List of largest unfragmented rivers

This is a list of the largest river basins without fragmentation by dams in their catchments, ordered by average annual discharge.

To qualify for inclusion, a river must not only have no dams on its “main” stem, but also no dams on any tributary. For this reason, major world rivers such as the Amazon, Lena, Irrawaddy, Amur, and Fraser are disqualified because of dams on tributary streams.

Many of the rivers in this list have uncertain discharges. With the exception of those in Russia, streamgauges have seldom (if ever) been placed on the majority of the largest unfragmented river systems, due to the remoteness and/or ruggedness of the terrain in which they are located. Apart from the Fly which is clearly the largest, all ranks listed here are not perfectly certain, and there also exist a number of rivers in Sundaland that might qualify with reliable discharge data, such as the Kapuas.[1]

Continent color key
Africa Asia Europe North America Oceania South America
Annual discharge color key
Over 100 cubic kilometres (24 cu mi) 75 to 100 cubic kilometres (18 to 24 cu mi) 50 to 75 cubic kilometres (12 to 18 cu mi) Less than 50 cubic kilometres (12 cu mi)
Rank River Basin countries Length of longest channel Drainage area Average discharge (m³/s) Average annual discharge Mouth Notes
1 Fly River Papua New Guinea
Indonesia		 1,050 kilometres (650 mi) 76,000 square kilometres (29,000 sq mi) 6,000 cubic metres per second (210,000 cu ft/s) 189 cubic kilometres (45 cu mi) Gulf of Papua Largest river with no dam in its catchment
2 Mamberamo River Indonesia 4,580 cubic metres per second (162,000 cu ft/s) 144.5 cubic kilometres (34.7 cu mi) Pacific Ocean Largest river in all of Indonesia
3 Pechora River Russia 1,809 kilometres (1,124 mi) 322,000 square kilometres (124,000 sq mi) 4,100 cubic metres per second (140,000 cu ft/s) 129 cubic kilometres (31 cu mi) Arctic Ocean Once the subject of a possible transfer of water into the Volga.
4 Sepik River Papua New Guinea
Indonesia		 1,126 kilometres (700 mi) 80,321 square kilometres (31,012 sq mi) 3,804 cubic metres per second (134,300 cu ft/s) 120 cubic kilometres (29 cu mi) Pacific Ocean Often regarded as largest completely pristine river system in the world
5 Kaladan River Burma
India		 350 kilometres (220 mi) 30,500 square kilometres (11,800 sq mi)[2] 3,476 cubic metres per second (122,800 cu ft/s) 110 cubic kilometres (26 cu mi) Bay of Bengal Discharge estimated in absence of streamgauges.
Dredging project by Indian and Myanmar governments.
6 Kikori River Papua New Guinea 320 kilometres (200 mi) 23,300 square kilometres (9,000 sq mi) 3,274 cubic metres per second (115,600 cu ft/s) 103 cubic kilometres (25 cu mi) Gulf of Papua
7 Khatanga River Russia (Krasnoyarsk Krai) 1,150 kilometres (710 mi) 364,000 square kilometres (141,000 sq mi) 3,200 cubic metres per second (110,000 cu ft/s) 101 cubic kilometres (24 cu mi) Arctic Ocean Most northerly large river system in the world, with northernmost tree line in basin.
8 Purari River Papua New Guinea 470 kilometres (290 mi) 33,670 square kilometres (13,000 sq mi) 2,571 cubic metres per second (90,800 cu ft/s) 81 cubic kilometres (19 cu mi) Gulf of Papua Hydroelectric dam proposed by Queensland government, so may need to be removed from list[3]
9 Atrato River Colombia 750 kilometres (470 mi) 38,600 square kilometres (14,900 sq mi) 2,274 cubic metres per second (80,300 cu ft/s) 71 cubic kilometres (17 cu mi) Pacific Ocean Some estimates place discharge much higher - possibly placing the Atrato second only to the Fly[4]
10 Pyasina River Russia (Krasnoyarsk Krai) 818 kilometres (508 mi) 182,000 square kilometres (70,000 sq mi) 2,260 cubic metres per second (80,000 cu ft/s) 71 cubic kilometres (17 cu mi) Arctic Ocean Norilsk, most northerly city over 100,000, located on main stem of river.
11 Essequibo River Guyana
