Chapter 4 of 10All chapters
Chapter 4 of 10
Rivers and water
Where people settle.
River systems
The Nile is longest by most measures and the Amazon carries by far the most water. Drainage basins define regions, and the great early civilisations grew along them.
- Deltas are fertile and dangerously exposed to flooding.
- Most fresh water is locked in ice, not flowing in rivers.
Water stress
Rivers crossing borders create shared dependence, from the Nile to the Mekong. Groundwater is being drawn faster than it refills across large parts of the world.