List of drainage basins by area

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The list of drainage basins by area identifies basins (also known as watersheds or catchments), 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).

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.

Note that there are substantial areas of the world that do not "drain" in the commonly understood sense. In Arctic deserts much of the snowfall sublimates directly into the air and does not melt into flowing water, while in equatorial deserts precipitation may evaporate before joining any substantial water course. However, these areas can still be included in topographically defined basins if one considers the hypothetical flow of water (or ice), and thus nutrients or pollutants, over the surface of the ground (or ice sheet); this is the approach taken here. 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.

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.

Basins

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Continent color key
Africa Asia Europe North America Australia South America Antarctica
Basin Type Continent Drains to Basin Area
km2		 Basin Area
mi2		 Notes
Atlantic Ocean Ocean multiple n/a 69,800,000 26,900,000 [2]
Arctic Ocean Ocean multiple n/a 23,100,000 8,900,000 [2]
Pacific Ocean Ocean multiple n/a 20,300,000 7,800,000 [2]
Indian Ocean Ocean multiple n/a 19,400,000 7,500,000 [2]
Southern Ocean Ocean Antarctica n/a 14,000,000 5,400,000 [2][3]
(European) Mediterranean Sea Mediterranean sea multiple Atlantic Ocean[4] 8,500,000 3,300,000 [2]
Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea Mediterranean sea multiple Atlantic Ocean[4] 6,200,000 2,400,000 [2]
Amazon River Primary River South America Atlantic Ocean 6,144,727 2,372,492
Hudson Bay drainage basin Mediterranean sea North America Atlantic Ocean 3,861,400 1,490,900
Congo River Primary River Africa Atlantic Ocean 3,730,474 1,440,344
Caspian Sea Lake Asia/Europe n/a (endorheic basin) 3,626,000 1,400,000
Nile River Primary River Africa Mediterranean Sea 3,254,555 1,256,591
Mississippi-Missouri River Primary River North America Gulf of Mexico 3,202,230 1,236,390 [5]
Río de la Plata Primary River South America Atlantic Ocean 3,170,000 1,220,000 [6]
Ob River Primary River Asia Arctic Ocean 2,972,497 1,147,688
Paraná River Tributary River South America Río de la Plata 2,582,672 997,175
Yenisei River Primary River Asia Arctic Ocean 2,554,482 986,291
Lake Chad Lake Africa n/a (endorheic basin) 2,497,918 964,452
Black Sea Mediterranean sea multiple Mediterranean Sea[4] 2,400,000 930,000 [2]
Lena River Primary River Asia Arctic Ocean 2,306,772 890,650
Niger River Primary River Africa Atlantic Ocean 2,261,763 873,272
Amur River Primary River Asia Pacific Ocean 1,929,981 745,170
Mackenzie River Primary River North America Arctic Ocean 1,743,058 672,998
Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) Primary River Asia Pacific Ocean 1,722,155 664,928
Baltic Sea Mediterranean sea Europe Atlantic Ocean[4] 1,700,000 660,000 [2]
Irtysh River Tributary River Asia Ob River 1,673,470 646,130
Ganges–Brahmaputra Primary River Asia Bay of Bengal 1,621,000 626,000 [7]
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 1,410,994 544,788
Persian Gulf Mediterranean sea Asia Indian Ocean[4] 1,400,000 540,000 [2]
Zambezi River Primary River Africa Indian Ocean 1,332,574 514,510
Missouri River Tributary River North America Mississippi River 1,331,810 514,210 [5]
Lake Eyre Basin Lake Australia n/a (endorheic basin) 1,200,000 460,000 [8]
Paraguay River Tributary River South America Paraná River 1,168,540 451,180
Indus River Primary River Asia Arabian Sea 1,081,733 417,659
Nelson River Primary River North America Hudson Bay 1,072,300 414,000 [9]
