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Amazon to Bump Nile as Longest River?
18-Jun-2007
Written by: Jess Boettger
Brazilian researchers claims different origin point for South American juggernaut.
The Nile River’s claim to the title of longest river in the world may be usurped by South America’s Amazon River according to National Geographic writer John Roach. BBC News reports that new research from Brazil claims that the Amazon actually surpasses the Nile by a good 65 miles. The website Mongabay.com quotes the Director of science Guido Gelli, of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, as announcing that a research team has traced the Amazon’s origins to Mismi, a snow-covered peak in the south of Peru. Until now, a more northern point has been listed as the Amazon’s origins, placing it behind the Nile in length, which measures some 4,157 miles in Africa.
The debate over the earth’s longest rivers is an ongoing one, with the start of these giants being exceedingly difficult to pinpoint. The Amazon’s accepted length at present is some 3,959 miles. The Nile has only ever surpassed its South American counterpart in length, falling far short of the volume of water carried by the mighty Amazon. The Amazon’s volume exceeds the combined efforts of the next largest eight rivers in the world.
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