Know more about World Rivers Day

World Rivers Day is celebrated every year on the last Sunday of the month of September. The day is dedicated to rivers and waterways around the world and is celebrated to spread awareness on the same. The day was first celebrated in 2005. Let’s find out more about this day and dedication related to it. 

  • In 2005, the United Nations launched the “Water for Life Decade” for a greater awareness of the need to take care of our water resources. The first event in 2005 was a great success and World Rivers Day was celebrated in several countries. Since then, the celebration of the day has continued to grow.
  • There are about 165 major rivers in the world, but fourteen are some of the most famous. 
  • As you may all know, the Nile River, located in northeastern Africa, is the longest river in the world at about 6,853 kilometers. However, the river flows through eleven countries: Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Sudan and Egypt.
  • The Amazon River is the second longest river in the world, and flows more than 6,400 km through the Amazon Rainforest in South America. It starts in the Andes Mountains and empties into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil. The river also runs through Guyana, Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia and Peru.
  • The Yangtze River is the third longest river in the world running 6,300 kilometers. The river is the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. Rising in Tanggula Mountain, it flows eastwards and pours itself into the East China Sea.
  • The Ganges River, or Ganga as we call her, is 2,525 km long. It starts in the Gangotri Glacier in the Himalayan Mountains, flowing across India and Bangladesh into the Bay of Bengal. The soil along the Ganges River is extremely fertile, meaning it helps crops grow. The Ganges is also home to more than 90 species of amphibians, 140 species of fish, and unique species like the Ganges river dolphin, Ganges river shark, and birds that can’t be found anywhere else in the world.
  • The longest river in Europe is the Volga. It flows approximately 3,685 kilometers across Russia and empties into the Caspian Sea. It is also Europe’s largest river in terms of discharge.
  • The Congo River is the world’s deepest river with measured depths in excess of 220 meters (720 feet). It is the second longest river in Africa after the Nile and the second largest river in the world by discharge volume of water (after the Amazon).
  • Rio Negro is a river located in South America. It is a unique river for its unusual color – black. Rio Negro or Black River is the largest left tributary of the Amazon river. Rio Negro is also recognized as the world’s largest blackwater river.
  • Caño Cristales, the Colombian river, is called the “River of Five Colors” or the “Liquid Rainbow”, and is even referred to as the most beautiful river in the world due to its striking colors. The bed of the river in the end of July through November is variously colored yellow, green, blue, black, and especially red, the last caused by a picky endemic aquatic plant called Macarenia clavigera on the bottom of the river.