What is the widest river in the world and how wide and deep is it?

Answer 1

The Amazon River or River Amazon (Portuguese: Rio Amazonas; Spanish: Río Amazonas) of South America is the largest river in the world by volume, with greater total river flow than the next eight largest rivers combined, and with the largest drainage basin in the world. Because of its vast dimensions it is sometimes called The River Sea (o rio-mar in Portuguese), and at no point is it crossed by bridges.[1]

In 1500, Vicente Yañez Pinzón was the first European to sail into the river. Pinzón called the river flow "Río Santa María de la Mar Dulce", later shortened to "Mar Dulce" (sweet sea).

Debate as to whether the Amazon or the Nile is the world's longest river has gone on for many years, with the consensus during the 20th century being that, by possibly only a few kilometers, the Nile is the longer of the two
Countries Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela
Length 6,400 km (4,000 mi) approx.
Watershed 7,050,000 km² (2,720,000 mi²) approx.
Discharge at mouth
- average 219,000 m³/s (7,734,000 ft³/s) approx.
Source Apacheta cliff
- location Nevado Mismi, Arequipa, Peru
- coordinates 15°31′05″S 71°45′55″W
- elevation 5,170 m (16,962 ft)

Answer 2

The answers already given agree on the Amazon, but quantifying the answer is harder. Great question - but it is the hydrological equivalent of "how long is a piece of string?"

When does flowing water cease being a river and become an estuary? How would you quantify a delta where the river splits into many channels with marsh or swamp?

River width and depth vary with upstream rainfall. If the river has a defined channel with bed and banks, the width will be bank to bank and the depth will vary with the water flow until flood stage, when the river overtops one or both banks.

A river that is 0.75 m deep or less in a dry summer can in a few hours become 5-10 metres deep because of torrential rain upstream.

Answer 3

Amazon river is the widest river !!
great but navigators claim its known origin is wrong its still few miles before this...so it could be the longest river also

Answer 4

The Amazon at it's widest is about 28 miles across during the wet season. I don't recall how deep it gets though.

Answer 5

The Amazon River or River Amazon (Portuguese: Rio Amazonas; Spanish: Río Amazonas) of South America is the largest river in the world by volume, with greater total river flow than the next eight largest rivers combined, and with the largest drainage basin in the world. Because of its vast dimensions it is sometimes called The River Sea (o rio-mar in Portuguese), and at no point is it crossed by bridges.
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Answer 6

the Amazon - about 11 km wide in the dry season in parts
going up to 40 km in the rainy season.

Answer 7

http://www.extremescience.com/AmazonRiver.htm