from Garrowby Hall to Kilnwick Percy, Warter Priory and Londesborough Hall. Millington has a beautiful situation within Millington Dale and the road leading along the brow of the dale is particularly scenic.[7] The village of Kiplingcotes is the location for the annual Kiplingcotes Derby horse race, said to be the oldest horse race in England.[8] The 490th event took place on 19 March 2009.[9]
[edit] The Western Wolds

Wharram Percy deserted medieval village.
From Garrowby Hill northwards to Ganton the high scarp of the Wolds swings in a crescent to overlook the Vales of York and Pickering. Villages tend to be clustered along the scarp foot or in the upper part of the Great Wold Valley. Rillington is an attractive village with a stream passing through and a nearby park at Scampston. At Knapton village there is a hall and park and above the village in Knapton Plantation is Staple Howe, an Iron Age site.[4] The twin villages of East and West Heslerton lie further along the A64 road.West Heslerton is a well known archaeological site, with artefacts from several eras having been recovered.[10] Wharram Percy is one of the most notable deserted village sites in the U.K.[4][11]
[edit] History and archaeology
The Wolds area is rich in archaeological remains. There is a profusion of Neolithic, Bronze Age and Romano-British sites extending across the entire Yorkshire Wolds area.[12] The availability of fertile chalk soils, good grazing and the light tree cover along with stone suitable for making tools made this area attractive to early Neolithic settlers.[12] Along with Wessex and Orkney, the Yorkshire Wolds is a key area for studying the development of the Neolithic period in the British Isles as it became a major focus for settlement in this era. Isolated farms rather than settlements of any size appear to have been the normal dwelling types however few have been located with any certainty and most evidence is of funerary sites and ritual monuments. Recently excavated long barrows at Fordon on Willerby Wold and at Kilham have been carbon dated to around 3700 B.C. A well-known round barrow of this period is the monumental Duggleby Howe, at the western end of the Great Wolds Valley, partially excavated in 1890 by J.R. Mortimer. A henge monument of the Neolithic has been identified at Maidens Grave Rudston and the Rudston Monolith has also been assigned to this period. An extensive Neolithic ritual complex, the main elements of which are four large cursus monuments and a henge, is situated near the eastern end of the Great Wold Valley.
More than 1,400 Bronze Age round barrows, comprising one or more burials and accompanied by items of grave goods, are known to exist on the Yorkshire Wolds. They occur either in isolation or, more commonly, grouped together to form cemeteries. Many of these sites, although they have been reduced in size by repeated ploughing, still form upstanding and, in some cases, prominent features in the present-day landscape.[12][13]
The Romans arrived in this area around A.D.71.[14] From a base at Brough on the north bank of the Humber they established a road network with one branch towards York and another to Malton, both crossing the Wolds area. The settlements of the native Parisii were little disturbed by the Roman occupiers at first, but in later years they became Romanised, adopting the Roman material culture. There are villa sites on the Wolds at Rudston, Harpham, Brantingham, Welton and Wharram-le-Street.[12]
Walkington Wold, near the village of Walkington in the southern area of the Wolds, is the site of an Anglo-Saxon execution cemetery, the only known example from northern England. [15]
[edit] Culture and media
The writer Winifred Holtby who was born at Rudston lived in the area[7] and described the Wolds as "fold upon fold of the encircling hills, piled rich and golden."
The Yorkshire Wolds were a subject of BBC TV's Inside Out (North) programme on 2 February 2007. The Yorkshire Wolds Versatile Brass[16] provides first-class musical entertainment to local communities in local venues in the Yorkshire Wolds region.
[edit] Wolds Way
One of nine National Trails in England, the Yorkshire Wolds Way is a long-distance footpath which runs the length of the wolds from the Humber Bridge at Hessle to Filey on the coast.[14] It is managed by the Countryside Commission.
[edit] See also
The Weald
Yorkshire Dales
Chalk stream
[edit] References
^ "UK climate and weather statistics". Met Office. Crown Copyright. http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/2001/. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
^ "UK climate and weather statistics". Visit Yorkshire. http://www.visityorkshire.co.uk/frames/weather.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
^ http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/static/documents/Flamborough_Head_Bempton_Cliffs.pdf Environment Agency, Flamborough Head
^ a b c d e f g h Waites, Bryan (1984). Exploring the Yorkshire Wolds. Clapham (via Lancaster): The Dalesman Publishing Company Ltd.. ISBN 0 85206 752 6
^ a b c Mee, Arthur (1964). The Kings England. Yorkshire-East Riding.. London: Hodder and Stoughton.
^ Old Norse Online Base Form Dictionary (Jonathan Slocum and Todd B. Krause. The College of Liberal Arts at UT Austin)
^ a b c Wright, Geoffrey N. (1976). Yorkshire. The East Riding.. London: Batsford Ltd. ISBN 0 7134 3102 4.
^ Westley, Colin (2004-2008). "A Brief History". http://www.wicstun.com/derby.html#. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
^ "The 'Local' Race - The Kiplingcotes Derby". Wicstun. 2009-03-24. http://www.wicstun.com/derby2009.html. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
^ Powlesland, Dominic J (1999). "The West Heslerton Assessment". The Landscape Research Centre. http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue5/westhes_index.html. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
^ "Wharram Percy Deserted Medieval Village". English Heritage. http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.17334. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
^ a b c d The History and Archaeology of The Yorkshire Wolds
^ Hayton, Richard; Andre Brannan (2006). "Iron Age Cart/Chariot Burials". Yorkshire History.com. http://www.yorkshirehistory.com/chariot_burials/index_c.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
^ a b Ratcliffe, Roger (1992). Wolds Way. National Trail Guides (1992 ed.). London: Aurum Press Ltd in association with Ordnance Survey and Countryside Commission. ISBN 1 85410 189 7
^ "AN ANGLO-SAXON EXECUTION CEMETERY AT WALKINGTON WOLD, YORKSHIRE". IngentaConnect. 2008. http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bpl/ojoa/2007/00000026/00000003/art00006. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
^ "Yorkshire Wolds Versatile Brass". http://www.yorkshirewolds-vb.co.uk/index.htm.
[edit] External links
Yorkshire Wolds
The Villages of The Yorkshire Wolds
http://www.countryside.gov.uk/cci/yorkshirehumber/027.htm
The Countryside Agency - Countryside Character Initiative - Yorkshire and the Humber - Yorkshire Wolds
The Wolds Archaeological Research Project
[edit] Further reading
Walking The Wolds Way, David Clensy, 2007.

