List_of_drainage_basins

List of drainage basins by area

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The list of drainage basins by area identifies basins (also known as "catchments" or, in North American usage, "watersheds"), sorted by area, which drain to oceans, mediterranean seas, rivers, lakes and other water bodies. All basins larger than 400,000 km² (150,000 sq mi) are included as well as selected smaller basins. It includes drainage basins which do not flow to the ocean (endorheic basins). It includes oceanic sea drainage basins which have hydrologically coherent areas (oceanic seas are set by IHO convention).

Major continental divides, showing drainage into the major oceans and seas of the world--Drainage basins of the principal oceans and seas of the world. Grey areas are endorheic basins that do not drain to the ocean.

The oceans drain approximately 83% of the land in the world. The other 17% – an area larger than the basin of the Arctic Ocean – drains to internal endorheic basins. There are also substantial areas of the world that do not "drain" in the commonly understood sense. In polar deserts, much of the snowfall sublimates directly into the air and does not melt into flowing water, while in tropical deserts precipitation may evaporate before joining any substantial water course. These areas can still be included in topographically defined basins the hypothetical flow of water (or ice), and thus nutrients or pollutants, over the surface of the ground (or ice sheet) is considered. For example, the Antarctic ice sheet can be divided into basins,^[1] and most of Libya is included in the Mediterranean Sea basin even though almost no water from the interior actually reaches the sea.

