1. Meaningful name

2. Times and associations

3. Still the first in the list of destruction

4. Severe and powerful

5. Unique in many ways

6. Too much to remain pure

7. Natural flow preserved

8. Center of development

A. The fifth longest river in the world is the Yenisei which flows north from Mongolia through Russia to the Arctic Ocean. Originally, nomadic tribes — the Kit and Yugh people — lived along the banks of the Yenisei. Russian explorers first reached its shores in 1605. Much of the Yenisei is ice-bound six or more months in the year. Explosives are used to keep the water flowing, thereby avoiding serious flooding. A series of massive hydroelectric dams provide energy to support Russian industry.

B. Known as the “cradle of Chinese civilization”, the Yellow River in China is the 6th longest river in the world. It’s been a major center of Chinese population and culture since the 3rd century B.C. However, the Yellow River has another name — “China’s Sorrow”. For thousands of years, the river has regularly flooded, destroying the surrounding countryside and populations. Today over a dozen dams control the flooding and also provide electricity for millions.

C. Every year schoolchildren everywhere learn the names of the world’s great rivers. Everyone knows the longest river is the Nile. Or is it? Brazilian and Peruvian scientists now argue that the Amazon should be considered the longest (using complicated measurements only scientists can understand). But for now, the Nile still wins the title of “longest river” in textbooks. The Nile has always been the lifeline of Egyptian civilization. The annual flooding of the river creates rich agricultural soil, ideal for growing wheat and flax and other crops.

D. When people think of the Mississippi River, their first thought is usually of Mark Twain and the adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. They may not recall from their childhood geography lessons that the Mississippi is the fourth longest river in the world. For thousands of years, Native Americans lived along the Mississippi, mostly living as hunter-gatherers and herders. That life changed forever when Europeans first arrived in the 16th century; today the Mississippi plays a crucial role in the economic life of dozens of cities and small towns situated along its shores.

E. The third longest river is the Yangtze River in China. The river plays a very important role in China’s history, culture and economy. Nearly one-third of China’s huge population lives along the Yangtze river. The Yangtze is one of the world’s busiest waterways. Everything is transported along the Yangtze: coal, cars, produce and people. The river also attracts many tourists who take cruises through the famous Three Gorges area. Sadly, because of the heavy traffic on the river and industry along its, banks the Yangtze is very polluted.

F. The Nile may still earn the title for longest river, but the Amazon — the second longest — has the greatest volume by far. The Amazon contains approximately one-fifth of the water flowing in the world’s rivers. Uniquely, there are no bridges crossing the Amazon anywhere along its long route. Most of the Amazon flows through tropical rainforests, where there are few roads or cities — and therefore no need for bridges. The Amazon Rainforest is the home of more than one-third of all animal and plant species in the world.

G. From its origins in the Altay Mountains in China, the Irtysh flows north-west through Kazakhstan, and finally merges with the Ob, in western Siberia, Russia. The Ob is 7th longest river in the world. In the 1960s and 1970s proposals to reverse the flow of the Irtysh among other Northern rivers were seriously and widely discussed. These gigantic water management schemes meant to supply water to central Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Thanks to Kazakh and Russian environmentalists and lack of money they were not implemented.