This is a list of
waterways, defined as navigable
rivers,
canals,
estuaries,
lakes, or
firths. In practice, and depending on the language, the term "waterway" covers maritime or inland transport routes, as suggested by "way". Wherever a free-flowing river cannot bear load-carrying vessels, the correct term is "watercourse", with no connotation of use for transportation of cargo. To be of practical use, the list distinguishes international maritime waterways (including ship canals), international inland waterways, then inland waterways, including canals and large lakes.
Lists
International waterways
*
List of interoceanic canals
The following is a list of interoceanic canals, that is, ''canals'' or ''canal proposals'', which form waterways for traffic to connect one ocean to another.
List
See also
* List of transcontinental canals
The following is a list of transcont ...
*
List of transcontinental canals
The following is a list of transcontinental canals and waterways, that is, ''canals'' or ''canal proposals'', which allows waterway traffic to span across a continent or subcontinent.
List
See also
* List of interoceanic canals
* Lists of can ...
International maritime waterways
*
Danish straits
**
Great Belt
**
Øresund
*
Turkish Straits
**
Bosphorus
The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...
**
Sea of Marmara
**
Dardanelles
*
Strait of Malacca
International inland waterways
* St. Croix River (Canada, United States)
*
Danube (
Germany,
Austria,
Slovakia,
Hungary,
Croatia,
Serbia,
Bulgaria,
Moldova,
Ukraine,
Romania)
*
Rhine (
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
,
Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany,
France,
Netherlands)
*
Mekong (
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
,
Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
,
Thailand,
Vietnam)
*
Nile River
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest rive ...
(
Egypt,
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
,
South Sudan,
Uganda)
*
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after ...
(Uganda,
Tanzania,
Kenya)
*
Congo River and its tributaries (
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
,
Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Central African Republic)
*
Colorado River (
US,
Mexico)
*
Great Lakes Waterway (US,
Canada)
Waterways by country
Argentina
*
Rio de La Plata
*
Parana River
Australia
*
Bass Strait
Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterwa ...
*
Murray River
Austria
*
Danube River
Azerbaijan
*
Caspian Sea - Note: the capital city of Azerbaijan,
Baku
Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...
is a port on this sea.
Belgium
*
Meuse River
The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...
*
Scheldt River
The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to ...
Bolivia
*
Lake Titicaca
Brazil
*
Amazon River
The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile.
The headwaters of t ...
*
Parana River
Canada
* Saint John (Woolastook) River
*
Northwest Passage
*
Saint Lawrence Seaway
*
Mackenzie River
*
St. Marys River and canal of Ontario
*
Detroit River
*
St. Clair River
*
Welland Canal
*
Lake St. Clair
Lake St. Clair (french: Lac Sainte-Claire) is a freshwater lake that lies between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. It was named in 1679 by French Catholic explorers after Saint Clare of Assisi, on whose feast day ...
*
Lake Superior
*
Saskatchewan River
*
Hudson Strait and
Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...
*
Great Bear Lake, including
Port Radium
Chile
*
Valdivia River
*
Bueno River (before
1960 Valdivia earthquake
The 1960 Valdivia earthquake and tsunami ( es, link=no, Terremoto de Valdivia) or the Great Chilean earthquake (''Gran terremoto de Chile'') on 22 May 1960 was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded. Various studies have placed it at 9.4– ...
)
China
*
Amur River
The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...
*
Yalu River
*
Yangtze River
*
Yellow River
Egypt
*
Nile River
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest rive ...
*
Lake Nasser
Lake Nasser ( ar, بحيرة ناصر ', ) is a vast reservoir in Southern Egypt and northern Sudan. It is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world. Before construction, Sudan was against the building of Lake Nasser because it would encro ...
*
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...
*
Gulf of Suez
*
Gulf of Aqaba
France
*
Rhine River
*
Rhone River
*
Seine River
*
Meuse River
The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...
*
List of canals in France
Germany
*
Rhine River
*
Main River
*
Rhine-Main-Danube Canal
*
Danube River
*
Elbe River
*
Kiel Canal
India-Bangladesh
*
Brahmaputra River
The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. It ...
- Sadiya to Dhubri stretch (891 km)
*
Ganges River
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
- Prayagraj to Haldia stretch (1,620 km)
Iran
*
Caspian Sea
*
Persian Gulf
*
Karun
Netherlands
*
IJsselmeer
The IJsselmeer (; fy, Iselmar, nds-nl, Iesselmeer), also known as Lake IJssel in English, is a closed off inland bay in the central Netherlands bordering the provinces of Flevoland, North Holland and Friesland. It covers an area of with an a ...