Basins

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Basin	Type	Continent	Drains to	Basin area		Notes
Basin	Type	Continent	Drains to	km²	mi²	Notes
Atlantic Ocean	Ocean	Multiple	n/a	69,800,000	26,900,000	^{[Note 1]} ^[2]
Arctic Ocean	Ocean	Multiple	n/a	23,100,000	8,900,000	^{[Note 1]}
Pacific Ocean	Ocean	Multiple	n/a	20,300,000	7,800,000	^{[Note 1]} ^[2]
Indian Ocean	Ocean	Multiple	n/a	19,400,000	7,500,000	^{[Note 1]}
Southern Ocean	Ocean	Antarctica	n/a	14,000,000	5,400,000	^{[Note 1]}^{[Note 2]}
Mediterranean-Black Sea system	Mediterranean sea	Multiple	Atlantic Ocean ^{[Note 3]}	7,770,000	3,000,000	^[3]
Amazon River	Primary river	South America	Atlantic Ocean	6,200,000	2,400,000	^[4]
Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea	Mediterranean sea	Multiple	Atlantic Ocean ^{[Note 3]}	6,200,000	2,400,000	^{[Note 1]}
Mediterranean Sea	Mediterranean sea	Multiple	Atlantic Ocean ^{[Note 3]}	5,340,000	2,060,000	^[3]
Hudson Bay drainage basin	Mediterranean sea	North America	Atlantic Ocean	3,861,400	1,490,900
Congo River	Primary river	Africa	Atlantic Ocean	3,730,881	1,440,501	^[4]
Caspian Sea	Lake	Asia/Europe	n/a (endorheic basin)	3,626,000	1,400,000
Nile River	Primary river	Africa	Mediterranean Sea	3,254,853	1,256,706	^[4]
Mississippi-Missouri River	Primary river	North America	Gulf of Mexico	3,202,185	1,236,371	^[4]
Bay of Bengal	Bay	Asia	Indian Ocean	3,200,000	1,200,000
Río de la Plata	Estuary	South America	Atlantic Ocean	3,170,000	1,220,000	^[5]
Ob River	Primary river	Asia	Arctic Ocean	2,982,493	1,151,547	^[4]
Paraná River	Tributary river	South America	Río de la Plata	2,582,704	997,188	^[4]
Yenisei River	Primary river	Asia	Arctic Ocean	2,554,388	986,255	^[4]
Chad Basin	Endorheic basin	Africa	n/a (endorheic basin)	2,497,738	964,382	^[4]
Lena River	Primary river	Asia	Arctic Ocean	2,306,743	890,638	^[4]
Black Sea	Mediterranean sea	Asia/Europe	Mediterranean Sea ^{[Note 3]}	2,430,000	940,000	^[3]
Niger River	Primary river	Africa	Atlantic Ocean	2,261,741	873,263	^[4]
Ganges–Brahmaputra	Primary river	Asia	Bay of Bengal	1,999,000	772,000	^[6]
Amur River	Primary river	Asia	Pacific Ocean	1,929,955	745,160	^[4]
Mackenzie River	Primary river	North America	Beaufort Sea	1,805,200	697,000	^[7]
Yangtze River (Chang Jiang)	Primary river	Asia	Pacific Ocean	1,722,193	664,942	^[4]
Baltic Sea	Mediterranean sea	Europe	Atlantic Ocean ^{[Note 3]}	1,700,000	660,000	^{[Note 1]}
Irtysh River	Tributary river	Asia	Ob River	1,673,470	646,130
Aral Sea	Lake	Asia	n/a (endorheic basin)	1,618,750	625,000
Madeira River	Tributary river	South America	Amazon River	1,485,218	573,446
Volga River	Primary river	Europe	Caspian Sea	1,410,951	544,771	^[4]
Persian Gulf	Mediterranean sea	Asia	Indian Ocean ^{[Note 3]}	1,400,000	540,000	^{[Note 1]}
St. Lawrence Estuary	Estuary	North America	Gulf of Saint Lawrence	1,344,200	519,000	^[4]^[7]
Zambezi River	Primary river	Africa	Indian Ocean	1,332,574	514,510	^[8]
Missouri River	Tributary river	North America	Mississippi River	1,331,810	514,210
Lake Eyre Basin	Lake	Australia	n/a (endorheic basin)	1,210,000	470,000	^[9]
Ganges River	Primary river	Asia	Bay of Bengal	1,200,000	463,322	^[4]
Paraguay River	Tributary river	South America	Paraná River	1,095,000	423,000
Indus River	Primary river	Asia	Arabian Sea	1,081,718	417,654	^[4]
Nelson River	Primary river	North America	Hudson Bay	1,072,300	414,000	^[10]
Murray-Darling basin	Primary river	Australia	Southern Ocean	1,050,116	405,452	^[4]
St. Lawrence River	Primary river	North America	Atlantic Ocean	1,049,636	405,267	^[4]
Angara River	Tributary river	Asia	Yenisei River	1,039,000	401,000	^[11]
Lake Chad (New Conventional Basin)	Lake	Africa	n/a (endorheic basin)	1,035,000	400,000	^[12]
Lake Winnipeg	Lake	North America	Nelson River	982,900	379,500	^[10]
Great Slave Lake	Lake	North America	Mackenzie River	976,200	376,900
Orinoco River	Primary river	South America	Atlantic Ocean	953,675	368,216	^[4]
Orange River	Primary river	Africa	Atlantic Ocean	941,351	363,458	^[4]
Kasai River	Tributary river	Africa	Congo River	925,172	357,211
Shatt al-Arab (Tigris, Euphrates & Karun)	Primary river	Asia	Persian Gulf	916,200	353,700	^[13]
Tarim Basin	Endorheic basin	Asia	n/a (endorheic basin)	906,500	350,000	^[14]
North Sea	Mediterranean sea	Europe	Atlantic Ocean	850,000	330,000
Yukon River	Primary river	North America	Bering Sea	839,200	324,000	^[7]
Yellow River	Primary river	Asia	Pacific Ocean	832,238	321,329	^[15]^{[Note 4]}
Mekong River	Primary river	Asia	Pacific Ocean	805,604	311,045	^[4]
Jubba-Shebelle basin	Primary river	Africa	Indian Ocean	805,100	310,900	^[16]
Great Lakes	Lake	North America	St. Lawrence River	800,114	308,926
Danube River	Primary river	Europe	Black Sea	795,656	307,204	^[4]
Syr Darya	Primary river	Asia	Aral Sea	782,617	302,170	^[4]
Tocantins River	Primary river	South America	Atlantic Ocean	764,213	295,064	^[4]
Ubangi River	Tributary river	Africa	Congo River	754,830	291,440
Aldan River	Tributary river	Asia	Lena River	729,000	281,000
Kalahari Basin/Okavango Basin	Endorheic basin	Africa	n/a (endorheic basin)	721,258	278,479	^[4]^[17]
Rio Negro	Tributary river	South America	Amazon River	720,114	278,038
Kolyma River	Primary river	Asia	Arctic Ocean	679,934	262,524	^[4]
Columbia River	Primary river	North America	Pacific Ocean	671,300	259,200	^[7]
Brahmaputra River	Tributary river	Asia	Ganges River	651,335	251,482	^[4]
Colorado River	Primary river	North America	Gulf of California	637,137	246,000
Mamoré River	Tributary river	South America	Madeira River	630,835	243,567	^[18]
Red Sea	Mediterranean sea	Africa/Asia	Indian Ocean ^{[Note 3]}	620,000	240,000	^{[Note 1]}
São Francisco River	Primary river	South America	Atlantic Ocean	617,812	238,539
Slave River	Tributary river	North America	Great Slave Lake	616,400	238,000	^[7]
