Australia is the smallest mainland the globe, which is located in the southern hemisphere. Australia's area with islands is less than 8 million square meters. km, population - about 23 million people.

The western and southern coasts of the mainland are washed by the Indian Ocean, the northern ones are the Timor and Arafur Seas of the Indian Ocean, the eastern ones are the Coral and Tasman seas of the Pacific Ocean. The extreme points of Australia: in the north - Cape York, in the west - Cape Steep Point, in the south - Cape Southeast, in the east - Cape Byron. The distance from the northernmost to the southernmost points of the mainland is 3200 km, from the western to the eastern - 4100 km. The Great Barrier Reef stretches parallel to the eastern coast for 2300 km.

The coast of the mainland is poorly indented. There are large bays of Great Australian in the south and Carpentaria in the north. Northern Australia has two of the largest peninsulas, Cape York and Arnhemland. This continent includes the adjacent islands - Tasmania, Melville, Kangaroo, etc.

The mainland lies on the ancient Australian plate, which merges into the East Australian fold belt. The average height of Australia is 215 m above sea level, and most of the mainland is occupied by plains and up to 95% of the territory is below 600 m. In the eastern part of the mainland along the coast, the Great Dividing Range stretches, which includes several flat-topped mountain systems. In the western part of the continent there is a plateau with a height of up to 500 m with mesas and ridges, in the central part there is a lowland with a large Lake Eyre. On the territory of the mainland there are deposits of minerals such as coal and brown coal, copper, iron ore, bauxite, titanium, polymetallic and uranium ores, diamonds, gold, natural gas, oil.

The main part of Australia's territory is located in the tropical climatic zone, the northern regions - in the equatorial zone (with a hot climate and frequent summer rains), the southern - in the subtropics (with a predominance of precipitation in winter). In the middle of the continent, 70% of the territory is dominated by a desert and semi-desert climate. The east coast has a hot tropical maritime climate with rainfall mostly in summer period... Average annual precipitation decreases from east to west.

Large river systems of the mainland - Murray, Darling, Flinders. A characteristic feature of Australia is the presence of screams - rivers that fill with water only after heavy rains.

On extensive interior spaces the mainland is the Great Gibson Desert, Victoria, the Great Sandy Desert, etc. Salt lakes can often be seen here. Around the deserts there is a belt of semi-deserts with bushes. In the northern, eastern and southeastern regions of the semi-desert are replaced by savannas. In the mountainous areas and along the coast, forests of palm trees, tree ferns and eucalyptus grow. Among the wild animals in Australia, there are large numbers of rabbits, pigs, and wild dogs. There are many marsupial forms among endemic animals (kangaroos, wombats, marsupial wolves, marsupial moles).

The entire territory of the mainland and the island of Tasmania is occupied by the country Australia. The state is divided into six states: Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania. The number of indigenous people is only 2% of the total population, the rest of the inhabitants are descendants of Europeans and Asians who colonized the mainland after its discovery in the 17th century. The high level of development of agriculture and mining industry brought the country to a leading position as a supplier of wheat, coal, gold, iron ore to the world market.

The mainland is a significant land mass, washed by seas and oceans. In tectonics, continents are characterized as areas of the lithosphere with a continental structure.

Mainland, continent or part of the world? What is the difference?

In geography, another term is often used for the mainland - the continent. But the concepts "mainland" and "continent" are not synonyms. IN different countries accepted different points of view on the number of continents, called continental models.

There are several such models:

• In China, India, as well as in the English-speaking countries of Europe, it is generally accepted that they consider the 7 continents - Europe and Asia separately;
• In Spanish-speaking European countries, as well as in South American countries, they mean division into 6 parts of the world - with a united America;
• in Greece and some countries of Eastern Europe, a model with 5 continents is adopted - only those where people live, i.e. except Antarctica;
• in Russia and the neighboring countries of Eurasia, they traditionally designate 4 - united in large groups, continents.

(The figure clearly shows different representations of continental models on Earth, from 7 to 4)

Continents

There are 6 continents in total on Earth. Let's list them in descending order by the size of the area:

1. - the largest continent on our planet (54.6 million sq. Km)
2. (30.3 million sq. Km)
3. (24.4 million sq. Km)
4. (17.8 million sq. Km)
5. (14.1 million sq. Km)
6. (7.7 million sq. Km)

They are all separated by the waters of the seas and oceans. Four continents have a land border: Eurasia and Africa are separated by the Isthmus of Suez, North and South America - by the Isthmus of Panama.

