major rivers
Significant continental arteries
Major rivers are the largest and most significant rivers in a region or the world—those with substantial length, drainage area, or cultural importance.
The phrase appears most often in geography education and environmental contexts: Students should be able to locate the major rivers of Africa on a map.
What counts as major depends on the scale being discussed.
- civilizationsComplex organized human societies
- AmazonGreek warrior women
- drainage basinsAreas draining to one point
- floodplainsLow areas rivers inundate
- wetlandsWater-saturated terrain
cradle of civilization · monsoon floods · Nile · Mississippi · Mekong · shipping lanes · Ganges · Congo · biodiversity hotspots · oxbow lakes · Yangtze · religious rituals · trade routes · watersheds · folklore · irrigation canals · fisheries · deltas