WOLD BIDS

Bird
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Birds)
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"Aves" redirects here. For other uses, see Aves (disambiguation).
For other uses, see Bird (disambiguation).

BirdsFossil range: Late Jurassic–Recent, 150–0 Ma
PreЄ
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D
C
P
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Scarlet Robin, Petroica boodang
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Subphylum:
Vertebrata
Class:
AvesLinnaeus, 1758[1]
Subclasses & orders
About two dozen modern orders and several extinct orders and subclasses
Listen to this article (info/dl)
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Birds (class Aves) are winged, bipedal, endothermic (warm-blooded), egg-laying, vertebrate animals. There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most varied of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from the 5 cm (2 in) Bee Hummingbird to the 2.75 m (9 ft) Ostrich. The fossil record indicates that birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs during the Jurassic period, around 150–200 Ma (million years ago), and the earliest known bird is the Late Jurassic Archaeopteryx, c 150–145 Ma. Most paleontologists regard birds as the only clade of dinosaurs to have survived the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event approximately 65.5 Ma.
Modern birds are characterised by feathers, a beak with no teeth, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a lightweight but strong skeleton. All living species of birds have wings - the now extinct flightless Moa of New Zealand were the only exceptions. Wings are evolved forelimbs, and most can fly, with some exceptions including ratites, penguins, and a number of diverse endemic island species. Birds also have unique digestive and respiratory systems that are highly adapted for flight. Some birds, especially corvids and parrots, are among the most intelligent animal species; a number of bird species have been observed manufacturing and using tools, and many social species exhibit cultural transmission of knowledge across generations.
Many species undertake long distance annual migrations, and many more perform shorter irregular movements. Birds are social; they communicate using visual signals and through calls and songs, and participate in social behaviours including cooperative breeding and hunting, flocking, and mobbing of predators. The vast majority of bird species are socially monogamous, usually for one breeding season at a time, sometimes for years, but rarely for life. Other species have breeding systems that are polygynous ("many females") or, rarely, polyandrous ("many males"). Eggs are usually laid in a nest and incubated by the parents. Most birds have an extended period of parental care after hatching.
Many species are of economic importance, mostly as sources of food acquired through hunting or farming. Some species, particularly songbirds and parrots, are popular as pets. Other uses include the harvesting of guano (droppings) for use as a fertiliser. Birds figure prominently in all aspects of human culture from religion to poetry to popular music. About 120–130 species have become extinct as a result of human activity since the 17th century, and hundreds more before then. Currently about 1,200 species of birds are threatened with extinction by human activities, though efforts are underway to protect them.
Contents[hide]
1 Evolution and taxonomy
1.1 Dinosaurs and the origin of birds
1.2 Alternative theories and controversies
1.3 Early evolution of birds
1.4 Diversification of modern birds
1.5 Modern bird orders: Classification
2 Distribution
3 Anatomy and physiology
3.1 Chromosomes
3.2 Feathers, plumage, and scales
3.3 Flight
4 Behaviour
4.1 Diet and feeding
4.2 Water and drinking
4.3 Migration
4.4 Communication
4.5 Flocking and other associations
4.6 Resting and roosting
4.7 Breeding
4.7.1 Social systems
4.7.2 Territories, nesting and incubation
4.7.3 Parental care and fledging
4.7.4 Brood parasites
5 Ecology
6 Relationship with humans
6.1 Economic importance
6.2 Religion, folklore and culture
6.3 Conservation
7 Notes
8 External links
//
Evolution and taxonomy
Main article: Evolution of birds