Continents

The difference is that the continents do not have a land border. Therefore, in this case, we can talk about 4 continents ( one of the continental models of the world), also in descending order of size:

1. AfroEurasia
2. America

Parts of the world

The terms "mainland" and "continent" have a scientific meaning, but the term "part of the world" divides the land on a historical and cultural basis. There are 6 parts of the world, only, unlike the continents, Eurasia differs by Europe and Asia, but North and South America are defined together as one part of the world America:

1. Europe
2. Asia
3. America (both North and South), or New World
4. Australia and Oceania

When talking about parts of the world, they mean the islands adjacent to them.

The difference between the mainland and the island

The definition of the mainland and the island is the same - a part of the land, washed by the waters of the ocean or seas. But there are significant differences.

1. Size... Even the smallest mainland, Australia, is significantly larger than the world's largest island, Greenland.

(Formation of the Earth's continents, a single continent of Pangea)

2. Education... All continents are of tiled origin. According to scientists, there was once a single continent - Pangea. Then, as a result of the split, 2 continents appeared - Gondwana and Laurasia, which later split into 6 more parts. The theory is confirmed by both geological surveys and the shape of the continents. Many of them can be put together like a jigsaw puzzle.

Islands are formed different ways... There are those that, like the continents, are located on the fragments of the oldest lithospheric plates. Others are formed from volcanic lava. Still others are due to the activity of polyps (coral islands).

3. Habitability... All continents are inhabited, even Antarctica, which is harsh in terms of climatic conditions. Many islands still remain uninhabited.

Characteristics of the continents

- the largest continent, occupying 1/3 of the land. There are two parts of the world at once: Europe and Asia. The border between them runs along the line of the Ural Mountains, the Black and Azov Seas, as well as the straits connecting the Black and Mediterranean Seas.

This is the only continent that is washed by all the oceans. The coastline is indented, it forms a large number of bays, peninsulas, islands. The mainland itself is located on six tectonic platforms at once, and therefore the relief of Eurasia is incredibly diverse.

Here are the most extensive plains, the highest mountains (Himalayas with Mount Everest), the deepest lake (Baikal). This is the only mainland where everyone is represented at once climatic zones (and, accordingly, all natural zones) - from the arctic with its permafrost to the equatorial with its sultry deserts and jungles.

¾ of the world's population lives on the mainland, 108 states are located here, of which 94 have the status of independent ones.

- the hottest continent on Earth. It is located on an ancient platform, so most of the area is occupied by plains, mountains are formed along the edges of the mainland. Africa is home to the longest river in the world, the Nile, and the largest desert, the Sahara. The types of climate represented on the mainland are: equatorial, subequatorial, tropical and subtropical.

Africa is usually divided into five regions: North, South, West, East and Central. There are 62 countries on the mainland.

It is washed by the waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic oceans. The result of the movement of tectonic plates has become a highly indented coastline of the continent, with a huge number of bays, straits, bays and islands. The largest island is in the north (Greenland).

The Cordillera Mountains stretch along the west coast, and the Appalachians along the east coast. The central part is occupied by a vast plain.

All climatic zones, except for the equatorial one, are represented here, which determines the diversity of natural zones. Most of the rivers and lakes are located in the northern part. The largest river is the Mississippi.

The indigenous population is Indians and Eskimos. Currently, 23 states are located here, of which only three (Canada, USA and Mexico) are on the mainland itself, the rest are on the islands.

It is washed by the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The longest mountain system in the world stretches along the west coast - the Andes, or the South American Cordilleras. The rest of the mainland is occupied by plateaus, plains and lowlands.

This is the rainiest continent, as most of it is located in the equator zone. Here is the largest and most abundant river in the world - the Amazon.

The indigenous population is Indians. Currently, there are 12 independent states on the mainland.

- the only continent on the territory of which only 1 state is located - the Australian Union. Most of the mainland is occupied by plains, mountains are located only along the coast.

Australia is a unique continent with the largest number of animals and plants - endemic. The indigenous population is the Australian aborigines, or Bushmen.

- the southernmost continent, completely covered with ice. The average thickness of the ice cover is 1600 meters, the largest is 4000 meters. If the ice in Antarctica melted, the sea level would immediately rise by 60 meters!

