Main rivers of Asia with map

The main rivers of Asia are:

• Yangtze: It is 6,300 km long and passes through China.
• Ganges: It is 2,500 km long and passes through India and Bangladesh.
• Amur: It is 2,824 km long and passes through Russia and China
• Euphrates: It is 2,800 km long and passes through Turkey, Syria and Iraq
• Obi: It is 3,650 km long and passes through Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China.
• Brahmaputra: It is 2,900 km long and passes through India and China

Here we explain more about its main characteristics and history.

The Yangtze is not only one of the most important rivers in Asia, it is also one of the largest in the world. For length it is only surpassed by the Nile and the Amazon, which makes it the longest river on its continent. With its 6,300 km in length, its waters flow only through the People’s Republic of Chino. In turn, it discharges 31,900 m³ / s, draining an immense basin of about 1,800,000 km², that is, larger than countries such as Mongolia, Libya or Iran.

The Yangtze River originates in Qunghai, located on the Tibetan plateau and flows eastward through numerous provinces and autonomous cities of the People’s Republic to flow into the East China Sea in Shanghai. So much is the area covered by this river that supports 40% of China’s water consumption and 70% of consumption for rice production.

The Three Gorges Dam, one of those along its route, is the largest in the world. Also in this river is the largest hydroelectric power station on the planet. Most of its route is navigable, in fact, even Wuhan can navigate transatlantic ships.

The Ganges is one of the most famous rivers in the world, as well as one of the largest in the Indian subcontinent. Its source is in the Himalayas, in its 2,500 km it flows through northern India, crosses the Ganges plain and flows into Bangladesh in what is the world’s largest delta in the Bay of Bengal.

But its importance in the region is not only understood from a physical point of view. Despite the fact that its fertile basin, of more than 900,000 km², is one of the densest in the world and some of the main imperial capitals of antiquity have settled there, much of the importance of the Ganges River for the entire region has to do with the sacred conception that is had of him.

The Ganges is considered sacred by the Hindu religion as it is considered to be the goddess Ganga. In fact, much of the pollution problems and unhealthy waters come from this fact. As a sacred river, as tradition dictates, the Ganges has been the place where the remains of burned human corpses and dead animals are dumped. It is not uncommon to find remains of people floating in its waters, to which must be added the uncontrolled discharges of wastewater from factories and homes.

The Euphrates River is one of the most important in the history of mankind, since the Sumerian civilization was born on its shores as well as the center of the Assyrian and Babylonian empires, in fact, in the Bible it is known as “The river”, something that gives us an idea of ​​the importance of the Euphrates in the world ancient. In addition, this river was the natural barrier that delimited the borders of the Roman and Egyptian empires from the regions controlled by the Persian Empire.

Despite being 2,780 km long, crossing Turkey, Syria and IraqIts flow is not very abundant compared to the size of its basin, of about 765,000 km². This is due to the fact that almost entirely it runs through very arid or desert lands, which causes its waters to be used to the maximum. This fact causes a great controversy among the countries to which the Euphrates supplies, as Iraq lives in a perpetual fear that not enough water will reach it.

The Obi River is one of the longest watercourses in Asia and the entire world. However, there is some controversy and diversity of opinion regarding its overall length. By itself it is considered that it has 3,650 km, however, if we add the Irtysh river, its main tributary, it reaches 5,410.

Its immense basin of 3 million km² runs mostly by Russian territory, but it also passes through Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia until it empties into the Kara Sea. As we have said before, if we add the Irtysh River, its main tributary, the Obi River is one of the most important river arteries on the planet. Its waters offer communication by boat on a seasonal basis in a place where, in recent decades, the industrial fabric has grown strongly. In fact, it is the main hydrocarbon source from Russia, an activity that is threatening its rich natural environment due to pollution.

In an area near the border between the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China is the Amur River, one of the largest in Asia. its birth occurs in Manchuria and after crossing 2,824 km it ends in Tartaria with a large estuary. Its basin covers an area of ​​about 2 million km2 in which they serve as a supply method for food and cultivation. In addition, historically it has been a way of communicating since its waterway became a gateway to the Pacific.

The source of the Brahmaputra River is located in the Kubigangri glacier of the Himalayas. From there it runs through Chinese territory through Tibet and, after traveling about 2,900 km, it empties into the Gulf of Bengal, like the Ganges, in what is the largest delta in the world. With the Ganges it also shares the fact that it is considered sacred by the Hindu religion. In turn, its passage through tropical regions make the valley of this river one of the most biodiverse areas on the planet.

Something curious about this river, its passage through Tibet, of just over 1,200 km, is that it is the highest river navigation axis in the world. In fact, almost its entire course is navigable, while the areas that are not due to their shallow depth are considered sacred. The locals’ relationship with the river is ambivalent, on the one hand, its water is a source of fertility, but on the other, it causes great floods every spring, when the Himalayan snows melt.

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