Is the Amazon or the Nile the Longest Reiver in the World? Depends Who You Ask

Key Takeaways

• Finding the source of a river—which would determine its total length—is tricky when the Amazon’s is deep in a thick rainforest.
• But more importantly, measuring a natural phenomenon accurately depends on the resolution of the underlying data and the number of measurement points. 
• While there is a consensus on the Nile being the longest, some experts list the Amazon’s length at 4,345 miles (6,992 km), making it 300 miles (342 km) longer than the Nile.
• Nevertheless, this source (Brittanica) ranks the Nile as the longest.