List of drainage basins by area

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 km^2	Basin Area mi^2	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]
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
Chad Basin	Endorheic basin	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]
Lake Chad (New Conventional Basin)	Lake	Africa	n/a (endorheic basin)	1,035,000	400,000	[11]
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	[12]
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	[13]
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	[14]
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
Sistan Basin	Endorheic basin	Asia	n/a (endorheic basin)	370,000	140,000	[15]
Uruguay River	Tributary River	South America	Río de la Plata	365,000	141,000
Northern Dvina River	Primary River	Europe	White Sea	357,052	137,859
Parnaíba River	Primary River	South America	Atlantic Ocean	344,112	132,862
Salween River	Primary River	Asia	Indian Ocean	324,000	125,000
Pechora River	Primary River	Europe	Arctic Ocean	322,000	124,000
Hai River	Primary River	Asia	Pacific Ocean	318,200	122,900
Godavari River	Primary River	Asia	Indian Ocean	312,812	120,777
Colorado River (Argentina)	Primary River	South America	Atlantic Ocean	294,076	113,543	[16]
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
Krishna River	Primary River	Asia	Indian Ocean	258,948	99,980
Magdalena River	Primary River	South America	Atlantic Ocean	257,438	99,397
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
Liao River	Primary River	Asia	Pacific Ocean	232,200	89,700
Ural River	Primary River	Asia/Europe	Caspian Sea	231,000	89,000
Ogooué River	Primary River	Africa	Atlantic Ocean	223,856	86,431
Kura River	Primary River	Asia	Caspian Sea	198,300	76,600
Vistula	Primary River	Europe	Baltic Sea	194,424	75,068
Rhine	Primary River	Europe	North Sea	185,000	71,000
Pyasina River	Primary River	Asia	Pyasina Gulf	182,000	70,000
Rufiji River	Primary River	Africa	Indian Ocean	177,429	68,506
Cuvelai River-Etosha Pan Basin	Endorheic basin	Africa	n/a (endorheic basin)	166,649	64,344	[17]
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
Shalkarteniz/Turgai River	Endorheic basin	Asia	n/a (endorheic basin)	157,000	61,000
Ruvuma River	Primary River	Africa	Indian Ocean	155,500	60,000
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
Cuanza River	Primary River	Africa	Atlantic Ocean	146,000	56,000	[18]
Red River	Primary River	Asia	Pacific Ocean	143,700	55,500
Fitzroy River (Queensland)	Primary River	Australia	Pacific Ocean	142,665	55,083
Sanaga River	Primary River	Africa	Atlantic Ocean	140,000	54,000	[19]
Santiago-Lerma basin	Primary River	North America	Pacific Ocean	136,628	52,752
Albany River	Primary River	North America	Hudson Bay	135,200	52,200
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
Burdekin River	Primary River	Australia	Pacific Ocean	129,700	50,100
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
Brazos River	Primary River	North America	Gulf of Mexico	116,000	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
Flinders River	Primary River	Australia	Gulf of Carpentaria	109,000	42,000
Moose River (Ontario)	Primary River	North America	Hudson Bay	108,500	41,900
Hayes River	Primary River	North America	Hudson Bay	108,000	42,000
Cunene River	Primary River	Africa	Atlantic Ocean	106,560	41,140
Save River	Primary River	Africa	Indian Ocean	106,420	41,090
Balsas River	Primary River	North America	Pacific Ocean	105,900	40,900
Colorado River (Texas)	Primary River	North America	Gulf of Mexico	103,300	39,900
Severn River (northern Ontario)	Primary River	North America	Hudson Bay	102,800	39,700
Río Negro (Argentina)	Primary River	South America	Atlantic Ocean	102,000	39,000
Kapuas River	Primary River	Borneo	South China Sea	98,749	38,127
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

• List of rivers by discharge
• List of rivers by length

Notes

1. Archived 15 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
2. This is an approximate value based on geospatial data from the USGS. 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. 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. 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. Raúl A. Guerrero; et al. (June 1997). "Physical oceanography of the Río de la Plata Estuary, Argentina". Continental Shelf Research 17 (7): 727–742. doi:10.1016/S0278-4343(96)00061-1.
7. Arnold, Guy (2000). World strategic highways. Taylor & Francis. p. 223. ISBN 978-1-57958-098-8. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
8. "Map of the Lake Eyre basin". Environment.gov.au. 2011-02-18. Retrieved 2011-04-10.
9. "Canada Drainage Basins". The National Atlas of Canada, 5th edition. Natural Resources Canada. 1985. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
10. http://www.feow.org/ecoregions/details/yenisei
11. http://www.worldlakes.org/lakedetails.asp?lakeid=8357
12. "Encyclopædia Britannica". Britannica.com. Retrieved 2011-04-10.
13. http://www.somwe.com/hydropolitics.html
14. "Boundary Descriptions and Names of Regions, Subregions, Accounting Units and Cataloging Units". USGS.gov. Retrieved 2010-12-21. 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.
15. "Restoration and Sustainable Use of the Shared Sistan Basin" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. February 2005. Retrieved 2016-03-18.
16. River Ecosystem Ecology: A Global Perspective, Gene E. Likens, Academic Press, March 29, 2010, page 359
17. https://aquapedia.waterdiplomacy.org/wiki/index.php?title=Cuvelai_River-Etosha_Pan_Basin
18. http://www.feow.org/ecoregions/details/cuanza
19. https://www.internationalrivers.org/files/attached-files/irbm_sanaga.pdf

External links

• Lake database