Rio Grande	Primary river	North America	Gulf of Mexico	607,934	234,725	^[4]
Lake Baikal	Lake	Asia	Angara River	571,000	220,000
Songhua River	Tributary river	Asia	Amur River	554,575	214,123	^[19]
Chari River	Primary river	Africa	Lake Chad	548,747	211,872
Amu Darya	Primary river	Asia	Aral Sea	534,739	206,464	^[4]
Euphrates	Tributary river	Asia	Shatt al-Arab	532,300	205,500	^[20]
Xingu River	Tributary river	South America	Amazon River	520,292	200,886
Bahr el Ghazal River	Tributary river	Africa	Nile	520,000	200,000
Lake Balkhash	Lake	Asia	n/a (endorheic basin)	512,015	197,690	^[4]
Dnieper River	Primary river	Europe	Black Sea	511,650	197,550	^[21] ^{[Note 5]}
Kama River	Tributary river	Europe	Volga River	507,000	196,000
Jubba River	Primary river	Africa	Indian Ocean	497,626	192,134	^[4] ^{[Note 6]}
Great Basin	Endorheic basin	North America	n/a (endorheic basin)	492,000	190,000	^[22]^{[Note 7]}
Ohio River	Tributary river	North America	Mississippi River	490,603	189,423
Lower Tunguska River	Tributary river	Asia	Yenisei river	473,000	183,000
Vilyuy River	Tributary river	Asia	Lena River	454,000	175,000
Pearl River	Primary river	Asia	Pacific Ocean	453,700	175,200
Tapajós River	Tributary river	South America	Amazon River	453,510	175,100	^[23]
Selenga River	Tributary river	Asia	Lake Baikal	445,245	171,910
Don River	Primary river	Europe	Black Sea	443,729	171,325	^[24] ^{[Note 8]}
Arkansas River	Tributary river	North America	Mississippi River	435,122	168,002
Tobol River	Tributary river	Asia	Irtysh River	426,000	164,000
Limpopo River	Primary river	Africa	Indian Ocean	421,123	162,596	^[4]
Senegal River	Primary river	Africa	Atlantic Ocean	419,575	161,999	^[4]
Irrawaddy River	Primary river	Asia	Indian Ocean	413,710	159,730	^[4]
Volta River	Primary river	Africa	Atlantic Ocean	407,093	157,179	^[4]
Colorado River (Argentina)	Primary river	South America	Atlantic Ocean	373,863	144,349	^[26] ^{[Note 9]}
Sistan Basin	Endorheic basin	Asia	n/a (endorheic basin)	370,000	140,000	^[28]
Molopo River	Tributary river	Africa	Orange River	367,201	141,777
Yamuna	Tributary river	Asia	Ganges	366,223	141,399
Uruguay River	Primary river	South America	Río de la Plata	365,000	141,000	^{[Note 10]}
Khatanga River	Primary river	Asia	Arctic Ocean	364,000	141,000
Marañón River	Tributary river	South America	Amazon River	363,286	140,266	^[29]
Guaporé River	Tributary river	South America	Mamoré River	360,534	139,203	^[18]
Indigirka River	Primary river	Asia	Arctic Ocean	360,400	139,200
Araguaia River	Tributary river	South America	Tocantins River	358,125	138,273
Northern Dvina	Primary river	Europe	White Sea	357,075	137,867	^[4]
Xi River	Tributary river	Asia	Pearl River	353,100	136,300
Purus River	Tributary river	South America	Amazon River	352,085	135,941	^[30]
Ucayali River	Tributary river	South America	Amazon River	337,519	130,317
Shebelle River	Tributary river	Africa	Jubba River	336,627	129,972
Saskatchewan River	Tributary river	North America	Lake Winnipeg	335,900	129,700	^[7]
Benue River	Tributary river	Africa	Niger River	335,035	129,358
Parnaíba River	Primary river	South America	Atlantic Ocean	331,643	128,048	^[31] ^{[Note 11]}
Blue Nile	Tributary river	Africa	Nile	325,000	125,000
Pechora River	Primary river	Europe	Arctic Ocean	322,000	124,000
Hai River	Primary river	Asia	Pacific Ocean	318,200	122,900
Godavari River	Primary river	Asia	Indian Ocean	314,829	121,556	^[33]
Peace River	Tributary river	North America	Slave River	306,000	118,000
Panjnad River (Chenab & Sutlej)	Tributary river	Asia	Indus River	300,000	120,000
Baker Lake/Chesterfield Inlet	Lake / estuary	North America	Hudson Bay	299,000	115,000	^[34]
Red River of the North	Tributary river	North America	Lake Winnipeg	287,500	111,000	^[7]
Churchill River (Hudson Bay)	Primary river	North America	Hudson Bay	281,300	108,600	^[7]
Neva River	Primary river	Europe	Baltic Sea	281,000	108,000
Taz Estuary	Estuary	Asia	Arctic Ocean	262,000	101,000
Snake River	Tributary river	North America	Columbia River	278,450	107,510
Liard River	Tributary river	North America	Mackenzie River	277,100	107,000	^[7]
Lake Athabasca-Rivière des Rochers	Lake	North America	Slave River	274,540	106,000
Salween River	Primary river	Asia	Indian Ocean	271,888	104,977	^[4]^{[Note 12]}
Lukuga River	Tributary river	Africa	Congo River	270,900	104,600
Luvua River	Tributary river	Africa	Congo River	265,300	102,400
Kwango River	Tributary river	Africa	Kasai River	263,400	101,700
Desaguadero River	Tributary river	South America	Colorado River or Endorheic	260,000	100,000
Mapimí-Salado basin	Endorheic basin	North America	n/a (endorheic basin)	260,000	100,000
Krishna River	Primary river	Asia	Indian Ocean	258,948	99,980
Magdalena River	Primary river	South America	Atlantic Ocean	257,438	99,397
Dongting Lake	Lake	Asia	Yangtze River	257,000	99,000	^[36]
Japurá/Caquetá River	Tributary river	South America	Amazon River	255,700	98,700
Nen River	Tributary river	Asia	Songhua River	252,100	97,300	^[37]
Oka River	Tributary river	Europe	Volga	245,000	95,000
Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta	Primary river	Europe	North Sea	240,000	93,000
Stony Tunguska River	Tributary river	Asia	Yenisei river	240,000	93,000
Beni River	Tributary river	South America	Madeira River	239,825	92,597	^[18]
Lake Victoria	Lake	Africa	Nile River	238,900	92,200
Yana River	Primary river	Asia	Arctic Ocean	238,000	92,000
Lake Tanganyika	Lake	Africa	Lukuga River	236,300	91,200
Sangha River	Tributary river	Africa	Congo River	233,740	90,250	^[38]
Fraser River	Primary river	North America	Pacific Ocean	233,100	90,000	^[7]
Zeya River	Tributary river	Asia	Amur River	233,000	90,000
Liao River	Primary river	Asia	Pacific Ocean	232,200	89,700
Ural River	Primary river	Asia/Europe	Caspian Sea	231,000	89,000
