From BBC News:
Amazon river ‘longer than Nile’
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By Gary Duffy |
The new study puts the Amazon at 6,800km |
Researchers in Brazil are claiming to have established as a scientific fact that the Amazon is the longest river in the world.
The Amazon is recognised as the world’s largest river by volume, but has generally been regarded as second in length to the River Nile in Egypt.
The claim follows an expedition to Peru that is said to have established a new starting point further south.
It puts the Amazon at 6,800km (4,250 miles) compared to the Nile’s 6,695km.
Mountain source
The precise length of a river is not easy to calculate and depends on correctly identifying the source and the mouth.
The new claim in Brazil follows an expedition by scientists which is said to have discovered a new source for the Amazon in the south of Peru and not the north of the country as had been thought for many years.
While the exact location has yet to be confirmed from two choices, scientists say either would make the river the longest in the world.
What will change next? Is this an example of change, or is it just a change in our ability to see, measure, or assess?