Archaeopteryx, the earliest known bird
The first classification of birds was developed by Francis Willughby and John Ray in their 1676 volume Ornithologiae.[2] Carolus Linnaeus modified that work in 1758 to devise the taxonomic classification system currently in use.[3] Birds are categorised as the biological class Aves in Linnaean taxonomy. Phylogenetic taxonomy places Aves in the dinosaur clade Theropoda.[4] Aves and a sister group, the clade Crocodilia, contain the only living representatives of the reptile clade Archosauria. Phylogenetically, Aves is commonly defined as all descendants of the most recent common ancestor of modern birds and Archaeopteryx lithographica.[5]
Archaeopteryx, from the Tithonian stage of the Late Jurassic (some 150–145 million years ago), is the earliest known bird under this definition. Others, including Jacques Gauthier and adherents of the Phylocode system, have defined Aves to include only the modern bird groups, the crown group. This has been done by excluding most groups known only from fossils, and assigning them, instead, to the Avialae[6] in part to avoid the uncertainties about the placement of Archaeopteryx in relation to animals traditionally thought of as theropod dinosaurs.
All modern birds lie within the subclass Neornithes, which has two subdivisions: the Palaeognathae, containing birds that are flightless (like ostriches) or weak fliers, and the wildly diverse Neognathae, containing all other birds.[4] These two subdivisions are often given the rank of

WOLD FLOWER GARDEN


Wild flower garden
or are they just weeds?
Wild flower gardens are increasing in popularity as gardeners in general are more in tune with nature. Charlie Dimmock and Alan Titchmarsh with television programmes such as Charlie's Wildlife Gardens, Ground Force, Gardeners' World and Charlie's Garden Army actively encourage gardeners to attract wildlife to their gardens and to grow wild flowers. As the countryside changes and diminishes many of us like to create a miniature countryside in our own gardens.
Click on the photographs to enlarge




honeysuckle
foxglove
red campion
celandine
Many wild flowers have decided to make a home in my garden and I leave some of them, uproot some and encourage others. Wild flowers that have just 'appeared' in my garden that I consider worthy of a place include honeysuckle, foxglove, red campion, lesser celandine, herb robert and forget me not. I have bought others, including primrose and lady's smock. Lady's smock can attract caterpillars of green veined white and orange tip butterflies.




herb robert
forget me not
primrose
lady's smock
It is illegal to uproot wild flowers in Britain, with a fine of up to £1000. Most garden centres now sell wild flower plants and wild flower seeds. If you want to know which wild flowers are native to your area try the Postcode Plants Database site (see the Links page of this web site.)
But how do you distinguish a weed from a wild flower, or are all wild flowers weeds? It's been said many times that weeds are just plants growing in the wrong place, so if you enjoy the plants that appear, just leave them! Many native trees, shrubs and flowers support wildlife in your garden.
Experts warn that foreign plants are pushing Britain's wild flowers to extinction. Nine of the ten fastest spreading species are recently introduced from abroad. Some plants such as the fen orchid and pennyroyal barely survive outside nature reserves and SSI sites. Even the cornflower is listed as endangered.

