Final answer:
The Nile River is traditionally considered the longest river in the world, extending over 4,000 miles from Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea.
Step-by-step explanation:
The longest river in the world is the Nile River. It stretches over 4,000 miles, originating from Lake Victoria in Central Africa and flowing northward through several countries including Uganda, Sudan, and Egypt, all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. While there has been some debate over whether the Amazon might be longer due to new measurements and definitions of river length, traditionally, the Nile has been considered the longest. The Amazon River, though not the longest, is known for its massive discharge and extensive drainage basin in the tropical rainforest. The Congo and Yellow rivers are significantly shorter than both the Nile and Amazon. The Congo River, with an immense tropical drainage basin, is the second longest in Africa, and the Yellow River is the second-longest in Asia, noted for its historical floods and as a cradle of ancient Chinese civilization.