Juruá River	Tributary river	South America	Amazon River	225,828	87,193
Sobat River	Tributary river	Africa	Nile River	225,000	87,000
Vitim River	Tributary river	Asia	Lena River	225,000	87,000
Ogooué River	Primary river	Africa	Atlantic Ocean	223,856	86,431
Tigris River	Tributary river	Asia	Shatt al-Arab	221,400	85,500	^[39]
Platte River	Tributary river	North America	Missouri River	219,916	84,910
Olenyok River	Primary river	Asia	Arctic Ocean	219,000	85,000
Olyokma River	Tributary river	Asia	Lena River	210,000	81,000
Shilka River	Tributary river	Asia	Amur River	206,000	80,000
Rufiji River	Primary river	Africa	Indian Ocean	204,450	78,940	^[40]
Kura River	Primary river	Asia	Caspian Sea	198,300	76,600
Vaal River	Tributary river	Africa	Orange River	196,438	75,845
Vistula	Primary river	Europe	Baltic Sea	194,424	75,068
Ussuri River	Tributary river	Asia	Amur River	193,000	75,000
Juruena River	Tributary river	South America	Tapajos River	191,030	73,760	^[23]
Anadyr River	Primary river	Asia	Bering Sea	191,000	74,000
Branco River	Tributary river	South America	Rio Negro	189,925	73,330
Ishim River	Tributary river	Asia	Irtysh River	189,000	73,000
Rhine	Primary river	Europe	North Sea	185,300	71,500
Komadugu-Yobe River	Primary river	Africa	Lake Chad	183,009	70,660	^[41]
Assiniboine River	Tributary river	North America	Red River	182,000	70,000	^[7]
Pyasina River	Primary river	Asia	Pyasina Gulf	182,000	70,000
Yellowstone River	Tributary river	North America	Missouri River	181,000	70,000
Uyandina River	Tributary river	Asia	Indigirka River	176,000	68,000
Kotuy River	Tributary river	Asia	Khatanga River	176,000	68,000
Chenab River	Tributary river	Asia	Panjnad River	176,000	68,000	^[42]
Han River	Tributary river	Asia	Yangtze River	174,300	67,300
Huai River	Tributary river	Asia	Yangtze River	174,000	67,000
Tshuapa/Ruki River	Tributary river	Africa	Congo River	173,800	67,100
Maya River	Tributary river	Asia	Aldan River	171,000	66,000
Salado River (Buenos Aires)	Primary river	South America	Atlantic Ocean	170,000	66,000
Red River of the South	Tributary river	North America	Mississippi River	169,890	65,590
Red River	Primary river	Asia	Gulf of Tonkin	169,000	65,000	^[43]
Cuvelai River-Etosha Basin	Endorheic basin	Africa	n/a (endorheic basin)	166,649	64,344	^[44]
Chesapeake Bay	Estuary	North America	Atlantic Ocean	166,534	64,299
Helmand River	Primary river	Asia	Sistan Basin	166,000	64,000	^[28]
Argun / Hailar River	Tributary river	Asia	Amur River	164,000	63,000
Chao Phraya River	Primary river	Asia	Gulf of Thailand	160,400	61,900
Hulun Lake	Lake	Asia	Amur River / endorheic	160,335	61,906	^{[Note 13]}
Jialing River	Tributary river	Asia	Yangtze River	160,000	62,000
Luangwa River	Tributary river	Africa	Zambezi River	159,615	61,628	^[8]
Tisza River	Tributary river	Europe	Danube	157,186	60,690
Torgay/Turgai River	Primary river	Asia	n/a (endorheic basin)	157,000	61,000
Mbomou River	Tributary river	Africa	Ubangi River	156,950	60,600
Great Bear River	Tributary river	North America	Mackenzie River	156,500	60,400
Kafue River	Tributary river	Africa	Zambezi River	155,805	60,157	^[8]
Kansas River	Tributary river	North America	Missouri River	155,695	60,114
Ruvuma River	Primary river	Africa	Indian Ocean	155,500	60,000
Essequibo River	Primary river	South America	Atlantic Ocean	154,186	59,532
Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta	Primary river	North America	San Francisco Bay	153,000	59,000
Ruo Shui	Primary river	Asia	Endorheic basin	152,606	58,922	^[45]
Sankuru River	Tributary river	Africa	Kasai River	151,112	58,345	^[46]
Atbarah River	Tributary river	Africa	Nile	150,000	58,000	^{[Note 14]}
Taz River	Primary river	Asia	Taz Estuary	150,000	58,000
Tietê River	Tributary river	South America	Paraná River	150,000	58,000
Cuanza River	Primary river	Africa	Atlantic Ocean	149,688	57,795	^[4]
Shire River (Lake Malawi)	Tributary river	Africa	Zambezi River	149,159	57,591	^[8]
Elbe	Primary river	Europe	North Sea	148,268	57,247
Putumayo River	Tributary river	South America	Amazon River	148,000	57,000
Bani River	Tributary river	Africa	Niger River	146,570	56,590	^[47]
Ottawa River	Tributary river	North America	St. Lawrence River	146,300	56,500	^[7]
South Saskatchewan River	Tributary river	North America	Saskatchewan River	146,100	56,400	^[7]
Lake Titicaca-Desaguadero River-Lake Poopó System	Endorheic basin	South America	n/a (endorheic basin)	144,590	55,830	^[48]
Chambal River	Tributary river	Asia	Yamuna River	143,219	55,297
Rio Grande (Paraná River)	Tributary river	South America	Paraná River	143,000	55,000
Fitzroy River (Queensland)	Primary river	Australia	Pacific Ocean	142,665	55,083
Thelon River	Primary river	North America	Baker Lake	142,400	55,000	^[7]
Belaya River	Tributary river	Europe	Kama River	142,000	55,000
Iriri River	Tributary river	South America	Xingu River	141,745	54,728	^[49]
Teles Pires River	Tributary river	South America	Tapajos River	141,620	54,680	^[23]
Mahanadi River	Primary river	Asia	Indian Ocean	141,600	54,700
Ili River	Primary river	Asia	Lake Balkhash	140,000	54,000
Sanaga River	Primary river	Africa	Atlantic Ocean	140,000	54,000	^[50]
Min River (Sichuan)	Tributary river	Asia	Yangtze River	140,000	54,000
Guaviare River	Tributary river	South America	Orinoco River	138,447	53,455	^[51]
Santiago-Lerma basin	Primary river	North America	Pacific Ocean	136,628	52,752
Apure River	Tributary river	South America	Orinoco River	136,152	52,569	^[52]
Winnipeg River	Tributary river	North America	Lake Winnipeg	135,800	52,400	^[7]
Albany River	Primary river	North America	Hudson Bay	135,200	52,200	^[7]
Wei River	Tributary river	Asia	Yellow River	135,000	52,000
Grijalva-Usumacinta basin	Primary river	North America	Gulf of Mexico	134,400	51,900
Chulym River	Tributary river	Asia	Ob River	134,000	52,000