Most of the mainland is occupied by an icy desert, life glimmers only on the coasts. Antarctica is also the coldest continent. In winter, temperatures can drop below -80 ºC (record -89.2 ºC), in summer - down to -20 ºC.

Measuring the length of rivers - difficult task, which, however, has become very simplified since the advent of artificial satellites. But even with the help of images from space, it is not possible to determine the exact length of the river. Difficulties in identifying the beginning of a river can occur due to the large number of tributaries. Of all the tributaries, the one that begins at the farthest point from the mouth is considered the beginning of the river, giving the river a total total length, while the name of this tributary usually does not coincide with the name of the river. It can also be difficult to determine where the river ends because the mouth of a river is often an estuary that gradually widens and opens into the ocean.

Estuary (from Latin aestuarium - flooded mouth of a river) is a one-armed, funnel-shaped mouth of a river, expanding towards the sea. You can think of an estuary as a place where the sea is wedged into the mainland / island due to the washing out of rocks.

Seasonal changes also contribute to the complexity of calculating the total length of river systems. This list gives the lengths of river systems, that is, rivers taking into account their longest tributaries.

10. Congo - Lualaba - Louvois - Luapula - Chambeshi

Congo is a river in Central Africa that flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The length of the Congo - Lualaba - Louvua - Luapula - Chambeshi river system is 4,700 km (the length of the Congo is 4,374 km). It is the deepest and second longest river in Africa, the second largest river in the world after the Amazon.

The width of the river is on average 1.5-2 km, but in some places it reaches 25 km. The depth of the river reaches 230 m - this is the deepest river in the world.

The Congo is the only major river that crosses the equator twice.

9. Cupid - Argun - Turbid channel - Kerulen

Amur is a river in the Far East in East Asia... It flows through the territory of Russia and the border of Russia and China, flowing into the Sea of \u200b\u200bOkhotsk. The length of the Amur - Argun - Mutnaya Channel - Kerulen river system is 5052 km. Amur length - 2824 km

8. Lena - Vitim

Lena - a river in Russia, the largest river in eastern Siberia, flows into the Laptev Sea. The Lena - Vitim river system is 5100 km long. Lena's length is 4400 km. The river flows through the territory of the Irkutsk region and Yakutia, some of its tributaries belong to the Transbaikal, Krasnoyarsk, Khabarovsk territories, Buryatia and the Amur region. Lena is the largest of the Russian rivers, whose basin lies entirely within the country. It freezes in the reverse order of opening - from lower reaches to upper reaches.

7. Ob - Irtysh

Ob is a river in Western Siberia. Formed in Altai at the confluence of Biya and Katun. The length of the Ob is 3650 km. At the mouth it forms the Gulf of Ob and flows into the Kara Sea.

Irtysh is a river in China, Kazakhstan and Russia, left, main, tributary of the Ob. The length of the Irtysh is 4248 km, which exceeds the length of the Ob itself. The Irtysh, together with the Ob, is the longest watercourse in Russia, the second longest in Asia and the seventh in the world (5410 km).

Irtysh is the longest tributary river in the world

6. Yellow River

The Yellow River is a river in China, one of the largest rivers in Asia. The length of the river is 5464 km. The Yellow River originates in the eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau at an altitude of over 4000 m, flows through the lakes Orin-Nur and Jarin-Nur, the spurs of the Kunlun and Nanshan mountain ranges. At the intersection of the Ordos and the Loess Plateau, it forms a large bend in its middle course, then through the gorges of the Shanxi Mountains it enters the Great China Plain, along which it flows about 700 km before the confluence of the Yellow Sea into the Bohai Bay, forming a delta in the confluence area.

Translated from chinese its name - "Yellow River", which is associated with the abundance of sediment, giving a yellowish tint to its waters. It is thanks to them that the sea into which the river flows is called Yellow.

Yellow River - Yellow River

5. Yenisei - Angara - Selenga - Ider

The Yenisei is a river in Siberia, one of the greatest rivers in the world and in Russia. It flows into the Kara Sea of \u200b\u200bthe Arctic Ocean. Length - 3487 km. The length of the waterway: Ider - Selenga - Lake Baikal - Angara - Yenisei is 5550 km.

