‘Where on Earth?: Rivers’ (I)
‘Where on Earth?: Rivers’ by Susie Brooks
1. Rivers need plenty of water, and a slope to rush or trickle down. All rivers have a mouth. It’s where they flow out into a lake or the sea. They also have a basin — — that’s all the surrounding land that drains into them.
2. The Congo in Africa is the world’s deepest river — — it’s a 230m swim to the bottom in some parts.
3. Finding the source of the Nile baffled explorers for centuries. The river has two main channels — — the Blue Nile and the White Nile. It’s the White Nile that gives its record-breaking length (6670km). The White Nile flows from a huge African lake — — Lake Victoria.
4. Around 160 million people depend on the Nile for their water supply and to irrigate crops. In Egypt, at least 95% of the population lives close to the river.
5. Angel Falls in Venezuela is so tall that in hot weather the water turns to mist before reaching the bottom. At 979m, it’s nearly 20 times higher than Niagara (52m) and taller than three Eiffel Towers.
6. The Amazon narrowly misses being the world’s longest river, but it takes first prize for holding the most water. A fifth of all river water on the planet rushes along it — — more than the next five biggest rivers combined.
7. The Amazon flows across South America, from mountains in Peru to the Atlantic Ocean. Together they drain an area more than twice the size of India. Most of the water they collect comes from the Amazon forest. In the rainy season, the river rises by up to 20m and floods vast stretches of forest. At its widest, the channel can swell from 10km to 48km across.
8. When rivers reach the sea, they have nowhere else to put stuff. Sometimes, the tide sweeps sediment away, otherwise it builds up to form a delta.
9. The Ganges delta in India and Bangladesh is the largest in the world. Covering about 100000 sq.km, it’s almost as big as Iceland.
Source: https://rehs.com/Guy_Carleton_Wiggins_A_Winter_Night_in_New_York.html
Source: https://www.artrenewal.org/artworks/winters-day-fifth-avenue/guy-carleton-wiggins/9208