Murray-Darling basin Primary River Australia Southern Ocean 1,072,000 414,000
St. Lawrence River Primary River North America Atlantic Ocean 1,049,621 405,261
Angara River Tributary River Asia Yenisei River 1,039,000 401,000 [10]
Ganges River Primary River Asia Indian Ocean 1,016,104 392,320
Lake Winnipeg Lake North America Nelson River 982,900 379,500 [9]
Great Slave Lake Lake North America Mackenzie River 976,200 376,900
Orinoco River Primary River South America Atlantic Ocean 953,598 368,186
Huang He (Yellow River) Primary River Asia Pacific Ocean 945,065 364,892
Orange River Primary River Africa Atlantic Ocean 941,421 363,485
Kasai River Tributary River Africa Congo River 925,172 357,211
Tarim Basin Endorheic basin Asia n/a (endorheic basin) 906,500 350,000 [11]
North Sea Mediterranean sea Europe Atlantic Ocean 850,000 330,000
Yukon River Primary River North America Bering Sea 847,642 327,276
Mekong River Primary River Asia Pacific Ocean 805,627 311,054
Jubba-Shebelle basin Primary River Africa Indian Ocean 805,100 310,900 [12]
Great Lakes Lake North America St. Lawrence River 800,114 308,926
Danube River Primary River Europe Black Sea 795,686 307,216
Syr Darya Primary River Asia Aral Sea 782,669 302,190
Tigris-Euphrates Rivers Primary River Asia Persian Gulf 765,831 295,689
Tocantins River Primary River South America Atlantic Ocean 764,183 295,053
Okavango River/Okavango Delta Primary River Africa n/a (endorheic basin) 721,277 278,487
Rio Negro Tributary River South America Amazon River 720,114 278,038
Colorado River Primary River North America Gulf of California 703,132 271,481
Kolyma River Primary River Asia Arctic Ocean 679,908 262,514
Columbia River Primary River North America Pacific Ocean 657,490 253,860
Brahmaputra River Primary River Asia Indian Ocean 651,334 251,481
Red Sea Mediterranean sea multiple Indian Ocean[4] 620,000 240,000 [2]
São Francisco River Primary River South America Atlantic Ocean 617,812 238,539
Ubangi River Tributary River Africa Congo River 613,202 236,759
Rio Grande Primary River North America Gulf of Mexico 608,023 234,759
Lake Baikal Lake Asia Angara River 571,000 220,000
Chari River Primary River Africa Lake Chad 548,747 211,872
Amu Darya Primary River Asia Aral Sea 534,764 206,474
Dnieper River Primary River Europe Black Sea 531,817 205,336
Xingu River Tributary River South America Amazon River 520,292 200,886
Lake Balkhash Lake Asia n/a (endorheic basin) 512,010 197,690
Viljuj River Tributary River Asia Lena River 507,874 196,091
Kama River Tributary River Europe Volga River 507,000 196,000
Jubba River Primary River Africa Indian Ocean 497,655 192,146
Great Basin Endorheic basin North America n/a (endorheic basin) 492,000 190,000 [13]
Ohio River Tributary River North America Mississippi River 490,603 189,423
Tapajos River Tributary River South America Amazon River 486,792 187,951
Songhua River Tributary River Asia Amur River 459,745 177,509
Arkansas River Tributary River North America Mississippi River 435,122 168,002
Saskatchewan River Tributary River North America Lake Winnipeg 435,000 168,000
Tobol River Tributary River Asia Irtysh River 426,000 164,000
Don River Primary River Europe Black Sea 425,600 164,300
Limpopo River Primary River Africa Indian Ocean 421,168 162,614
Senegal River Primary River Africa Atlantic Ocean 419,659 162,031
Ayeyarwady River Primary River Asia Indian Ocean 413,674 159,720
Pearl River Primary River Asia Pacific Ocean 409,458 158,093
Volta River Primary River Africa Atlantic Ocean 407,093 157,179
Northern Dvina River Primary River Europe White Sea 357,052 137,859
Parnaíba River Primary River South America Atlantic Ocean 344,112 132,862
Pechora River Primary River Europe Arctic Ocean 322,000 124,000
Churchill River (Hudson Bay) Primary River North America Hudson Bay 281,300 108,600
