List of the shortest rivers in the world

Geography is an area that has allowed us to discover the most extreme points on the planet. Well, we all know the names of the highest mountain -Everest-, the deepest sea depth -the Mariana Trench- or the longest river, a title traditionally held by the Nile.

Rivers are usually long and winding, but some are very short. For example, the Roe River in Montana is only 201 feet (61 meters) long, flowing from Giant Springs to the Missouri River.

In 1989, the Guinness Book of World Records named the Roe River as the shortest river in the world. Before that, the title was held by the D River in Lincoln City, Oregon, which is 440 feet (134 meters) long. But the lengths of these rivers can change, and people in both cities argued about which river should have the title. So, in 2006, Guinness decided to stop giving the title to avoid the argument.

The World Atlas says there are even shorter rivers in other parts of the world. The Tamborasi River in Indonesia and the Kovasselva River in Norway are both only 65.6 feet (20 meters) long.

Reports indicate that the Roe River's deftness is only 6-8 feet. Thus, because of its length and deftness, the Guinness Book of World Records recognized the river as the shortest in the world. Every year, both domestic and foreign visitors come to enjoy the river's scenic beauty.

Strahler classified rivers based on tributaries

In 1952, Arthur Newell Strahler, a professor of geosciences at Columbia University, proposed a system for classifying streams and rivers based on their tributaries. Strahler's stream order classification system classifies streams and rivers into 12 different orders based on their tributaries. Tributaries are streams or rivers that feed into a larger stream or river, but do not flow directly into the ocean.

First and second order flows feed into larger flows and have no other flows to feed them. Headwater streams, which are streams that flow into the upper reaches of a basin, are classified from first to third order and make up more than 80% of the world's waterways.

Streams ranked fourth through sixth are considered medium-sized and are fed by other streams, while streams ranked above sixth are fed by multiple tributaries and are considered rivers.

According to Strahler's current order classification system, the Mississippi River is classified as an 8th-order current and the Amazon River, which carries more water than any other waterway in the world, is classified as a 12th-order current. The Amazon River stretches for 4,345 miles (6,993 kilometers), dwarfing Montana's Roe River, which seems like a small trickle by comparison.

However, if we were asked which is the shortest river on Earth, very few people would know what to answer.

List of shortest rivers in the world

Rank	Name of River	Length	Location
1	Reprua River	18m	Gagra District, Abkhazia
2	Tamborasi River	61m	Kolaka, Sulawesi, Indonesia
3	Kovasselva River	22m	Island Hitra, Norway
4	Ombla River	30 m	Ombla Komolac, Croatia
5	Jezernica River	55m	Jezernica
6	Roe River	61m	Great Falls, USA

In 1952, a professor named Arthur Newell Strahler came up with a way to sort streams and rivers. This system has 12 levels, and it’s based on tributaries, which are smaller streams or rivers that flow into a bigger one.

Streams at level one and two don’t have any streams flowing into them, but they flow into bigger streams. The smallest streams, which are the first to third level, make up more than 80% of all the streams in the world. Streams from the fourth to sixth level are medium-sized and have other streams flowing into them. Any stream above the sixth level is considered a river because it has many tributaries.

The Mississippi River is an eighth level stream, and the Amazon River, which carries more water than any other river in the world, is at the top level, the 12th. The Amazon River is so big that it makes the Roe River in Montana look very small.

The Reprua River

Located in the Absajia region (Republic of Georgia), this water flow is born in the Voronya cave and flows into the Dead Sea, after travelling a distance of only 18 meters.

Tamborasi River

In southeastern Sulawesi, Indonesia, the Tamborasi River is 20 meters long and 15 meters wide and empties into the Sea of Flowers at Bone Bay.

Kovasselva River

The Kovasselva River is only 22 meters long, the Norwegian Kovasselva River flows from Lake Kovassvatnet to the sea. It is located on Hitra, the seventh largest island in Norway.

Ombla River

The Ombla is a small river in Croatia that empties into Rijeka Dubrovaka Bay of the Adriatic Sea. Its length is about 30 meters (98 feet) long.

Jezernica River

One of the 59 rivers in Slovenia is called Jezernica. In addition, it empties into the Adriatic Sea as a branch of the larger Idrijca. Located on the Wild Lake, a karst lake and spring with an underground water source, Jezernica is barely 55 meters long.

The Roe River

 In 1989, the 61 meters of this Montana torrent, which rises in Great Springs and flows into the Missouri River, ousted the D River as the shortest in the world in the Guinness Book, a category that disappeared as of the 2006 edition.

His record was recognized after primary school students campaigned in his defense with the support of various local stars.

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