Lukenie River	Tributary river	Africa	Congo River	133,432	51,518	^[53]
Koksoak River	Primary river	North America	Ungava Bay	133,400	51,500	^[7]
Orkhon River	Tributary river	Asia	Selenga River	132,835	51,288
Uele River	Tributary river	Africa	Ubangi River	131,856	50,910	^[54]
Tambo-Ene-Apurímac River	Tributary river	South America	Ucayali River	131,460	50,760	^[55]
Lake Turkana	Lake	Africa	n/a (endorheic basin)	130,860	50,530
Aripuanã River	Tributary river	South America	Madeira River	130,340	50,320	^[18]
Malagarasi River	Tributary river	Africa	Lake Tanganyika	130,000	50,000
Mar Chiquita	Endorheic basin	South America	n/a (endorheic basin)	129,715	50,083	^[56]
Burdekin River	Primary river	Australia	Pacific Ocean	129,700	50,100
Vyatka River	Tributary river	Europe	Kama River	129,000	50,000
Yalong River	Tributary river	Asia	Yangtze River	128,444	49,593
Taseyeva River	Tributary river	Asia	Angara River	128,000	49,000
Ghaghara / Karnali River	Tributary river	Asia	Ganges River	127,950	49,400
Trombetas River	Tributary river	South America	Amazon River	127,643	49,283	^[57]
Tana River (Kenya)	Primary river	Africa	Indian Ocean	126,026	48,659
Madre de Dios River	Tributary river	South America	Beni River	125,287	48,374	^[18]
Green River	Tributary river	North America	Colorado River	124,578	48,100
Kuskokwim River	Primary river	North America	Bering Sea	124,319	48,000
Salado River (Argentina)	Tributary river	South America	Paraná River	124,199	47,954
Taymyr River	Primary river	Asia	Kara Sea	124,000	48,000
Canadian River	Tributary river	North America	Arkansas River	123,221	47,576
Aruwimi River	Tributary river	Africa	Congo River	122,853	47,434	^[58]
North Saskatchewan River	Tributary river	North America	Saskatchewan River	122,800	47,400	^[7]
Prypiat River	Tributary river	Europe	Dnieper	121,840	47,040
Vychegda River	Tributary river	Europe	Northern Dvina	121,000	47,000
Mun River	Tributary river	Asia	Mekong River	119,180	46,020
Oder	Primary river	Europe	Baltic Sea	118,861	45,892
Porcupine River	Tributary river	North America	Yukon River	117,900	45,500	^[7]
Loire	Primary river	Europe	Atlantic Ocean	117,000	45,000
Lomami River	Tributary river	Africa	Congo River	116,209	44,869	^[59]
Brazos River	Primary river	North America	Gulf of Mexico	116,000	45,000
Awash Basin	Endorheic basin	Africa	n/a (endorheic basin)	116,000	45,000
Mobile River	Primary river	North America	Gulf of Mexico	115,000	44,000
Pecos River	Tributary river	North America	Rio Grande	115,000	44,000
Pilcomayo River	Tributary river	South America	Paraguay River	114,402	44,171	^[60]
Sutlej River	Tributary river	Asia	Indus River	114,343	44,148	^[61]
Panj River	Tributary river	Asia	Amu Darya River	114,000	44,000
Tanana River	Tributary river	North America	Yukon River	114,000	44,000
Kwando/Chobe River	Tributary river	Africa	Zambezi River	113,393	43,781	^[8]
Omolon River	Tributary river	Asia	Kolyma River	113,000	44,000
Uchur River	Tributary river	Asia	Aldan River	113,000	44,000
Balsas River	Primary river	North America	Pacific Ocean	112,320	43,370
Pur River	Primary river	Asia	Taz Estuary	112,000	43,000
Awash River	Primary river	Africa	Lake Abbe (endorheic)	110,000	42,000
Pranhita River	Tributary river	Asia	Godavari River	109,078	42,115
Flinders River	Primary river	Australia	Gulf of Carpentaria	109,000	42,000
Moose River (Ontario)	Primary river	North America	Hudson Bay	108,500	41,900	^[7]
Hayes River	Primary river	North America	Hudson Bay	108,000	42,000	^[7]
Anyuy River (Sakha)	Tributary river	Asia	Kolyma River	107,000	41,000
Bermejo River	Tributary river	South America	Paraguay River	106,924	41,284	^[60]
Cunene River	Primary river	Africa	Atlantic Ocean	106,560	41,140
Back River	Primary river	North America	Arctic Ocean	106,500	41,100	^[7]
Save River	Primary river	Africa	Indian Ocean	106,420	41,090
Tennessee River	Tributary river	North America	Ohio River	105,868	40,876
Aras River	Tributary river	Asia	Kura River	104,785	40,458
Bahr Aouk River	Tributary river	Africa	Chari River	103,577	39,991	^[62]
Wabash River	Tributary river	North America	Ohio River	103,500	40,000
Colorado River (Texas)	Primary river	North America	Gulf of Mexico	103,300	39,900
Severn River (northern Ontario)	Primary river	North America	Hudson Bay	102,800	39,700	^[7]
Chindwin River	Tributary river	Asia	Irrawaddy River	102,783	39,685	^[63]
Napo River	Tributary river	South America	Amazon River	102,190	39,460	^[64]
Río Negro (Argentina)	Primary river	South America	Atlantic Ocean	102,000	39,000
Logone River	Tributary river	Africa	Chari River	101,481	39,182	^[65]
Anabar River	Primary river	Asia	Arctic Ocean	100,000	39,000
Barito River (Borneo)	Primary river	Asia	Java Sea	100,000	39,000
Kheta River	Tributary river	Asia	Khatanga River	100,000	39,000
Markha River	Tributary river	Asia	Vilyuy River	99,900	38,600
Donets	Tributary river	Europe	Don River	98,900	38,200
Narmada River	Primary river	Asia	Arabian Sea	98,800	38,100
Kapuas River (Borneo)	Primary river	Asia	South China Sea	98,749	38,127
Rhône	Primary river	Europe	Mediterranean Sea	98,556	38,053
Bandama River	Primary river	Africa	Atlantic Ocean	98,500	38,000
Northern Sosva River	Tributary river	Asia	Ob River	98,300	38,000
Neman River	Primary river	Europe	Baltic Sea	97,864	37,786
La Grande River	Primary river	North America	James Bay	97,600	37,700
Douro / Duero	Primary river	Europe	Atlantic Ocean	97,502	37,646
Xiang River	Tributary river	Asia	Lake Dongting	96,400	37,200
Onon River	Tributary river	Asia	Shilka River	96,200	37,100
Sava River	Tributary river	Europe	Danube	95,419	36,841
Athabasca River	Tributary river	North America	Lake Athabasca	95,300	36,800
Brahmani River	Primary river	Asia	Indian Ocean	39,033	15,071
Penobscot River	Primary river	North America	Atlantic Ocean	22,200	8,600	^[66]

