Rivers, Peaks & Deserts

The Nile has long been credited as the world's longest river, flowing north across northeastern Africa.

The Amazon discharges more water than any other river on Earth as it crosses South America.

The Yangtze is Asia's longest river and hosts the Three Gorges Dam along its course through China.

The Mississippi River system drains a huge swath of the central United States into the Gulf of Mexico.

The Ganges is considered sacred in Hinduism and feeds a vast delta shared by India and Bangladesh.

The Danube crosses more countries than any other river as it winds through Central and Eastern Europe.

The Volga is Europe's longest river and empties into the Caspian Sea rather than an ocean.

The Congo River crosses the equator twice on its path through Central Africa toward the Atlantic.

The Murray River is Australia's longest and marks part of the boundary between two states.

The Alps cross eight European countries and feed the headwaters of rivers including the Rhine and the Rhône.

Mount Everest's summit stands higher above sea level than any other point on Earth, in the Himalayas.

Kilimanjaro rises as a dormant volcano in Tanzania, Africa's tallest peak despite its near-equatorial location.

Denali is North America's highest summit. Alaska retains that name; the US federal government restored Mount McKinley in 2025.

Mont Blanc is the highest summit in the Alps and has drawn climbers since the eighteenth century.

The Matterhorn's sharp, near-symmetrical pyramid shape makes it one of the most recognized peaks on Earth.

Aconcagua rises in the Argentine Andes as the tallest mountain anywhere in the Americas.

Mount Fuji is an active volcano near Tokyo that stands as Japan's tallest and most recognized peak.

The Rocky Mountains stretch from Canada into the American Southwest, forming the Continental Divide.

The Ural Mountains form the conventional dividing line between the continents of Europe and Asia.

The Rhine links Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands as one of Europe's busiest shipping routes.

The Zambezi crosses southern Africa and plunges over Victoria Falls along its course.

The Mekong flows through six countries and supports one of the world's largest freshwater fisheries.

K2 stands just below Everest in height but is widely regarded as far harder and more dangerous to climb.

The Andes run the length of western South America and hold some of the planet's tallest volcanoes.

The Sahara spans most of North Africa and ranks as the largest hot desert on Earth.

The Gobi Desert stretches across northern China and Mongolia and swings between harsh summer heat and bitter winter cold.

The Atacama Desert in Chile is regarded as one of the driest nonpolar places on the planet.

The Arabian Desert covers most of the peninsula and contains the vast sand sea known as the Rub' al Khali.

The Kalahari spans a wide stretch of Southern Africa and has long been home to the San people.

The Mojave Desert in the southwestern United States contains Death Valley, famed for extreme heat.

The Sonoran Desert supports the saguaro cactus and receives more rainfall than most other deserts.

The Namib Desert lines the Namibian coast and is prized for some of the tallest sand dunes on Earth.

The Thar Desert spans the India-Pakistan border and supports a far denser population than most deserts.