Angara is a river in Eastern Siberia, the largest right tributary of the Yenisei, the only river flowing from Lake Baikal. It flows through the territory of the Irkutsk region and Krasnoyarsk Territory Russia. Length - 1779 km.

4. Mississippi - Missouri - Jefferson

The Mississippi is the main river of the largest river system in North America. The source is located in Minnesota. The river mainly flows in a southerly direction and reaches a length of 3,770 kilometers, ending in a vast delta in the Gulf of Mexico.

Missouri is a river in the United States, the largest tributary of the Mississippi. The length of the river is 3767 km. It originates in the Rocky Mountains and flows mainly in an east and southeast direction. It flows into the Mississippi near the city of St. Louis.

The length of the Mississippi - Missouri - Jefferson river system is 6275 km.

3. Yangtze

The Yangtze is the longest and most abundant river in Eurasia, the third river in the world in terms of abundance and length. It flows through the territory of China, has a length of about 6300 km, the basin area is 1 808 500 km².

2. Neil

The Nile is a river in Africa, one of the two longest rivers in the world.

The river originates in the East African Plateau and flows into the Mediterranean Sea, forming a delta. In the upper reaches, it receives large tributaries - Bahr el-Ghazal (left) and Achva, Sobat, Blue Nile and Atbara (right). Below the mouth of the right tributary of the Atbara, the Nile flows through a semi-desert, having no tributaries for the last 3120 km.

For a long time, the water system of the Nile was considered the longest on Earth. For 2013, it is established that the Amazon has the longest river system. Its length is 6992 kilometers, while the length of the Nile system is 6852 kilometers.

Feluca is a small decked vessel with peculiar oblique sails in the form of a trapezoid or a triangle cut from one corner.

1. Amazon

The Amazon is a river in South America, the largest in the world in terms of basin size, water flow and length of the river system. It is formed by the confluence of the Marañon and Ucayali rivers. The length from the main source of Marañon is 6992 km, from the source of Apacheta opened at the end of the 20th century - about 7000 km, from the source of Ucayali over 7000 km.

However, there are long rivers not only on the ground, but also under it. Hamza is the unofficial name for an underground current under the Amazon bed. The opening of the "river" was announced in 2011. The unofficial name is given in honor of the Indian scientist Wali Hamza, who has been researching the Amazon for over 45 years. Hamza flows at a depth of about 4 km underground through porous soils parallel to the Amazon. The length of the "river" is about 6,000 km. According to preliminary calculations, the width of Hamza is about 400 km. The speed of the Khamza is only a few meters a year - it is even slower than the glaciers move, so it can be called a river rather conditionally. Hamza flows into the Atlantic Ocean at great depths. The water of the Khamza River has a high level of salinity.

20 longest rivers, excluding tributary lengths

1. Amazon - 6992 km
2. Nile - 6852 km
3. Yangtze - 6300 km
4. Yellow River hotels - 5464 km
5. Mekong - 4500 km
6. Lena - 4400 km
7. Parana - 4380 km
8. Congo - 4374 km
9. Irtysh - 4248 km
10. Mackenzie hotels - 4241 km
11. Niger - 4180 km
12. Missouri - 3767 km
13. Mississippi - 3734 km
14. Ob - 3650 km
15. Volga - 3530 km
16. Yenisei - 3487 km
17. Madeira hotels - 3230 km
18. Purus - 3200 km
19. Indus - 3180 km
20. Yukon -3100 km

Remember how important water is for other components of nature and for humans. What properties does water have? Which ones are geographically significant? What water bodies are terrestrial waters?

Distribution of inland waters of the land. Waters are distributed extremely unevenly across the continents. There are areas where there is an abundance of rivers, lakes, there are vast swamps, and in some areas there is practically no surface water, except for rare drying up lakes. Of all the continents, the "wettest" (water supply) is South America. If all the waters flowing down from this continent in a year are distributed in an even layer over its area, then a layer of water with a thickness of more than 500 mm will be obtained. This quantity is called the runoff layer (8.1). In Antarctica, almost all water is in solid form, and does not flow into the ocean, but falls in large blocks, forming icebergs. But in terms of the volume of fresh water, Antarctica is many times larger than all continents taken together. It is estimated that the reserves of fresh water contained in the Antarctic ice are approximately equal to the flow of all rivers on Earth in more than 500 years.

