Which river is the second longest in the world and the largest by volume of water flow?

The Amazon river in South America is generally regarded as the second longest river in the world, at about 6,400 km, after the Nile. It is by far the largest river in the world by volume of water discharged.

Volume of water:

• The Amazon discharges an average of about 2,00,000 cubic metres of water per second into the Atlantic Ocean.
• This is more than the next several largest rivers combined, and roughly one-fifth of all river water that flows into the world's oceans.
• Its fresh water pushes far out into the ocean, lowering the salinity of the sea for many kilometres from its mouth.

The basin:

• The Amazon basin is the largest drainage basin in the world, covering about 7 million square kilometres, nearly 40 per cent of South America.
• It is covered mostly by the Amazon rainforest, the largest tropical rainforest on Earth, sometimes called the "lungs of the planet".
• The basin is shared by several countries, with the largest part in Brazil.

Course:

• The Amazon rises high in the Andes Mountains of Peru.
• It flows east across the continent, near the Equator, and enters the Atlantic Ocean in northern Brazil, near the city of Belem.

Manaus, in the heart of the rainforest, stands near the meeting of the Rio Negro and the main river (called the Solimoes there). At the "Meeting of Waters", the dark Rio Negro and the sandy-coloured Solimoes flow side by side without mixing for several kilometres.

It has more than 1,000 tributaries; the Madeira is the longest.

Other features:

• A tidal bore called the "pororoca" travels up the river from the Atlantic.
• Wildlife includes the pink river dolphin, piranhas, anacondas, the arapaima and the giant otter.

Why not the other options?

• ✗The Nile is the longest river, but its volume is much smaller.
• ✗The Congo is the second largest by volume and the deepest river in the world.
• ✗The Mississippi is the longest river system of North America.