The Longest Rivers in Africa

Africa has a total of 67 major rivers but today we will only be discussing the Longest rivers in Africa. Here you will find a list of the Longest Rivers in Africa:

10. Blue Nile River (1,450 km)

The Blue Nile has a distance of 1,450 km (900 miles) and is one of the two major tributaries of the White Nile. Although the White Nile is the one that provides most of the water to the Nile River, particularly during the rainy season. Blue Nile River played a very important role in supplying water to River Nile which was then used to irrigate the crops and it boosted the economy.

The Blue Nile is a river which originates from freshwater springs above Lake Tana in Ethiopia. The Blue Nile River is discovered in both Ethiopia and Sudan. The Blue Nile River begins at Lake Tana in Ethiopia and merges with the lesser White Nile tributary at Khartoum Sudan to create the Nile River. In Ethiopia, the Blue Nile is locally known as the Abbay.

9. Senegal (1,086 km)

The Senegal River, which forms the border between Senegal and Mauritania in West Africa, is 1,086 kilometers (675 miles) long. Due to the enormous gold deposits on its beds, they named the Senegal River “Golden River.” It drains its water to the Atlantic Ocean. There is a slender line of sand that distinguishes the Atlantic Ocean from the river.

The name given to the sand line is ‘Langue de Barbarie’. Acacias, particularly Acacia nilotica, grows abundantly at its banks, are typical Senegalese trees. Senegal river is found in Senegal, Mauritania, and  Mali. The source for Senegal River is Bakoy River, Bafing River which are both found in Mali.

There are two big dams on the river: Manantali Dam in Mali and Maka-Diama Dam close to the sea at the boundary between Mauritania and Senegal.

8. Limpopo (1,750 km)

Limpopo River is the 8th longest River in Africa stretching 1,750 km (1,090 miles). The river’s source is the Marico and Crocodile River and its mouth is in the Indian Ocean.

The first European to see the River in 1498 is supposed to be Vasco de Gama, but many historians say there was a civilization in the region. The Limpopo River is the border between South Africa to the South-East and Botswana to the north-west and Zimbabwe to the north for approximately 640 km (398 miles) of the region.

7. Orange (2,200 km)

The Orange is a 2,200 km (1,400 miles) long stream in Lesotho. The primary source of water is the Thaba Putsoa river in Lesotho and Orange Mountains and the largest river of South Africa, the Thaba Putsoa water system, which plays a  significant part in the economy with irrigation and hydroelectricity water, with a drainage area of 973,000 km2. The mouth of the Orange River is the Atlantic Ocean.

6. Kasai River (2,153 km)

Kasai River has a length of 2,153 km (1,338 miles) and is located in central Africa, it starts in Angola and acts as the boundary between Angola and DRC. The Sankuru, Kwango and Fimi Rivers are some of Kasai’s tributaries. The basin of Kasai is primarily made up of the equatorial rainforest, a farming area famous for its fertility and its sandy land. A branch of the Congo River is located 2,153 km away from Kasai.

5. Ubangi Uele (2,270 km)

The Ubangi-uele is the Congo River’s most important tributary. It is located in central Africa, where it rises from the merging of rivers Uele and Mbomou and flows through Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) before meeting the River Congo in Liranga. Ubangi is 1,060 km long, but Uele, which is 1,210 miles long, is the longest branch, which is about 2,270 km long.

The Ubangi River, also known as Oubangui, is the Congo River’s largest right bank tributary in the Central African region. It starts at the Mbomou and Uele Rivers confluence and flows west, forming the border between the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

4. Zambezi (2,693 km)

The Zambezi is the fourth-longest river in Africa with with a length of approximately 2,693 km. with its mouth being the Indian Ocean and its source being Mwinilunga. The Zambezi River is found in 6 countries which are: Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique.

3. Niger (4,200 km)

The third-longest river in Africa is the Niger River, which is much shorter than the Congo a few hundred kilometers. As West Africa’s most essential river, it has an amazing 2,117,700 square kilometers drainage basin. If you have the opportunity to go directly to the Niger River, you will find that its waters are surprisingly clear. It only contains about a fifth of the sediment that is present in the Nile.

2. Congo River (4,700 km)

The Congo River is the second-longest river in Africa with a length of 4,700 Km. The Congo River’s name derives from that of the Kongo Kingdom, once located along its southern banks. “Zaire” on the other side of Hans comes from the Portuguese adaptation of the Kikongo word “Nzere” meaning “river.” The Congo sometimes poetically called “the river that swallows all rivers,” but this is a mistranslation of the phrase “nzadi o nzere,” which means “river swallowing rivers.”

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1. Nile (6, 853 km)

The Nile is the longest river in Africa with a total length of 6, 853 km.

The name Nile comes from a Greek term for “river” called “neilos.”

The Nile River, or the Nile-Kagera, is Africa’s longest river at 6,853 km in total. Kagera is an East African river that forms an upper part of the river Nile’s headwaters.

It also carries water from the farthest spring of the Nile. The segment known as Kagera starts in Burundi and flows from Lake Rweru to merge with the Ruvubu River, across Burundi-Rwanda and the borders of Tanzania and Rwanda. This flows through the Rusumo Falls, the Akagera National Park, from the confluence to the east to Lake Victoria. Ruvubu from Burundi fed the Akagera River and Rwanda fed Nyabarongo.

Although the Nile Basin spans 11 different countries, the river is the most influential in Egypt. Civilization has been increasing along the river banks, in fact. The Herodotus historian in Greece poetically said that “Egypt was the Nile’s gift.”

The Nile runs through Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Egypt, South Sudan

Top 10 Longest Rivers in Africa:

1. Nile (6, 853 km)

2. Congo River (4,700 km)

3. Niger (4,200 km)

4. Zambezi (2,693 km)

5. Ubangi Uele (2,270 km)

6. Kasai River (2,153 km)

7. Orange (2,200 km)

8. Limpopo (1,750 km)

9. Senegal (1,086 km)

10. Blue Nile River (1,450 km)

Question: Which is the longest river in Africa?

Answer: River Nile is the longest river in Africa with a total length of 6, 853 km.