Drainage basins of the world’s longest rivers
Jun 5, 2021
Most of our planet’s surface is covered in water, but less than 1% of it is fresh water. The total water volume in rivers is measured at 2,120 cubic kilometers (510 mi³), or just 0.49% of the surface fresh water on the planet!
But despite this fact, rivers have played and still play a notable role in the development of civilization.
Rivers are the result of many compounding water inflows accumulated within a drainage basin. A drainage basin is defined as the land area where precipitation gathers and drains off, feeding rivers and their tributaries.
The map below created by Reddit user CountZapolai shows how large the drainage basins can be for the world’s longest rivers.