Venezuela		 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)[5] 69,000 square kilometres (27,000 sq mi) 2,213 cubic metres per second (78,200 cu ft/s) 70 cubic kilometres (17 cu mi) Caribbean Sea Largest completely unfragmented river flowing into Atlantic.
12 Anadyr River Russia 1,150 kilometres (710 mi) 191,000 square kilometres (74,000 sq mi) 2,020 cubic metres per second (71,000 cu ft/s) 64 cubic kilometres (15 cu mi) Gulf of Anadyr
13 Kuskokwim River Alaska (United States) 1,165 kilometres (724 mi) 120,000 square kilometres (46,000 sq mi) 1,900 cubic metres per second (67,000 cu ft/s) 60 cubic kilometres (14 cu mi) Bering Sea Largest unfragmented river in North America.
Small dams exist on tributaries of Yukon, with which it shares a major delta.
14 Indigirka River Russia (Sakha) 1,726 kilometres (1,072 mi) 360,400 square kilometres (139,200 sq mi) 1,810 cubic metres per second (64,000 cu ft/s) 57 cubic kilometres (14 cu mi) Arctic Ocean Oymyakon, often thought of as the Northern Pole of Cold, located on main stem of river.
15 Great Tenasserim River Burma 300 kilometres (190 mi) 1,788 cubic metres per second (63,100 cu ft/s) 56 cubic kilometres (13 cu mi) Andaman Sea Discharge estimated in absence of streamgauges.
16 Copper River Alaska (United States) 460 kilometres (290 mi) 63,000 square kilometres (24,000 sq mi) 1,700 cubic metres per second (60,000 cu ft/s) 54 cubic kilometres (13 cu mi) Pacific Ocean
17 Laluai River Papua New Guinea (New Britain) 1,612 cubic metres per second (56,900 cu ft/s) 51 cubic kilometres (12 cu mi) Pacific Ocean Hydropower dams proposed at present,[6] so may not remain on list permanently
18 Stikine River Canada
Alaska (United States)		 539 kilometres (335 mi) 52,000 square kilometres (20,000 sq mi) 1,600 cubic metres per second (57,000 cu ft/s) 51 cubic kilometres (12 cu mi) Pacific Ocean
19 Taz River Russia 1,401 kilometres (871 mi) 150,000 square kilometres (58,000 sq mi) 1,540 cubic metres per second (54,000 cu ft/s) 49 cubic kilometres (12 cu mi) Kara Sea
20 Courantyne River Suriname
Guyana		 765 kilometres (475 mi) 69,000 square kilometres (27,000 sq mi) 1,500 cubic metres per second (53,000 cu ft/s) 47 cubic kilometres (11 cu mi) Atlantic Ocean
21 Susitna River Alaska (United States) 504 kilometres (313 mi) 63,400 square kilometres (24,500 sq mi) 1,400 cubic metres per second (49,000 cu ft/s) 44 cubic kilometres (11 cu mi) Pacific Ocean Hydropower dams proposed at present, so may not remain on list indefinitely[7]
22 Thelon River Canada (Nunavut) 900 kilometres (560 mi) 239,332 square kilometres (92,407 sq mi) 1,380 cubic metres per second (49,000 cu ft/s) 44 cubic kilometres (11 cu mi) Chesterfield Inlet
23 Chari River Chad
Cameroon
Central African Republic		 949 kilometres (590 mi) 548,747 square kilometres (211,872 sq mi) 1,200 cubic metres per second (42,000 cu ft/s) 38 cubic kilometres (9.1 cu mi) Lake Chad Only dryland river with discharge over 10 cubic kilometres (2.40 cu mi) not affected by dams.
24 Olenyok River Russia (Sakha) 2,270 kilometres (1,410 mi)[8] 219,300 square kilometres (84,700 sq mi)[8] 1,090 cubic metres per second (38,000 cu ft/s) 35 cubic kilometres (8.4 cu mi) Arctic Ocean
25 Kamchatka River Russia 758 kilometres (471 mi) 56,300 square kilometres (21,700 sq mi) 1,050 cubic metres per second (37,000 cu ft/s) 33 cubic kilometres (7.9 cu mi) Pacific Ocean

See also

References

  1. ↑ Watersheds of Asia and Oceania: AS 13 Kapuas
  2. ↑ Hooper, Bruce Peter; Integrated River Basin Governance: Learning from International Experiences; p. 286. ISBN 9781843390886
  3. ↑ PNG and Qld Governments support studies to progress a PNG renewable energy project for PNG and Qld
  4. ↑ Flooding Analysis at the Atrato River’s watershed in Colombia
  5. ↑ Rongxing Guo; Territorial Disputes and Resource Management: A Global Handbook; p. 109. ISBN 9781600214455
  6. ↑ Oxford Business Group; The Report: Papua New Guinea 2012
  7. ↑ Streamflow Record Extension for Selected Streams in the Susitna River Basin, Alaska
  8. 1 2 Freshwater Ecoregions - Lena
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