The Orinoco River

south america · rivers · geography

Seriously long river. At 2,140 kilometers long, the Orinoco stretches across South America and is one of the longest rivers anywhere on the planet.

Massive water flow. The Orinoco is so full of water that it ranks as the third largest river in the world by how much water it actually dumps out, thanks to all the rain that falls in the region.

Splits two countries. The river's huge drainage basin covers about 1 million square kilometers, with roughly 65% in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia.

Rainy region rivers. The Orinoco carries so much water because its catchment area, the land that feeds it rain, gets massive amounts of precipitation throughout the year.