Notes

[N 1]
This is an approximate value based on geospatial data from the USGS. Approximate values for the area of Greenland and Antarctica were added to this data.
[N 2]
The value listed here assumes that the entire continent drains to the ocean, such as through the many ice streams, outlet glaciers, and seasonal glacial streams along the coast. However, there are many small endorheic lakes, for example in the McMurdo Dry Valleys.
[N 3]
Note that the connection between a mediterranean sea (or a large estuary) and its parent ocean usually involves simultaneous inflow and outflow in the lower and upper water layers of the connecting channel. Depending on the salinity of the sea, the upper layer may either flow into or out from the ocean; the bottom layer will flow the opposite direction.
[N 4]
Estimates for the Yellow River basin range from ca. 752,000 km2 (Chinese, English, French, German etc. wikipedia articles, none sourced) to 944,970 km2.^[4]
[N 5]
Estimates for the Dnieper basin range from 504,000 km2 (most wikipedia pages) to 533,966 km2^[4]
[N 6]
Excluding the Shebelle tributary river basin.
[N 7]
The Great Basin is a set of endorheic drainage basins, the largest being the 35,910 km² (13,860 sq mi) basin that drains into the Great Salt Lake.
[N 8]
Official estimates for the Don basin range from 422,000 km2^[25] to 458,694 km2.^[4]
[N 9]
Estimates for the Colorado basin range from 294,076 km2^[27] to 403,005 km2.^[4]
[N 10]
365,000 km2 is almost always quoted, though the area is only ca 351,000 km2 according to River Networks. Estimates as low as 297,211 km2^[4] may perhaps exclude the Rio Negro tributary basin.
[N 11]
Estimates range from 322,887 km2,^[4] and 331,565 km2^[27] to 344,112 km2^[32]
[N 12]
Rivers Network calculated an area of 266,354 km2.^[35] Often-mentioned areas of ca 324,000 km2 are clearly too high.
[N 13]
Combined drainage area of Kherlen River (103709 km2) & Orxon Rivers (56626 km2) . "In years with high precipitation, the normally exit−less endorheic lake may overflow at its northern shore."
[N 14]
Very rough estimate. Upper river's drainage area, including the Tekezé river is 120,430 km2 , lower drainage area is probably not as much as 69,572 km2 , as that includes much surrounding dessert.