WOLD REVERS

WOLD
List of rivers by length
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

View of the Nile River, from a cruiseboat, between Luxor and Aswan in Egypt.
This is a list of the longest rivers on Earth. It includes river systems over 1,000 kilometers.
Contents[hide]
1 Definition of length
2 List of rivers longer than 1000 km
2.1 Notes
3 River systems that may have existed in the past
3.1 Amazon-Congo
3.2 West Siberian Glacial Lake drainage
3.3 Nile
3.4 Eridanos
3.5 Po
4 See also
5 References
6 Notes
//
[edit] Definition of length
This section does not cite any references or sources.Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2009)
The length of a river is very hard to calculate, the source, the identification of the mouth, and the scale of measurement of the river length between source and mouth. As a result, the length measurements of many rivers are only approximations. In particular, there has long been disagreement as to whether the Amazon or the Nile is the world's longest river. But some researchers accept that Amazon in fact is longer, because of its icy birth and recent satellite based studies [1][2][3]
The source of a river is not hard to determine because a river typically has many tributaries. Among the many sources, the one that is farthest away from the mouth is considered as the source of the river, thus giving a maximal river length. In practice, the tributary with the farthest source is not always the one given the name of the river. For example, the farthest source of the Mississippi River system is the source of the Jefferson River, a tributary of the Missouri River which in turn is a tributary of the Mississippi. However, a different (and shorter) tributary is identified as the Mississippi. When the river is measured from mouth to farthest source, it is called the Mississippi-Missouri-Jefferson. Also, it is hard to state exactly where a river begins as very often rivers are formed by seasonal streams, swamps, or changing lakes. In this article, length means the length of the longest continuous river channel in a given river system, regardless of name.
The mouth of a river is hard to determine in cases where the river has a large estuary that gradually widens and opens into the ocean; examples are the River Plate and the Saint Lawrence River. Some rivers like the Okavango or Colorado do not have a mouth; instead they dwindle to very low water volume and eventually evaporate, or sink into an aquifer, or get diverted for agriculture. The exact point where these rivers end will vary seasonally.
The length of a river between source and mouth may be hard to determine due to issues of map scale. Small scale maps (those showing large areas) tend to generalize, or "smooth" lines more than large scale maps (those showing small areas). According to the generally accepted ideal, length measurements should be based on maps that are of a large enough scale to show the width of the river, and the path measured is the path a small boat would take down the middle of the river.
Even when detailed maps are available, the length measurement is not always clear. A river may have multiple channels, or anabranches. The length may depend on whether the center or the edge of the river is measured. It may not be clear how to measure the length through a lake. Seasonal and annual changes may alter both rivers and lakes. Other factors that can change the length of a river include cycles of erosion and flooding, dams, levees, and channelization. In addition, the length of meandering can change significantly over time due to natural or artificial cutoffs, when a new channel cuts across a narrow strip of land, bypassing a large river bend. For example, due to 18 cutoffs created between 1766 and 1885 the length of the Mississippi River from Cairo, Illinois, to New Orleans, Louisiana, was reduced by 218 miles (351 km).[4]
These points make it difficult, if not impossible, to get an accurate measurement of the length of a river. The varying accuracy and precision also makes it difficult to make length comparisons between different rivers without a degree of uncertainty.
Some researchers hold that in fact Amazon is born in the Andes' mountains, and is frozen at its start: these conclusions lead to an even longer length than that shown below for reference:
[edit] List of rivers longer than 1000 km

This article or section may contain previously unpublished synthesis of published material that conveys ideas not attributable to the original sources. See the talk page for details. (June 2009)
One should take the aforementioned discussion into account when using the data in the following table. For most rivers, different sources provide conflicting information on the length of a river system. The information in different sources is between parentheses.
Continent color key
Africa
Asia
Australia
Europe
North America
South America