Neva River Primary River Europe Baltic Sea 281,000 108,000
Mapimí-Salado basin Endorheic basin North America n/a (endorheic basin) 260,000 100,000
Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta Primary River Europe North Sea 240,000 93,000
Fraser River Primary River North America Pacific Ocean 233,100 90,000
Colorado River (Argentina) Primary River South America Atlantic Ocean 294,076 113,543 [14]
Kura River Primary River Asia Caspian Sea 198,300 76,600
Vistula Primary River Europe Baltic Sea 194,424 75,068
Santiago-Lerma basin Primary River North America Pacific Ocean 192,000 74,000
Rhine Primary River Europe North Sea 185,000 71,000
Pyasina River Primary River Asia Pyasina Gulf 182,000 70,000
Chesapeake Bay Mediterranean sea North America Atlantic Ocean 166,534 64,299
Chao Phraya River Primary River Asia Gulf of Thailand 160,400 61,900
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
Taz River Primary River Asia Taz Estuary 150,000 58,000
Elbe Primary River Europe North Sea 148,268 57,247
Grijalva-Usumacinta basin Primary River North America Gulf of Mexico 134,400 51,900
Lake Turkana Lake Africa n/a (endorheic basin) 130,860 50,530
Mar Chiquita Lake (Córdoba) Endorheic basin South America n/a (endorheic basin) 127,000 49,000
Oder Primary River Europe Baltic Sea 118,861 45,892
Loire Primary River Europe Atlantic Ocean 117,000 45,000
Mobile River Primary River North America Mobile Bay 115,000 44,000
Pur River Primary River Asia Taz Estuary 112,000 43,000
Balsas River Primary River North America Pacific Ocean 105,900 40,900
Pánuco River Primary River North America Gulf of Mexico 84,956 32,802
Yaqui River Primary River North America Gulf of California 74,532 28,777
Susquehanna River Primary River North America Chesapeake Bay 71,200 27,500
Dead Sea Lake Asia n/a (endorheic basin) 41,650 16,080
Klamath River Primary River North America Pacific Ocean 40,632 15,688
Trinity River (Texas) Primary River North America Gulf of Mexico 40,380 15,590
Potomac River Primary River North America Atlantic Ocean 38,000 15,000
Hudson River Primary River North America Atlantic Ocean 36,260 14,000
Han River (Korea) Primary River Asia Yellow Sea 35,770 13,810
Wadi as-Sirhan Endorheic basin Asia n/a (endorheic basin) 35,500 13,700
Connecticut River Primary River North America Atlantic Ocean 29,137 11,250
James River Primary River North America Atlantic Ocean 27,019 10,432
San Pedro Mezquital River Primary River North America Pacific Ocean 26,480 10,220
Tone River Primary River Asia Pacific Ocean 16,840 6,500
River Thames Primary River Europe North Sea 12,935 4,994

See also

Notes

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External links

  1. ↑ [2] Archived 15 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 This is an approximate value based on geospatial data from the USGS.[3] Approximate values for the area of Greenland and Antarctica were added to this data.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 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.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Mississippi is not the longest watercourse in the Mississippi-Missouri watershed; the combination of the Lower Mississippi and the Missouri is longer. The Upper Mississippi River could thus be seen as a tributary of that river. See list of rivers by length for more details.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ http://www.feow.org/ecoregions/details/yenisei
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ http://www.somwe.com/hydropolitics.html
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. NOTE: 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.
  14. ↑ River Ecosystem Ecology: A Global Perspective, Gene E. Likens, Academic Press, March 29, 2010, page 359
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