One question, several references
How can we compare river lengths?
Nile, Amazon, Rhône, Loire and Sorgue: distinguish course length, direct distance and source conventions.
Try it in the explorer →Follow the course rather than drawing a straight line
A river’s length follows a course. Direct distance between a source and a mouth follows neither the meanders nor the same conventions; it answers a different question.
Choose a source and a mouth
A river system may have several branches. The selected branch, measured route and mouth boundary can change the result. That is why a length needs its convention and source.
Read the maps and their bars
The explorer’s maps follow sourced geographic courses, simplified and sometimes partial. Only the independent bars compare documented lengths at the same scale. River widths, banks and textures are illustrative; the map’s total width does not measure the river’s length.
Avoid a misleading record
The rounded Nile and Amazon values allow reference comparisons. They are not enough to settle a universal record independently of the methods used.
This journey’s references
Sources and method
Dimensions and conventions are those of the fact sheets linked above. Illustrations remain interpretations. Providing a documentary source does not independently certify every catalogue value.