What is the largest river by discharge volume?

The Amazon River is the largest river in the world by discharge volume.

It carries an average of roughly 215,000 cubic metres of water per second into the Atlantic Ocean, although estimates vary by measurement location and method. The Amazon’s flow is greater than that of the next several largest independent rivers combined and represents about one-fifth of the freshwater discharged by rivers into the world’s oceans.

The river drains an enormous basin spanning approximately 7 million square kilometres across South America. Thousands of tributaries feed it, including the Negro, Madeira, Tapajós, Ucayali and Marañón. Seasonal rainfall across the basin causes its water level and discharge to change dramatically during the year.

People often confuse discharge with length. The Amazon is either the world’s longest or second-longest river system, depending on how its distant headwaters are measured; the Nile is its main rival for that title. By volume of water, however, the Amazon’s lead is clear.