River
Length (km)
Length (miles)
Drainage area (km²)
Average discharge (m³/s)
Outflow
Countries in the drainage basin
1.
Amazon[5]
6,992
4,344
6,915,000
219,000
Atlantic Ocean
Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana
2.
Nile
6,650
4,132
6,678,000
5,100
Mediterranean Sea
Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Egypt, Democratic Republic of the Congo
3.
Yangtze(Chang Jiang)
6,300
3,917
1,800,000
31,900
East China Sea
China
4.
MississippiMissouri
6,275
3,902
2,980,000
16,200
Gulf of Mexico
United States (98.5%), Canada (1.5%)
5.
YeniseiAngaraSelenga
5,539
3,445
2,580,000
19,600
Kara Sea
Russia, Mongolia
6.
Yellow(Huang He)
5,464
3,398
745,000
2,110
Bohai Sea(Balhae)
China
7.
ObIrtysh
5,410
3,364
2,990,000
12,800
Gulf of Ob
Russia, Kazakhstan, P.R. China, Mongolia
8.
CongoChambeshi(Zaïre)
4,700
2,922
3,680,000
41,800
Atlantic Ocean
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Angola, Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Cameroon, Zambia, Burundi, Rwanda
9.
AmurArgun(Heilong Jiang)
4,444
2,763
1,855,000
11,400
Sea of Okhotsk
Russia, P.R. China, Mongolia
10.
Lena
4,400
2,736
2,490,000
17,100
Laptev Sea
Russia
11.
Mekong(Lancang Jiang)
4,350
2,705
810,000
16,000
South China Sea
Laos, Thailand, P.R. China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar
12.
MackenziePeaceFinlay
4,241
2,637
1,790,000
10,300
Beaufort Sea
Canada
13.
Niger
4,200
2,611
2,090,000
9,570
Gulf of Guinea
Nigeria (26.6%), Mali (25.6%), Niger (23.6%), Algeria (7.6%), Guinea (4.5%), Cameroon (4.2%), Burkina Faso (3.9%), Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Chad
14.
Paraná(Río de la Plata)
3,998
2,486
3,100,000
25,700
Atlantic Ocean
Brazil (46.7%), Argentina (27.7%), Paraguay (13.5%), Bolivia (8.3%), Uruguay (3.8%)
15.
Volga
3,645
2,266
1,380,000
8,080
Caspian Sea
Russia (99.8%), Kazakhstan (minor)
16.
Shatt al-ArabEuphrates
3,596
2,236
884,000
856
Persian Gulf
Iraq (60.5%), Turkey (24.8%), Syria (14.7%)
17.
Purus
3,379
2,101
63,166
8,400
Amazon
Brazil, Peru
18.
MurrayDarling
3,370[6]
2,094
1,061,000
767
Indian Ocean
Australia
19.
MadeiraMamoré
3,239
2,014
850,000
17,000
Amazon
Brazil, Bolivia, Peru
20.
Yukon
3,700
2,300
850,000
6,210
Bering Sea
United States (59.8%), Canada (40.2%)
21.
Indus(Sindhu)
3,180
1,976
960,000
7,160
Arabian Sea
Pakistan (93%), India, China, Afghanistan
22.
São Francisco
3,180*(2,900)
1,976*(1,802)
610,000
3,300
Atlantic Ocean
Brazil
23.
Syr DaryaNaryn
3,078
1,913
219,000
703
Aral Sea
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan
24.
Salween(Nu Jiang)
3,060
1,901
324,000
3,153[7]
Andaman Sea
P.R. China (52.4%), Myanmar (43.9%), Thailand (3.7%)
25.
Saint LawrenceNiagaraDetroitSaint ClairSaint MarysSaint Louis
3,058
1,900
1,030,000
10,100
Gulf of Saint Lawrence
Canada (52.1%), United States (47.9%)
26.
Rio Grande
3,057(2,896)
1,900(1,799)
570,000
82
Gulf of Mexico
