Which river is the longest in the world to flow entirely within the borders of a single country?
- The Mississippi River
- The Volga River
- The Yangtze River
- The Amazon River
Why C? And why not the others?
Correct answer: C. The Yangtze River
The Yangtze runs about 6,300 kilometers from the Tibetan Plateau to the East China Sea without ever crossing a national border, making it the longest single-country river on Earth as well as the longest river in Asia. The Mississippi, measured as its own main stem, flows entirely within the United States too, but at roughly 3,700 kilometers it is little more than half the Yangtze's length. The Volga is the genuine regional champion, the longest river confined to a single country in Europe, yet at about 3,530 kilometers it is dwarfed by its Asian counterpart. The Amazon is the trap for anyone thinking only of total length or water volume: despite being the largest river on Earth by discharge, it gathers tributaries across Peru, Colombia, and Brazil, so it fails the single-country test entirely regardless of its overall length.
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica: 'Yangtze River' (britannica.com/place/Yangtze-River)