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[appx-2] [N 1]
This is an approximate value based on geospatial data from the USGS. Approximate values for the area of Greenland and Antarctica were added to this data.

[ant-4] [N 2]
The value listed here assumes that the entire continent drains to the ocean, such as through the many ice streams, outlet glaciers, and seasonal glacial streams along the coast. However, there are many small endorheic lakes, for example in the McMurdo Dry Valleys.

[drain-5] [N 3]
Note that the connection between a mediterranean sea (or a large estuary) and its parent ocean usually involves simultaneous inflow and outflow in the lower and upper water layers of the connecting channel. Depending on the salinity of the sea, the upper layer may either flow into or out from the ocean; the bottom layer will flow the opposite direction.

[19] [N 4]
Estimates for the Yellow River basin range from ca. 752,000 km2 (Chinese, English, French, German etc. wikipedia articles, none sourced) to 944,970 km2.^[4]

[26] [N 5]
Estimates for the Dnieper basin range from 504,000 km2 (most wikipedia pages) to 533,966 km2^[4]

[27] [N 6]
Excluding the Shebelle tributary river basin.

[29] [N 7]
The Great Basin is a set of endorheic drainage basins, the largest being the 35,910 km² (13,860 sq mi) basin that drains into the Great Salt Lake.

[33] [N 8]
Official estimates for the Don basin range from 422,000 km2^[25] to 458,694 km2.^[4]

[36] [N 9]
Estimates for the Colorado basin range from 294,076 km2^[27] to 403,005 km2.^[4]

[38] [N 10]
365,000 km2 is almost always quoted, though the area is only ca 351,000 km2 according to River Networks. Estimates as low as 297,211 km2^[4] may perhaps exclude the Rio Negro tributary basin.

[43] [N 11]
Estimates range from 322,887 km2,^[4] and 331,565 km2^[27] to 344,112 km2^[32]

[47] [N 12]
Rivers Network calculated an area of 266,354 km2.^[35] Often-mentioned areas of ca 324,000 km2 are clearly too high.

[57] [N 13]
Combined drainage area of Kherlen River (103709 km2) & Orxon Rivers (56626 km2) . "In years with high precipitation, the normally exit−less endorheic lake may overflow at its northern shore."

[60] [N 14]
Very rough estimate. Upper river's drainage area, including the Tekezé river is 120,430 km2 , lower drainage area is probably not as much as 69,572 km2 , as that includes much surrounding dessert.

[1] [1]
"Background". Archived from the original on 15 July 2007.

[Atlantic-3] [2]
"Largest Drainage Basins In The World". WorldAtlas. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2021.

[CD-6] [3]
García-García, D. (2022). "Hydrological cycle of the Mediterranean-Black Sea system". Climate Dynamics. 59 (7–8): 1919–1938. Bibcode:2022ClDy...59.1919G. doi:10.1007/s00382-022-06188-2. hdl:10045/121760. S2CID 238770852. In the continents, the drainage basins discharging into the Mediterranean and Black seas are defined according to the global continental runoff pathways scheme (Oki and Sud 1998), and they cover 5.34 × 10⁶ and 2.43 × 10⁶ km², respectively

[wotw-7] [4]
"Watersheds of the World 2005" (PDF). Water Resources eAtlas. Retrieved 14 September 2017.

[Guerrero97-8] [5]
Raúl A. Guerrero; et al. (June 1997). "Physical oceanography of the Río de la Plata Estuary, Argentina". Continental Shelf Research. 17 (7): 727–742. Bibcode:1997CSR....17..727G. doi:10.1016/S0278-4343(96)00061-1.

[Arnold2000-9] [6]
Arnold, Guy (2000). World strategic highways. Taylor & Francis. p. 223. ISBN 978-1-57958-098-8.

[Canada_Atlas-10] [7]
"Rivers". The Atlas of Canada. Natural Resources Canada. Archived from the original on 2 February 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2011.

[zamb-11] [8]
The Zambezi River Basin, page 6.

[12] [9]
"Map of the Lake Eyre basin". Environment.gov.au. 18 February 2011. Archived from the original on 20 February 2009. Retrieved 10 April 2011.

[natl-atlas-canada-13] [10]
"Canada Drainage Basins". The National Atlas of Canada, 5th edition. Natural Resources Canada. 1985. Retrieved 24 November 2010.

