List of rivers by age
Updated: 10/31/2025, 9:17:28 PM Wikipedia source
This is a selected list of the oldest rivers on Earth for which there is knowledge about their existence in past times.
Tables
Africa
Africa
Continent color key
Africa
Continent color key
Asia
Continent color key
Australia
Continent color key
Europe
Continent color key
North America
Continent color key
South America
| Continent color key | |||||
| Africa | Asia | Australia | Europe | North America | South America |
· List of some of the world's oldest rivers
Finke
Finke
River
Finke
Age (Mya)
400~350
Outflow
Lake Eyre(intermittent)
Most significant criterion for the age
Predates the Alice Springs Orogeny; several other smaller rivers in the Northern Territory are of a similar age
Meuse
Meuse
River
Meuse
Age (Mya)
340~320
Outflow
North Sea
Most significant criterion for the age
Paleozoic, dissects the Ardennes during the Hercynian
French Broad River
French Broad River
River
French Broad River
Age (Mya)
340~320
Outflow
Tennessee River
Most significant criterion for the age
Dissects the Appalachian Mountains, formed by the Alleghenian orogeny, 320–340 ma. The New, Susquehanna, and French Broad are the only significant rivers that fully dissect the Appalachian core; the Hudson River is of more recent geologic origin.
New
New
River
New
Age (Mya)
325~260
Outflow
Kanawha River
Most significant criterion for the age
Dissects the Appalachian Mountains, formed by the Alleghenian orogeny, 320–340 ma
Susquehanna
Susquehanna
River
Susquehanna
Age (Mya)
325~260
Outflow
Chesapeake Bay
Most significant criterion for the age
Dissects the Appalachian Mountains, formed by the Alleghenian orogeny, 320–340 ma
Rhine
Rhine
River
Rhine
Age (Mya)
240
Outflow
North Sea
Most significant criterion for the age
Triassic, possibly older if it dissected mountains uplifted during the Hercynian in addition to the Eocene with the Alps or the Miocene with the Upper Rhine Graben
Save
Save
River
Save
Age (Mya)
205
Outflow
Indian Ocean
Most significant criterion for the age
Formed during rifting when Gondwana broke up
Narmada
Narmada
River
Narmada
Age (Mya)
160
Outflow
Arabian Sea
Most significant criterion for the age
Formed during rifting when Gondwana broke up
Amur
Amur
River
Amur
Age (Mya)
125
Outflow
Sea of Okhotsk
Most significant criterion for the age
Known to be at least Cretaceous in age, but crosses mountains even older
Macleay
Macleay
River
Macleay
Age (Mya)
80
Outflow
Tasman Sea
Most significant criterion for the age
Predates uplift of Great Escarpment
Colorado
Colorado
River
Colorado
Age (Mya)
75
Outflow
Gulf of California
Most significant criterion for the age
Uplift during Laramide orogeny, see Geology of the Grand Canyon area
Murrumbidgee
Murrumbidgee
River
Murrumbidgee
Age (Mya)
75
Outflow
Murray River
Most significant criterion for the age
Predates uplift of Australian Alps
Nile
Nile
River
Nile
Age (Mya)
75~65
Outflow
Mediterranean Sea
Most significant criterion for the age
65 to 75 for the Sudd section; the rest of the river is only 1 or 2 million years old
Thames
Thames
River
Thames
Age (Mya)
58
Outflow
North Sea
Most significant criterion for the age
Late Palaeocene Period Thanetian Stage
Indus(Sindhu)
Indus(Sindhu)
River
Indus(Sindhu)
Age (Mya)
45
Outflow
Arabian Sea
Most significant criterion for the age
Source in the Himalayas and Karakoram Mountains
Tyne
Tyne
River
Tyne
Age (Mya)
30
Outflow
North Sea
Most significant criterion for the age
The Tyne began to carve its valley 30 MYA, by removing softer chalk rocks and exposing harder rocks. Significantly predates the last Ice Age.
Yangtze(Chang Jiang)
Yangtze(Chang Jiang)
River
Yangtze(Chang Jiang)
Age (Mya)
36.5~23
Outflow
East China Sea
Most significant criterion for the age
Post-dates the Three Gorges formation (36.5 ma)
Parramatta
Parramatta
River
Parramatta
Age (Mya)
29~15
Outflow
Tasman Sea
Most significant criterion for the age
Formed between the late Oligocene and early Miocene period as its waters began to cut a valley into sandstone and shale, which were laid down some 200 million years earlier
Columbia
Columbia
River
Columbia
Age (Mya)
17~6
Outflow
Pacific Ocean
Most significant criterion for the age
Between 17 million and 6 million years ago, huge outpourings of flood basalt lava covered the Columbia River Plateau and forced the lower Columbia into its present course.
Amazon
Amazon
River
Amazon
Age (Mya)
11.8~11.3
Outflow
Atlantic Ocean
Most significant criterion for the age
Waters worked through the sandstone from the west and the Amazon began to flow eastward. The river flowed through a former basin of a proto-Amazon, which flowed in the opposite direction at least as old as 65 Mya, long before the formation of Andes, when it originated in the highland area that formed when the South American and African plates separated. This river may predate the break-up of western Gondwana as an extension of a proto-Congo river system, 200 Mya during the Jurassic.