The distribution of inland waters across the continents depends most of all on climate, but other factors are also important. The distribution of rivers, lakes, swamps, glaciers, the shape of river valleys and lake basins, and the conditions for the occurrence of groundwater are influenced by the relief and geological structure of the area. For example, even with a low amount of precipitation, swamps can arise if the terrain is flat and it is difficult to drain from it.

All types of inland waters play a huge role in nature and in human life. However, the most prominent place is occupied by rivers.

Rivers. On all continents of the Earth, except for Antarctica, there are large and small river systems. South America has the most ramified river network, receiving the most precipitation.

There are almost no territories on this continent without rivers. The huge basins of the Amazon, Orinoco, Parana occupy most of the mainland (8.2). Most of the rivers originate in the mountains, cut through mountain ranges and high plateaus and plateaus, forming rapids and waterfalls. Then they go out onto flat plains, spread widely, and turn into a dense network of waterways. Material transported by rivers from high places fills depressions crust... The Amazonian, Orinokskaya, Laplatskaya lowlands are vast flat plains, composed of river sediments.

The river network of North America has a similar structure. Here, the areas of drainless areas are also small. Many rivers carry water to the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The largest of these is the Mississippi system, which collects water from the Cordilleras, the Appalachians, and the American plains (8.3). Rough rivers flow into the Pacific Ocean, cutting through the Cordillera. To the North Arctic Ocean the Mackenzie River flows into the river, which has an extensive network of tributaries. Short, deep, rapids flow into Hudson Bay.

K.S. LAZAREVICH

In # 5/2006, diagrams of the river systems of Russia were printed. The experience turned out to be successful: the schemes allowed the teachers to navigate the difficult (and very confusing by the authors of textbooks, who do not take the trouble to think about the numbers) question of the "longest rivers" and "longest watercourses" in Russia or in some of its territories.

It publishes diagrams for all continents, built on the same principle as diagrams for Russia. The diagrams allow you to set the length of the rivers, compare rivers and systems with each other, make a visual representation of the river systems and drainage basins of the seas.

Within the diagram, for each continent, rivers are placed in the order in which their estuaries are located along the coast Oceansskirting the territory clockwise. Rivers that have no discharge into the World Ocean are given after all, on a gray background.

Rivers - the main ones and their tributaries - are shown with vertical lines. The flow of rivers is everywhere from bottom to top, so that the left tributaries and components of the rivers are on the left, and the right ones are on the right. The lengths of the rivers are given to scale, they are depicted by vertical lines, horizontal segments are given only to show the ratio of rivers, and conventionally have no length.

The numbers written on the diagram at the sources of the rivers and at the horizontal segments indicate the distances along the channel from the mouth of the main river; numbers written along vertical lines indicate the length of these lines; all values \u200b\u200bare in kilometers. Along the upper frame of the diagram, the reservoirs are marked, where the rivers flow. All signed numbers are taken from reference books; it should be borne in mind that for little-explored territories (for example, in Africa, South America) the lengths of many rivers are given with an accuracy of hundreds, or even thousands of kilometers. If you want to define distances that are not labeled on the diagram (for example, between the mouths of tributaries), use the scale bar. But at the same time, remember that such measurements will give only an approximate result: the constructions were made by measurements on the map.

It is better to use the scheme with a map in front of your eyes, then the relative position of the rivers will be clear. In the comments to the diagram, only those places are explained that may raise doubts: unusual forms of estuaries and questions arising in connection with this about the lengths of rivers; overflow of a river from one drainage basin to another, temporary drying up of rivers.

Eurasia is the only continent where the catchment areas of all four oceans are located.

River systems are placed in the order of their mouths along the coast of Asia, from the northern end of the Ural Mountains, skirting the continent, to the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov. Next comes Europe - first south, then west and north. At the end of the diagram are rivers of internal drainage basins. The Jordan River in Western Asia, although very famous, is not shown, its length is only 250 km, that is, less than a centimeter in the diagram.

IN Asia the rivers of the Arctic Ocean basin flow through the territory of Russia, only some rivers of the Ob and Selenga systems in the Yenisei system begin outside our country.

The longest river in Asia and Eurasia - the Yangtze (other names - Changjiang, Yangtzejiang) - flows in the Pacific Ocean basin. The Huaihe River, which flows into it in the lower reaches, carries and deposits a lot of solid material (sand, clay), therefore, the channel mainly lies above the adjacent plain, which is why catastrophic floods often occurred, the river flowed either into the Yangtze or into the Yellow River. After the construction of the irrigation system in the 50-60s of the twentieth century. the threat of floods has been largely eliminated, but part of the Huaihe runoff continues to flow to the Yellow River, which is reflected in the diagram.