[feow-14] [11]
"Freshwater Ecoregions of the World". feow.org. Archived from the original on 18 October 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2016.

[worldlakes-15] [12]
"LakeNet - Lakes". worldlakes.org. Retrieved 15 June 2016.

[16] [13]
Tigris Euphrates basin area at Rivers Network

[17] [14]
"Encyclopædia Britannica". Britannica.com. Retrieved 10 April 2011.

[18] [15]
Huang He Delta watershed at Rivers Network.

[somwe-20] [16]
"Hydropolitics in the Horn of Africa". somwe.com. Retrieved 15 June 2016.

[Ashton_and_Neal-21] [17]
Ashton, Peter; Neal, Marian (2003). "An Overview of Key Strategic Issues in the Okavango Basin". Transboundary Rivers, Sovereignty and Development: Hydropolitical Drivers in the Okavango River Basin. African Water Issues Research Unit. pp. 31–63. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.468.8632. ISBN 0-620-30497-9.

[madeira-22] [18]
Madeira river basin at Rivers Network.

[23] [19]
Amur river basin at Rivers Network

[24] [20]
Lower, Middle and Upper Euphrates river basin at Rivers Network

[25] [21]
Dnieper river : Watersheds map at Rivers Network.

[28] [22]
"Boundary Descriptions and Names of Regions, Subregions, Accounting Units and Cataloging Units". USGS.gov. Retrieved 21 December 2010.

[tapajos-30] [23]
Tapajos basin at Rivers Network.

[31] [24]
Don River watershed at Rivers Network.

[32] [25]
Don River at the State water register of the Russian Federation

[34] [26]
Colorado watershed at Rivers Network.

[auto-35] [27]
River Ecosystem Ecology: A Global Perspective, Gene E. Likens, Academic Press, 29 March 2010, page 359

[sistan-37] [28]
"Restoration and Sustainable Use of the Shared Sistan Basin" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. February 2005. Retrieved 18 March 2016.

[39] [29]
Maraõn basin at River Networks

[40] [30]
Rio Purus basin at Rivers Network

[41] [31]
Parnaiba Basin at Rivers Network.

[42] [32]
Ramos, Ramos, & Ramos (2014). Ichthyofauna of the Parnaíba river Basin, Northeastern Brazil. Biota Neotrop. 14(1).

[44] [33]
Goodavari River watersheds map at Rivers Network.

[45] [34]
Baker Basin at UNH/Global Runoff Data Centre

[46] [35]
Upper Salween at Rivers Network.

[48] [36]
Xi-jun Lai; Zi-ming Wang (October 2017). "Flood management of Dongting Lake after operation of Three Gorges Dam". Water Science and Engineering. 10 (4).

[49] [37]
Amur river basin at Rivers Network.

[50] [38]
Sangha Basin at Rivers Network.

[51] [39]
Lower, Middle and Upper Tigris river basin at Rivers Network

[52] [40]
Rufiji river basin at Rivers Network.

[53] [41]
Hadedja - Jama'are - Komadugu Basin at Rivers Network

[54] [42]
Chenab river basin at Rivers Network.

[55] [43]
Red River Basin page at redriverprogram.com

[waterdiplomacy-56] [44]
"Cuvelai River-Etosha Pan Basin - AquaPedia Case Study Database". aquapedia.waterdiplomacy.org. Retrieved 15 June 2016.

[58] [45]
Li, Xin (2018). "Hydrological Cycle in the Heihe River Basin and Its Implication for Water Resource Management in Endorheic Basins". Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 123 (2): 890–914. Bibcode:2018JGRD..123..890L. doi:10.1002/2017JD027889. S2CID 133846912.

[59] [46]
Sankuru basin at Rivers Network.

[61] [47]
Niger watershed maps at river networks. The often quoted 101,600 km2 is the basin upstream of Douna.

[62] [48]
Canedo, Claudia; Pillco Zolá, Ramiro; Berndtsson, Ronny (12 April 2016). "Role of Hydrological Studies for the Development of the TDPS System". Water. 8 (4): 144. doi:10.3390/w8040144.

[63] [49]
Rio Xingu watershed map at Rivers Network.

[64] [50]
"Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[65] [51]
Guaviare river basin at Rivers Network

[66] [52]
Apure river basin at Rivers Network

[67] [53]
Lukenie Basin at Rivers Network.

[68] [54]
Uele Basin at Rivers Network.

[69] [55]
Ucayali river basin at Rivers Network

[70] [56]
Mar Chiquita Watershed at riversnetwork.org

[71] [57]
Lower Amazon watershed at Rivers Network

[72] [58]
Aruwimi Basin at Rivers Network.

[73] [59]
Lomami Basin at Rivers Network.

[parag-74] [60]
Rio Paraguay watersheds map at Rivers Network.

[75] [61]
Sutlej river basin at Rivers Network.

[76] [62]
"Chari - Golongosso". www.grdc.sr.unh.edu.

[77] [63]
"Chindwin river : Watershed map".

[78] [64]
"rio Napo : Watersheds map".

[79] [65]
Chari-Logone riveers watershed mapes at rivers networks.

[80] [66]
"Penobscot River Watershed". NOAA.

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List_of_drainage_basins

List of drainage basins by area

Basins

See also

Notes

References

External links

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