Geographic Records of the Water

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Water is the blood of planet Earth and its circuit maintains it alive.

And this cycle implies rivers, lakes, seas and oceans.

Here are some of their records.

The largest running water

in the world is the Amazon river. Each second, this enormous river disgorges 150,000 cubic meters of water into the Atlantic Ocean (3,120 cubic km annually).

Amazon is also the longest river in the world (4,195 mi or 6,750 km), 50 mi (80 km) longer than the Nile, and it also has the largest river basin in the world: 7,050,000 square km (2/3 of Europe or double of the sum for Mississippi and Nile).

The second river is Congo and the third by debit is Ganges.

The largest river delta in the world is that formed by the Ganges and Brahmaputra (Bangladesh and northeastern India): 7,800,000 hectares.

The longest river estuary is that of Obi (Siberia): 450 mi (720 km).

The largest lake in the world is the Caspian Sea: 424,800 square km and 975 m maximum depth.

The deepest lake in the world is Baikal (Siberia): 1,620 m. It has 23,000 cubic km of water, and harbors 1,200 animal species and 700 plant species.

The largest gulf in the world is the Gulf of Mexico: 615,000 square mi (1.6 million square km).

The shortest known river is D.River, in Oregon, that enters into the Pacific after just 132 m (440 ft).

The highest waterfall in the world is the Angel Falls (Venezuela): 979 m (3,212 ft) tall.

The biggest geyser in the world is “Old Faithful” from Yellowstone National Park (Wyomong, US): its water column is 30-54 m (100-180 ft) tall and erupts from 21 to 65 minutes.

The saltiest ocean is the Atlantic: 3.5 % salts, and amongst the seas, the record is detained by the Red Sea : 4 %.

The warmest seawater is that of the Persian Gulf: 35 degrees C, followed by the Red Sea: 32 degrees C.

The coldest seawater is that of the Ross and Weddell seas (Antarctica).

The strongest marine current is the Gulf Stream: it carries 82 million cubic meters of water per second.

The widest strait is the Yucatan Channel between Yucatan peninsula (Mexico) and Cuba: 220 km (360 mi).

It is also the deepest: 2,000 m (6,660 ft).

The longest strait is the Straits of Malacca, between Sumatra Island and Malacca peninsula: 805 km (500 mi) long.

The narrowest intercontinental strait is Bosporus (between Europe and Asia): 700-750 m wide (0.5 mi) and 80 km (50 mi) long.

The narrowest navigable strait in the world is Khalkis (Aegean Sea), between the Balkan peninsula and Eubea island: 40 m (133 ft).

The largest fjord in the world is Northwestern, located in ...eastern Greenland: 313 km (195 mi) long.