United States (52.1%), Mexico (47.9%)
27.
Lower Tunguska
2,989
1,857
473,000
3,600
Yenisei
Russia
28.
Brahmaputra
2,948*
1,832*
1,730,000
19,200[8]
Bay of Bengal
India (58.0%), P.R. China (19.7%), Nepal (9.0%), Bangladesh (6.6%), Disputed India/P.R. China (4.2%), Bhutan (2.4%)
29.
Danube(Duna)
2,850*
1,771*
817,000
7,130
Black Sea
Romania (28.9%), Hungary (11.7%), Austria (10.3%), Serbia (10.3%), Germany (7.5%), Slovakia (5.8%), Bulgaria (5.2%), Croatia (4.5%),
30.
Tocantins
2,699
1,677
1,400,000
13,598
Atlantic Ocean, Amazon
Brazil
31.
Zambezi(Zambesi)
2,693*
1,673*
1,330,000
4,880
Mozambique Channel
Zambia (41.6%), Angola (18.4%), Zimbabwe (15.6%), Mozambique (11.8%), Malawi (8.0%), Tanzania (2.0%), Namibia, Botswana
32.
Vilyuy
2,650
1,647
454,000
1,480
Lena
Russia
33.
Araguaia
2,627
1,632
358,125
6,172
Tocantins
Brazil
34.
Amu Darya
2,620
1,628
534,739
1,400
Aral Sea
Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan
35.
Japurá(Rio Yapurá)
2,615*
1,625*
242,259
6,000
Amazon
Brazil, Colombia
36.
NelsonSaskatchewan
2,570
1,597
1,093,000
2,575
Hudson Bay
Canada, United States
37.
Paraguay(Rio Paraguay)
2,549
1,584
900,000
4,300
Paraná
Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina
38.
Kolyma
2,513
1,562
644,000
3,800
East Siberian Sea
Russia
39.
Ganges/Padma(Ganga)
2,510
1,560
907,000
12,037[9]
Brahmaputra, Bay of Bengal
India, Bangladesh, Nepal
40.
Pilcomayo
2,500
1,553
270,000
Paraguay
Paraguay, Argentina, Bolivia
41.
Upper Ob
2,490
1,547
Ob
Russia
42.
Ishim
2,450
1,522
177,000
56
Irtysh
Kazakhstan, Russia
43.
Juruá
2,410
1,498
200,000
6,000
Amazon
Peru, Brazil
44.
Ural
2,428
1,509
237,000
475
Caspian Sea
Russia, Kazakhstan
45.
Arkansas
2,348
1,459
505,000(435,122)
1,066
Mississippi
United States
46.
UbangiUele
2,300
1,429
4,003
Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic
47.
Olenyok
2,292
1,424
219,000
1,210
Laptev Sea
Russia
48.
Dnieper
2,287
1,421
516,300
1,670
Black Sea
Russia, Belarus, Ukraine
49.
Aldan
2,273
1,412
729,000
5,060
Lena
Russia
50.
Negro
2,250
1,450
720,114
26,700
Amazon
Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia
51.
Columbia
2,250 (1,953)
1,450 (1,214)
415,211
7,500
Pacific Ocean
United States, Canada
52.
Colorado (western U.S.)
2,333
1,450
390,000
1,200
Gulf of California
United States, Mexico
53.
PearlXi Jiang
2,200
1,376
437,000
13,600
South China Sea
P.R. China (98.5%), Vietnam (1.5%)
54.
Red
2,188
1,360
78,592
875
Mississippi
United States
55.
Ayeyarwady(Irrawaddy)
2,170
1,348
411,000
13,000
Andaman Sea
Myanmar
56.
Kasai
2,153
1,338
880,200
10,000
Congo
Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo
57.
OhioAllegheny
2,102
1,306
490,603
7,957
Mississippi
United States
58.
Orinoco
2,101
1,306
1.380,000
98,000
Atlantic Ocean
Venezuela, Colombia, Guyana
59.
Tarim
2,100
1,305
557,000
Lop Nur
P. R. China
60.
Xingu
2,100
1,305
Amazon
Brazil
61.
Orange
2,092
1,300