The Mekong River flowing into the South China Sea is one of the longest rivers in Asia, abundant in water, but the basin area is very small (with a length of 4.5 thousand km, the average basin width is 180 km), since the system of parallel ridges of the Sino-Tibetan Mountains creates a series of isolated long and narrow drainage basins.

The Ganges and Brahmaputra flow into the Bay of Bengal of the Indian Ocean, forming a common delta, the left channel of which is called Meghna, or Megna. In reference books the length of the Ganges is indicated as 2700 km, Brahmaputra - 2900 km; apparently, Meghna is included in this length, on the basis of which the scheme is built.

The Tigris and Euphrates rivers in historical time flowed into the Persian Gulf separately, but then merged and formed the Shatt al-Arab river 195 km long.

Of the rivers flowing into the seas of the Atlantic Ocean, we note only the Turkish Kyzylirmak and our Kuban; the latter is attributed to Asia, as it flows south of the Kumo-Manych depression.

Europe is studied at school in more detail than other parts of the world, many geographical objects of Europe are constantly heard, therefore, the scheme also includes small by the standards of other territories, but well-known rivers. Of the rivers of Europe, only the Volga and Danube can be compared with the largest Asian rivers, although they are significantly smaller.

Europe is essentially a peninsula of the Eurasian continent. Within its limits, Western Europe is distinguished, located outside the former USSRand Eastern Europe is within it.

In Eastern Europe, mostly flat, rivers flow from its central part into the Azov, Black, Baltic, White and Barents Seas, as well as into the Caspian Sea, which is not connected to the ocean. From the center of the Russian Plain to the seas - one and a half to two thousand kilometers, and a river two (Dnepr, Don), or even three and a half thousand kilometers (Volga) is not surprising.

And in the long and narrow Western Europe there is no point at all more than 600 km from the sea, and almost all rivers are short. Only the Danube, which starts less than four hundred kilometers from the Mediterranean Sea and five hundred from the North, managed to pass half of Western Europe along and reach the Black Sea after almost three thousand kilometers. The rivers to the south of the Danube flow into the Mediterranean Sea, to the north - into the North and Baltic. West of the source of the Danube, the watershed runs through southern Europe - these are the Alps, the Central French Massif, the mountains of southern Spain (Cordillera Betica, Sierra Nevada), and the rivers that flow into the Mediterranean are rather short, while the longer ones flow directly into the Atlantic Ocean, into Bay of Biscay and English Channel. That is why the Mediterranean Sea is somewhat saltier than the Atlantic Ocean. An exception to the rivers flowing into the Mediterranean Sea is the Ebro, which, starting in the Cantabrian Mountains, just fifty kilometers from the Bay of Biscay, cuts off the entire Iberian Peninsula, bravely breaks through to the Mediterranean Sea and, having passed 928 km, flows into it.

On the diagram, the French rivers Garonne and Dordogne, which form a common estuary of the Gironde with a length of 75 km, may cause difficulty. The length of both rivers is counted from the outlet of the Gironde to the Bay of Biscay.

The scheme is completed by the rivers of internal drainage basins. The Caspian Sea only for a small extent washes the southeastern outskirts of Europe, but the catchment basin of the Caspian Sea occupies 1/7 of Europe, and the Volga is undoubtedly in first place among European rivers in terms of basin area.

The Amu Darya and Syrdarya flow into the Aral Sea. But that is why the Aral Sea perishes, because these rivers do not flow into it all year long - their water is taken apart for irrigation; downstream channels are shown with dashed lines. The Tarim channel (in the upper reaches of the river is called Yarkand) is very unstable, Tarim only occasionally feeds Lake Lobnor, sometimes it goes into other water bodies or into the ground, so that its length can only be approximated.

The river network belongs to the basins of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The Nile system is located in the eastern part of the continent, very close to Indian Ocean, but the Nile flows into the Mediterranean Sea - the Atlantic Ocean.

The Volta River, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean Gulf of Guinea, was previously formed from the confluence of White Volta and Black Volta; the latter is longer and is considered the main source of the Volta. Now that the Volta reservoir has been created (the largest in the world in terms of area, almost 400 thousand km 2), White and Black Volta flow into it, and the Volta River starts from the reservoir dam.