Ohio
Ohio
River
Ohio
Age (Mya)
3~2.5
Outflow
Mississippi River
Most significant criterion for the age
Formed when the Laurentide Ice Sheet dammed the north flowing Teays River during the Pre-Illinoian glaciation. The drainage area of the Teays could no longer drain to the north, and so instead drained to the south, forming the Ohio River.
| River | Age (Mya) | Outflow | Most significant criterion for the age |
| Finke | 400~350 | Lake Eyre(intermittent) | Predates the Alice Springs Orogeny; several other smaller rivers in the Northern Territory are of a similar age |
| Meuse | 340~320 | North Sea | Paleozoic, dissects the Ardennes during the Hercynian |
| French Broad River | 340~320 | Tennessee River | Dissects the Appalachian Mountains, formed by the Alleghenian orogeny, 320–340 ma. The New, Susquehanna, and French Broad are the only significant rivers that fully dissect the Appalachian core; the Hudson River is of more recent geologic origin. |
| New | 325~260 | Kanawha River | Dissects the Appalachian Mountains, formed by the Alleghenian orogeny, 320–340 ma |
| Susquehanna | 325~260 | Chesapeake Bay | Dissects the Appalachian Mountains, formed by the Alleghenian orogeny, 320–340 ma |
| Rhine | 240 | North Sea | Triassic, possibly older if it dissected mountains uplifted during the Hercynian in addition to the Eocene with the Alps or the Miocene with the Upper Rhine Graben |
| Save | 205 | Indian Ocean | Formed during rifting when Gondwana broke up |
| Narmada | 160 | Arabian Sea | Formed during rifting when Gondwana broke up |
| Amur | 125 | Sea of Okhotsk | Known to be at least Cretaceous in age, but crosses mountains even older |
| Macleay | 80 | Tasman Sea | Predates uplift of Great Escarpment |
| Colorado | 75 | Gulf of California | Uplift during Laramide orogeny, see Geology of the Grand Canyon area |
| Murrumbidgee | 75 | Murray River | Predates uplift of Australian Alps |
| Nile | 75~65 | Mediterranean Sea | 65 to 75 for the Sudd section; the rest of the river is only 1 or 2 million years old |
| Thames | 58 | North Sea | Late Palaeocene Period Thanetian Stage |
| Indus(Sindhu) | 45 | Arabian Sea | Source in the Himalayas and Karakoram Mountains |
| Tyne | 30 | North Sea | The Tyne began to carve its valley 30 MYA, by removing softer chalk rocks and exposing harder rocks. Significantly predates the last Ice Age. |
| Yangtze(Chang Jiang) | 36.5~23 | East China Sea | Post-dates the Three Gorges formation (36.5 ma) |
| Parramatta | 29~15 | Tasman Sea | Formed between the late Oligocene and early Miocene period as its waters began to cut a valley into sandstone and shale, which were laid down some 200 million years earlier |
| Columbia | 17~6 | Pacific Ocean | Between 17 million and 6 million years ago, huge outpourings of flood basalt lava covered the Columbia River Plateau and forced the lower Columbia into its present course. |
| Amazon | 11.8~11.3 | Atlantic Ocean | Waters worked through the sandstone from the west and the Amazon began to flow eastward. The river flowed through a former basin of a proto-Amazon, which flowed in the opposite direction at least as old as 65 Mya, long before the formation of Andes, when it originated in the highland area that formed when the South American and African plates separated. This river may predate the break-up of western Gondwana as an extension of a proto-Congo river system, 200 Mya during the Jurassic. |
| Ohio | 3~2.5 | Mississippi River | Formed when the Laurentide Ice Sheet dammed the north flowing Teays River during the Pre-Illinoian glaciation. The drainage area of the Teays could no longer drain to the north, and so instead drained to the south, forming the Ohio River. |
References
- Bureau of Mineral Resources, Australia, Bulletin
- Australian Journal of Earth Scienceshttps://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2001AuJES..48..911H
- Environmental History of the Rhine-Meuse Deltahttps://books.google.com/books?id=RQRdOc3iaHYC&pg=PA357&lpg=PA357
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, Atlanta, GA, Record of Decision: Overview of Site (p. 14) Archived 2014-http://www.epa.gov/region4/superfund/images/nplmedia/pdfs/ecumlncrodou2.pdf
- Mary S. Biswal, TERTIARY ORIGIN OF THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINShttps://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2014SE/webprogram/Paper237328.html
- Landscape evolution in Zimbabwe from the Permian to present, with implications for kimberlite prospecting. Moore, Cotter
- Potter, Paul Edwin & Hamblin, W. Kenneth; “Big Rivers Worldwide” Archived 2013-07-08 at the Wayback Machinehttp://www.geology.byu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Volume-48-2006.pdf
- Flannery, Tim; The Future Eaters; An Ecological History of the Australasian Lands and Peoples; p. 78 ISBN 0802139434
- www.utdallas.eduhttps://web.archive.org/web/20070614224958/http://www.utdallas.edu/geosciences/remsens/Nile/geology.html
- "History of the major rivers of southern Britain during the Tertiary"http://www.qpg.geog.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/tertiaryrivers/
- GSA Bulletinhttps://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2001GSAB..113.1039C
- "History of the Tyne | Tyne Rivers Trust"https://web.archive.org/web/20161209211816/http://tyneriverstrust.org/about-us/history-of-the-tyne/
- Hongbo Zheng, Pre-Miocene birth of the Yangtze Riverhttp://www.pnas.org/content/110/19/7556.abstract
- Encyclopædia Britannica: Yangtze Riverhttp://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/349900/description/News_in_Brief_Yangtzes_age_revealed
- Dictionary of Sydneyhttps://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/river_cycles_a_history_of_the_parramatta_river
- In Search of Ancient Oregon: A Geological and Natural History
- Geologyhttps://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009Geo....37..619F
- "A River Runs Backward"http://endeavors.unc.edu/win2007/amazon.php