Amazon: the world’s largest river in terms of volume and contains 20% of the earth’s fresh water. Flowing west to east, it originates in Andes Mountains in Peru and travels through Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia and Brazil before reaching the Atlantic Ocean.

There are no capital cities as the river is a huge flood plain and most of its length are protected to preserve flora and fauna. However there are 3 major cities on the river: Iqitos in Peru and Manhaus & Belam in Brazil. Another fascinating piece of information is that not one bridge crosses the Amazon in its entire 6400 Km length.

Nile: the longest river in the world, passing through nine countries and has 3 capital cities on the river- Cairo, Khartoum & Juba. It is the only major river that flows south to north. The Nile has two major tributaries – the White Nile and the Blue Nile. The White Nile is considered to be the headwaters and primary stream of the Nile itself. The Blue Nile, however, is the source of most of the water, containing 80% of the water and silt.

The Congo: is the 2nd longest river in Africa and 2nd in the world behind Amazon in terms of volume. It is also the deepest in the world. Two national capitals- Kinshasa & Brazaville are situated on either side of the banks over looking each other. The Congo flows entirely within the two countries despite its total length of 4371 Km. It is the only river in the world that crosses the equator twice.

Bantu people occupied both sides of the Congo river until the scramble for Africa occurred in 1800s. The French colonized one side of the river and the Belgians on the other side. When de-colonialism occurred in 1960, they become the Republic of Congo and the Republic of Zaire which later became the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Pearl River Delta: is one of the most populous regions in the world. It includes the urban areas of Hong Kong, Macau and Guangzhou. The population has boomed due to favourable port location.

Sumida River: flows through Tokyo and it is only 27 kms long. Sumida Gawa Pottery was named after this river. The Sumida River fireworks is recognised as the oldest fire works display, can be traced back to 1732. There is a bridge every Kilometre of this 27 Km route. An unique feature indeed.

The Mekong: travels through 6 countries- China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The two capitals on the river are Vientiane ( Laos) and Phnom Penh ( Cambodia). It originates in the Chinese province of Qinghaithen and empties into South China Sea in the south of Ho Chi Minh City. The river is a major transport and commerce route.

Danube: is the 2nd longest river in Europe after the Volga. It passes through 9 countries and 4 capitals are located on the river- Vienna (Austria), Bratislava ( Slovakia) Budapest ( Hungary) and Belgrade (Serbia). This river has been an important trade route and cultural centre for centuries.

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CAPITAL CITIES ON RIVERS