North America

The rivers of North America belong to the basins of three oceans. The large rivers Mackenzie (into the Beaufort Sea) and the Nelson (into Hudson Bay) flow into the Arctic Ocean. To the south, the relief of the continent predetermines a sharp asymmetry of the river network: the Atlantic Ocean basin is much larger than the Pacific basin. The largest river system on the continent - the Mississippi system - belongs to the Atlantic Ocean.

The river system has no analogues in the world, creating a runoff from the Great Lakes. There is not a single river in it longer than 1000 km, but in general, the system, consisting of four lakes and five rivers, is only slightly inferior in length to the Volga. (Which of the Great Lakes was not included in this system and why?)

South America

The continent is washed by two oceans, and the length of the coastline of the oceans does not differ much. Nevertheless, all the rivers included in the diagram refer only to the Atlantic Ocean basin - the ocean itself or the Caribbean Sea, and there is not a single river of any length that flows into the Pacific Ocean. As in North America, only to a much greater extent, the asymmetry of the relief is manifested, the position of the interoceanic divide is very close to the western edge of the continent. The diagram shows a bifurcation - the division of one river into two: in the upper reaches of the Orinoco, the Casiquiare River, 410 km long, separates from it, flowing into the Rio Negra, a tributary of the Amazon; the dashed arrow on the diagram shows where Casiquiare flows, but of course you cannot measure the distance along this arrow. We have already met with a similar division of the river in the Yangtze system, but there the phenomenon is temporary.

Australia

Geography textbooks say that Australia is the driest continent. This is confirmed by the diagram: there is only one large river flowing into the ocean - Murray. And is it so big if it brings about 10 km 3 of water into the ocean per year? For comparison: Amazon - almost 7000, Lena - more than 500, Volga - 250. And there is also the Coopers Creek, which only in heavy summer rains reaches Lake Eyr, and so it just goes into the ground somewhere halfway.

Tasks for working with schemes,
printed on p. 10-18

You need to give assignments to students a little; it is up to the teacher to indicate or not indicate in which river system a solution should be sought; it is quite possible that the same teacher in one class will provide additional explanations, but not in another.

1. Determine the distances along the riversbetween characteristic points of rivers of the same system; such points can be the sources of different rivers, the mouths of tributaries and the main river, the exit of the river from the lake, etc. For instance:

From the source of the Don to the mouth of the Seversky Donets;

From the source of the Tisza to the source of the Danube;

From the mouth of the Saone to the exit of the Rhone from Lake Geneva;

From the source of Marañon to the source of Ucayali (remember which river system they belong to).

There can be a lot of tasks of this type. Invite the students to create several of these tasks on their own. Let them get acquainted with how the diagrams were drawn up (the introductory part of the explanatory text to the diagrams), and answer which of the tasks you proposed and which of the ones they compiled can be solved exactly, which - only approximately and why.

2. When solving each example from task 1 note which rivers, upstream or downstream, you move from the starting point to the end.

3. Using any cards, place on the schemes of the rivers of the city. (Let the teacher propose the list of cities himself. Considering that in the next task it is proposed to measure the distances between cities, several cities should be selected in the same river system.) If the students do not know where to look for these cities, let them look in the index of geographical names of the atlas ... If the city is located on both banks of the river, or you do not have information on which of the banks it is located, put a circle on the line indicating the river, if on one bank, then on the corresponding side of the line.

Which of these cities did you manage to draw exactly, which approximately? Why?

4. Measure at least 10 distances between by you cities along the rivers. Which of these distances have you been able to measure exactly, which are approximately? Why?

5. Place a north-south arrow next to each river system. The rivers are meandering, so it can be placed only approximately, taking into account the general direction of the main river. For the Mississippi system, put (dotted line) a second arrow corresponding to the main source taken as the Missouri source.

6. Check on the diagram with a black triangle estuaries of rivers with deltas. Not all deltas are visible on the map, indicate only those that were expressed in scale on physical maps of continents and parts of the world in school atlases.

In the scheme of the rivers of Russia ("Geography", No. 5/2006) in the Northern Dvina system, Lake Kubenskoye and the Kubena river flowing into it were missed. If you use this diagram, supplement it, just remember that the diagrams in that issue and here are built on different scales.