*
Meuse (Maas)
*
Rhine River
*
Scheldt River
The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to ...
*
Waal River
The Waal (Dutch name, ) is the main distributary branch of the river Rhine flowing approximately through the Netherlands. It is the major waterway connecting the port of Rotterdam to Germany. Before it reaches Rotterdam, it joins with the Afg ...
New Zealand
*
Cook Strait
*
Foveaux Strait
*
Hauraki Gulf
*
Lake Wakatipu
*
Whanganui River
The Whanganui River is a major river in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the country's third-longest river, and has special status owing to its importance to the region's Māori people. In March 2017 it became the world's second natura ...
Pakistan
*
Chenab River
*
Indus River
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...
Paraguay
*
Paraná River
The Paraná River ( es, Río Paraná, links=no , pt, Rio Paraná, gn, Ysyry Parana) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Br ...
*
Paraguay River
Peru
*
Amazon River
The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile.
The headwaters of t ...
*
Lake Titicaca
Philippines
*
San Bernardino Strait
The San Bernardino Strait ( fil, Kipot ng San Bernardino) is a strait in the Philippines, connecting the Samar Sea with the Philippine Sea. It separates the Bicol Peninsula of Luzon island from the island of Samar in the south.
History
During th ...
*
Surigao Strait
Surigao Strait (Filipino: ''Kipot ng Surigaw'') is a strait in the southern Philippines, between the Bohol Sea and the Leyte Gulf of the Philippine Sea.
Geography
It is located between the regions of Visayas and Mindanao. It lies between northern ...
*
Manila Bay
Portugal
*
Douro River
Romania
*
Danube River
*
Danube–Black Sea Canal
The Danube–Black Sea Canal ( ro, Canalul Dunăre–Marea Neagră) is a navigable canal in Romania, which runs from Cernavodă on the Danube river, via two branches, to Constanța and Năvodari on the Black Sea. Administered from Agigea, it ...
*
Bega (Tisza)
The Bega or Begej ( ro, Bega; sr, / ; german: Bega; hu, Béga, formerly ''Kistemes''), is a 244 km (152 mile) long river in Romania (169 km; 105 mi.) and Serbia (75 km; 47 mi.). It rises in the Poiana Ruscă Mountai ...
Russia
*
Volga-Baltic Waterway
*
White Sea – Baltic Canal
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
*
Amur River
The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...
*
Caspian Sea
*
Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal (, russian: Oзеро Байкал, Ozero Baykal ); mn, Байгал нуур, Baigal nuur) is a rift lake in Russia. It is situated in southern Siberia, between the federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Repu ...
*
Dnieper River
*
Don River
*
Lena River
The Lena (russian: Ле́на, ; evn, Елюенэ, ''Eljune''; sah, Өлүөнэ, ''Ölüöne''; bua, Зүлхэ, ''Zülkhe''; mn, Зүлгэ, ''Zülge'') is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean ...
*
Neva River
The Neva (russian: Нева́, ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , it i ...
*
Ob River
Serbia
*
Danube River
*
Sava River
The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally t ...
Slovakia
*
Danube River
Switzerland
*
Lake Constance
Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three Body of water, bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, ca ...
*
Lake Geneva
*
Rhine River
Turkey
*
Bosporus
*
Dardanelles
*
Sea of Marmara
*
Black Sea
United Kingdom
*
River Severn
*
River Thames
*
Humber River
*
Waterways in the United Kingdom
United States
*
Mississippi River System
*
Missouri River
*
Ohio River
The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...
*
St. Lawrence Seaway
The St. Lawrence Seaway (french: la Voie Maritime du Saint-Laurent) is a system of locks, canals, and channels in Canada and the United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North Americ ...
*
Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway
*
Chesapeake Bay
*
Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...
*
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...
*
Detroit River
*
Erie Canal
*
Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
*
Hudson River
*
Lake Champlain
*
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...
*
Lake Superior
*
Sacramento River
*
Savannah River
The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the norther ...
*
St. Clair River
*
St. Marys River and canal of Michigan
*
Tennessee River
*
Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway
*
List of canals in the United States
Ukraine
*
Dnieper River
Uruguay
*
Rio de la Plata
*
Uruguay River
Vietnam
*
Mekong River
See also
*
List of canal engineer
*
List of canals by country
Canals are human-made structures, built for water control, flood prevention, irrigation, and water transport. Their exact design varies depending upon the local importance of each function. The term 'canal' is often used to describe both human-ma ...
{{Lists of bodies of water
Waterways
Waterways