Atlantic Ocean
South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho
62.
Northern Salado
2,010
1,249
Paraná
Argentina
63.
Vitim
1,978
1,229
Lena
Russia
64.
Tigris
1,950
1,212
Shatt al-Arab
Turkey, Iraq, Syria
65.
Songhua
1,927
1,197
Amur
P. R. China
66.
Tapajós
1,900
1,181
Amazon
Brazil
67.
Don
1,870
1,162
425,600
935
Sea of Azov
Russia, Ukraine
68.
Stony Tunguska
1,865
1,159
240,000
Yenisei
Russia
69.
Pechora
1,809
1,124
322,000
Barents Sea
Russia
70.
Kama
1,805
1,122
507,000
Volga
Russia
71.
Limpopo
1,800
1,118
413,000
Indian Ocean
Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana
72.
Guaporé (Itenez)
1,749
1,087
Mamoré
Brazil, Bolivia
73.
Indigirka
1,726
1,072
360,400
1,810
East Siberian Sea
Russia
74.
Snake
1,670
1,038
279,719
1,611
Columbia
United States
75.
Senegal
1,641
1,020
419,659
Atlantic Ocean
Senegal, Mali, Mauritania
76.
Uruguay
1,610
1,000
370,000
Atlantic Ocean
Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil
77.
Blue Nile
1,600
994
Nile
Ethiopia, Sudan
77.
Churchill
1,600
994
Hudson Bay
Canada
77.
Khatanga
1,600
994
Laptev Sea
Russia
77.
Okavango
1,600
994
Okavango Delta
Namibia, Angola, Botswana
77.
Volta
1,600
994
Gulf of Guinea
Ghana, Burkina Faso, Togo, Côte d'Ivoire, Benin
82.
Beni
1,599
994
Madeira
Bolivia
83.
Platte
1,594
990
Missouri
United States
84.
Tobol
1,591
989
Irtysh
Kazakhstan, Russia
85.
JubbaShebelle
1,580*
982*
Indian Ocean
Ethiopia, Somalia
86.
Içá (Putumayo)
1,575
979
Amazon
Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador
87.
Magdalena
1,550
963
Caribbean Sea
Colombia
88.
Han
1,532
952
Yangtze
P. R. China
89.
Lomami
1,500
932
Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
89.
Oka
1,500
932
Volga
Russia
91.
Pecos
1,490
926
Rio Grande
United States
92.
Upper Yenisei
1,480
920
Yenisei
Russia, Mongolia
93.
Godavari
1,465
910
Bay of Bengal
India
94.
Colorado (Texas)
1,438
894
Gulf of Mexico
United States
95.
Río Grande (Guapay)
1,438
894
Ichilo
Bolivia
96.
Belaya
1,420
882
Kama
Russia
97.
CooperBarcoo
1,420
880
Lake Eyre
Australia
98.
Marañón
1,415
879
Amazon
Peru
99.
Dniester
1,411 (1,352)
877 (840)
Black Sea
Ukraine, Moldova
100.
Benue
1,400
870
Niger
Cameroon, Nigeria
100.
Ili(Yili)
1,400
870
Lake Balkhash
P. R. China, Kazakhstan
100.
WarburtonGeorgina
1,400
870
Lake Eyre
Australia
103.
Sutlej
1,372
852
Chenab
China, India, Pakistan
104.
Yamuna
1,370
851
Ganges
India
105.
Vyatka
1,370
851
Kama
Russia
106.
Fraser
1,368
850
220,000
3,475
Pacific Ocean
Canada
107.
Mtkvari (Kura)
1,364
848
Caspian Sea
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Turkey, Iran
108.
Grande
1,360
845
Paraná
Brazil
109.
Brazos
1,352
840
Gulf of Mexico
United States
110.
Cauca
1,350
839
Magdalena
Colombia
111.
Liao
1,345
836
Bo Hai
P. R. China
112.
Yalong
1,323
822
Yangtze
P. R. China
113.
Iguaçu
1,320
820
Paraná
Brazil, Argentina
113.
Olyokma
1,320
820
Lena
Russia
113.
Rhine
1,233
768
198,735
2,330
North Sea
Germany, France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Austria, Liechtenstein, Italy (minimal)
116.
Northern DvinaSukhona
1,302
809
357,052
3,332
White Sea
Russia
117.
Krishna
1,300
808
Bay of Bengal
India
117.
Iriri
1,300
808
Xingu
Brazil
119.
Narmada
1,289
801
Arabian Sea
India
120.
Ottawa
1,271
790
Saint Lawrence
Canada
121.
Zeya
1,242
772
Amur
Russia
122.
Juruena
1,240
771
Tapajós
Brazil
123.
Upper Mississippi
1,236
768
Mississippi
United States
124.
Athabasca
1,231
765
95,300
Mackenzie
Canada
124.
ElbeVltava
1,231
765
148,268
711
North Sea
Germany, Czech Republic
126.
Canadian
1,223
760
Arkansas
United States
127.
North Saskatchewan
1,220
758
Saskatchewan
Canada
128.
Draa
1,218
994
Atlantic Ocean
Morocco
129.
Vaal
1,210
752
Orange
South Africa
130.
Shire
1,200
746
Zambezi
Mozambique, Malawi
131.
Nen(Nonni)
1,190
739
Songhua
P. R. China
