longest river

[swarr51]

What is the longest river in the world and how long is it?

[Quizmonster]

The Nile at 4,187 miles.

[Oneeyedvic]

Or possibly the amazon: http://www.extremescience.com/AmazonRiver.htm I am afraid this question has been going for more than 20 years (when I was at school) - and most text books differed then. It is either the Nile or the Amazon according to your source

[Quizmonster]

I don't believe there truly is any doubt as to which is the longer. Various authorities offer different lengths, but all appear to agree that the Nile beats the Amazon. According to the 'Encyclop�dia Britannica', it's Nile 4,160 miles and Amazon 3,900. According to the most recent state-of-the-art 'Philip's Atlas of the World' - produced in association with the Royal Geographical Society, no less - it's Nile 4,140 miles and Amazon 4010. Even the humble 'Hutchinson's Encyclop�dia' gives Nile 4,160 and Amazon 4,080.

As Vic says above, it depends on your source, but my view is that some sources are - like Orwell's farm animals - more equal than others!

[bernardo]

It's not a question of sources disagreeing with each other - it's a question of definition. In other words, you have to agree on where the river ends and the sea starts. The end of the Amazon goes round either side of the Ilha de Marajo (island), and it is still predominantly fresh water on both sides. The Amazon is only longer than the Nile if you go on a convoluted voyage the long way round the island.
The 1979 Guinness Book of records says that the Nile is 4145 miles (after losing a few miles of squiggles due to the construction of the Aswan Dam) and the Amazon is either 4007 or 4195, depending on which way you go around Marajo.