Widest River in the World

Planet Earth is full of extremes - some of which have been already discovered, while others are waiting to be discovered. The list of superlatives seems to fall short when describing some of the most amazing attributes of planet Earth - with superlatives such as tallest, deepest, biggest, fastest and weirdest already being used in various contexts. The latest addition to this list is the term 'widest', and when we talk about width what better way but to start with the world's widest river. While everybody seems to know about the world's deepest and the longest river, not many people know which river is the widest of them all.

World's Widest River: Rio de la Plata

Many people believe that Amazon is the widest river in the world, which is not true at all. Amazon is basically the largest river in the world, with a length of 3,980 miles - which also makes it the world's second longest river next only to river Nile in Africa. The distinction of being the widest river though, goes to South American river - Rio de la Plata, which boasts of a maximum width of 140 miles. Rio de la Plata is formed as a result of confluence of two rivers - River Uruguay and Parana River in South America. Even though it is a river, Rio de la Plata behaves more like an estuary owing to which it is typically characterized by a mixture of freshwater and seawater.

It is difficult to believe that a river can be so wide unless you come across the funnel-shaped indentation caused by it along the southeastern coastline of South America. In the inner part this river is a mere 1.2 mile wide, but as you move out its width increases and reaches a maximum of 140 miles (220 km) at its mouth. The discharge of this river is strong enough to prevent saltwater penetration in its inner portion. The 180 mile long river forms the border between Argentina and Uruguay. The capital city of Argentina - Buenos Aires, is situated on the western banks of this river. If the density of population in Argentina and Uruguay is taken into consideration, you will realize that the most populated parts of these countries are situated in and around the basin of Rio de la Plata.

Controversy: River or Estuary?

Some scholars who specialize in the geography of this region are of the opinion that Rio de la Plata is a gulf along the South American coast (some also believe that it is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean) - and therefore, it shouldn't be considered to be the widest river. The Barra del Indio submerged shoal divides this water body into two portions - inner freshwater riverine area and outer brackish estuarine area. Critics are of the opinion that those who take Rio de la Plata as a river fail to take the brackish nature of water at its mouth into consideration. More importantly, saltwater being denser than freshwater tends to settle at the base and the top layer of freshwater may not even make you realize that saltwater exists beneath it.

At the end of the day, Rio de la Plata qualifies the criteria required by a river and hence, it isn't wrong to consider it as the widest. With a catchment area of 1,600,007.345 sq mi, Rio de la Plata is indeed one of the most important rivers in South America. It supports a great deal of plant and animal species found in this region - some of which are specifically endemic to this region. The rare La Plata Dolphin is the best example of species endemic to this river, while a number of other aquatic species - including the loggerhead and leatherback turtles, also inhabit this river.