132.
Kızıl River
1,182
734
115,000
400
Black Sea
Turkey
133.
Green
1,175
730
Colorado (western U.S.)
United States
134.
Milk
1,173
729
Missouri
United States, Canada
135.
Chindwin
1,158
720
Ayeyarwady
Myanmar
136.
Sankuru
1,150
715
Kasai
Democratic Republic of the Congo
137.
James (Dakotas)
1,143
710
Missouri
United States
138.
Kapuas
1,143
710
South China Sea
Indonesia
139.
Desna
1,130
702
88,900
360
Dnieper
Russia, Ukraine
140.
Helmand
1,130
702
Hamun-i-Helmand
Afghanistan, Iran
141.
Madre de Dios
1,130
702
Madeira
Peru, Bolivia
142.
Tietê
1,130
702
Paraná
Brazil
143.
Vychegda
1,130
702
Northern Dvina
Russia
144.
Sepik
1,126
700
77,700
Pacific Ocean
Papua New Guinea, Indonesia
145.
Cimarron
1,123
698
Arkansas
United States
146.
Anadyr
1,120
696
Gulf of Anadyr
Russia
147.
Jialing River
1,119
695
Yangtze
P. R. China
148.
Liard
1,115
693
Mackenzie
Canada
149.
White
1,102
685
Mississippi
United States
150.
Huallaga
1,100
684
Marañón
Peru
151.
Kwango
1,100
684
263,500
2,700
Kasai
Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo
152.
Gambia
1,094
680
Atlantic Ocean
The Gambia, Senegal, Guinea
153.
Chenab
1,086
675
Indus
India, Pakistan
154.
Yellowstone
1,080
671
114,260
Missouri
United States
155.
Aras
1,072
665
102,000
285
Kura
Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran
156.
Chu River
1,067
663
62,500
none
Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan
157.
Donets
1,078 (1,053)
670 (654)
Don
Ukraine, Russia
158.
Bermejo
1,050
652
Paraguay
Argentina, Bolivia
159.
Fly
1,050
652
Gulf of Papua
Papua New Guinea, Indonesia
160.
Guaviare
1,050
652
Orinoco
Colombia
161.
Kuskokwim
1,050
652
Bering Sea
United States
162.
Tennessee
1,049
652
Ohio
United States
163.
Vistula
1,047
630
194,424
1,080
Baltic Sea
Poland
164.
Daugava
1,020
634
87,900
678
Gulf of Riga
Latvia, Belarus, Russia
165.
Gila
1,015
631
Colorado (western U.S.)
United States
166.
Loire
1,012
629
Atlantic Ocean
France
167.
Essequibo
1,010
628
Atlantic Ocean
Guyana
168.
Khoper
1,010
628
Don
Russia
169.
Tagus(Tajo/Tejo)
1,006
625
80,100
Atlantic Ocean
Spain, Portugal
[edit] Notes
When the length of a river is followed by an asterisk , it is an average of multiple information sources. If the difference in lengths between given information sources is significant, all lengths are listed. Likewise, if the lengths from secondary information sources are similar, they are averaged and that figure has an asterisk.
Scientists debate whether the Amazon or the Nile is the longest river in the world. Traditionally, the Nile has been considered longer, but recent information indicates that the Amazon may be longer. Differences in the recorded length of the Amazon mainly depend on whether or not it is valid to take a course south of the Ilha de Marajó at the Amazon's mouth. New evidence, (dated 16 June 2007) obtained from a high-altitude scientific venture in the Andes, claims that "the Amazon is longer than the Nile by 100km, with its longest headwater being the Carhuasanta stream originating in the south of Peru on the Nevado Mismi mountain's northern slopes and flowing into the Río Apurímac"[10]. However, the origin of the river at Nevado Mismi had already been known more than one decade earlier (see Jacek Palkiewicz), although satellite based measuring from this origin to the Amazon mouth has resulted in more than 6,900 km.
Generally, the most commonly used/anglicised name of the river is used. The name in a native language or alternate spelling may be shown.
The exact percentage of each river in countries may be disputed (including the effects of political frontier disputes) or unknown.

The Mississippi River just north of St. Louis.

Saint Lawrence River along the New York-Quebec border.
[edit] River systems that may have existed in the past