Rivers represent one of the most important natural features in any landscape. Historically, rivers have provided access to marine transportation, water for humans and crops, and major defensive advantages. It's the reason why many of the great civilizations of ancient history were built around rivers, and it's the reason why some of the world's greatest cities - London, Paris, Rome, Moscow, Budapest, Prague, Montreal, and Kiev, to name a few - are river cities: none of these is located on a coast. Even most of the world's great cities on coasts, like New York, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, are seaports located where major rivers connect to the sea. To give you the best possible views of the world's most famous waterways, here is a collection of drone videos from the great rivers of Planet earth, from the Amazon to the Yangtze! Aerial photo: Mountain River by AirVuz contributor and drone pilot Zdeno Dvorak.
Click here to see all of the AirVuz Nature collections.
Amazon: World's Largest River by Discharge
Amazon
- Fabio Knoll
- 4.5k VŪZ
65 - 39
- almost 4 years ago
The mighty Amazon River is the king of rivers. At 6.4k km (4k mi.) in length, it's either #1 or #2 in length depending on definition. Measured by discharge, it's not even close: the Amazon pumps an average of over 200k cubic meters (over 7 million cubic feet) of water into the Atlantic Ocean every second, roughly 5x its closest competitor. Award-winning contributor and drone pilot Fabio Knoll is a native of Brazil; his aerial video showcasing this spectacular natural resource is magnificent.
Yangtze: China's Longest River
Yangtze, the Longest River in Asia

- mamitagadventures
- 3.8k VŪZ
45 - 49
- over 3 years ago
China's Yangtze River is the longest in Asia and third longest in the world. Rising in the highlands of Tibet, it runs over 6.3k km (just under 4k mi.) to discharge into the East China Sea at the great city of Shanghai, the world's busiest port. More than any individual city, this mighty river is the very heart of China. In this video, contributor Mamitagadventures flies a DJI Mavic Pro drone over the great waterway, giving us bird's eye views of Shibaozhai Pagoda Temple, Chongquing, Yichang, and more.
Rhine: Great River of Europe
Germany's Rhineland by Drone

- markcure
- 549 VŪZ
17 - 10
- about 2 years ago
Content creator and drone pilot Markcure gives us this beautiful aerial look at the Middle Rhine River in Western Germany. The Rhine is one of the most important waterways in Europe, belying its modest length of about 1.2k km (about 735 mi.). It rises in Germany's Black Forest as the High Rhine, meanders through parts of France and Switzerland as the Upper Rhine, runs north through much of western Germany as the Middle, then shifts to the northwest, discharging into the North Sea in the Netherlands.
Ganges: Sacred River of India
Dronie from the Ganga (Ganges) River, Uttarakhand

- MIAPVIDEOS
- 287 VŪZ
13 - 7
- over 2 years ago
The great Ganges (Ganga) River is amongst the 3-4 most important rivers in the world, although in terms of length it's a distant #35 at just over 2.5km (1.56 mi.). It rises in the Himalaya's and runs through the North Indian Plain before breaking into distributories that empty into the Bay of Bengal. Passing through the most holy sites in Hinduism, it's considered sacred in the third largest religion. In this video, you'll get an aerial look at the river nearer its source, compliments of contributor Miapvideos.
Mississippi: America's Greatest River
Mississippi River Flight
- rickrayfilms
- 260 VŪZ
13 - 7
- about 4 years ago
Rickrayfilms created this beautiful aerial mini tour of the lower Mississippi River, generally considered the USA's greatest waterway. It rises in northern Minnesota and runs about 3.7k km (2.3k mi.) through the country's mid-section, discharging into the Gulf of Mexico at New Orleans. It's the USA's largest river by discharge. Length-wise, strictly speaking it's not as long as its Missouri River tributary, but using a convention of counting the Missouri it's the fourth longest in the world.
Orinoco: River of Venezuela
Edición XXVI Paso a nado del Río Orinoco y Río Caroní

- Djivzla Drone
- 4.9k VŪZ
26 - 19
- over 4 years ago
While the Amazon is South America's mightiest river, the Orinoco is a very close second. This waterway runs over 2.1k km (about 1.3k mi) through Colombia and Venezuela, discharging an average of 37k cubic meters of water (over 1.3 million cu ft.) into the Atlantic every second. By average discharge, it's the world's #3 river. Contributor DJIVzla Drone gives us this epic aerial view of this mighty river in its primary country Venezuela, where the Orinoco plays a role analogous to the Amazon in Brazil.
Russia's Volga River
Volga Alpen

- ExclusiveLogin
- 760 VŪZ
13 - 11
- over 1 year ago
It would be hard to overstate the importance of the Volga River to Russia. Europe's longest river runs almost entirely within the borders of Russia, from a source in the hills in the northwestern part of the country to the Caspian Sea. The majority of the country's largest cities sit on the river or its tributaries, a geographic fact which is tied closely to the arc of Russian history. In this drone video by Exclusive Login, you'll get an aerial view of the mighty waterway around its midpoint, and in all seasons.
Dneiper: Waterway of Kiev
Adrift on the Dneiper River

- Antonio Esteban Go...
- 1.3k VŪZ
29 - 24
- almost 3 years ago
The Ukrainian capital Kiev is closely tied to the Dneiper River on which it sits. Kiev sits roughly midway down the 2.2k km (1.36k mi.) river, Europe's fourth longest . The Dneiper rises near Smolensk in western Russia and empties into the Black Sea to the south. Along the way, it provides enough hydropower to generate about 10% of the Ukraine's electricity needs. In this video, you'll get a nice bird's eye view of the mighty river in winter, compliments of contributor Anthony Esteban Gonsales.
Danube: Europe's Second-Longest River
Danube Blues

- Axlfro
- 1.3k VŪZ
32 - 27
- over 1 year ago
Contributor Axlfro created this beautiful DVOW nominated video from a trip down the Danube River, the second-longest waterway in Europe after the Volga River. The video features footage from the upper half of the 2.85k km (almost 1.8k km) river. This portion of the river includes territory in Germany (where the river rises, in the Black Forest), through Austria and into Hungary. The mighty river passes through (or borders) four other countries before discharging into the Black Sea in Romania.
Poland's Vistula River
Poland Kazimierz Dolny
- artursam
- 698 VŪZ
11 - 11
- over 1 year ago
The Vistula River is Poland's most important waterway. Rising in the Carpathians and emptying into the Baltic Sea, it runs a bit over 1k km (around 650 mi.) on a generally northerly course that's entirely within Polish territory. Passing through some of Poland's most important cities, it also has long stretches dotted with beautiful small, often historically important, towns. In this drone video by artusam, you'll get an aerial view of one of them: Kazimierz Dolny, in the (southeastern) Lublin Voivodeship.
Brahmaputra: River of Bangladesh
Mahabahu Brahmaputra

- cpborgohain
- 1.3k VŪZ
19 - 18
- about 3 years ago
The Brahmaputra is one of the three great rivers of southern Asia, along with the Ganges and the Indus. It rises in Tibet and flows through great stretches of northeastern India before entering Bangladesh, where it merges with one of the two main Ganges distributaries and thereafter forms the great Ganges Delta. At 3.8k km (2.4k mi.), it's the world's fifteenth longest river. In this drone video by Cpborgohain, you'll get an epic drone's eye view of this magnificent waterway flowing through the Indian state of Assam.
St. Lawrence: River of North America
Le Fleuve St-Laurent

- dizifilms
- 3.8k VŪZ
48 - 24
- almost 4 years ago
Canada's St. Lawerence River is the country's most important waterway. It provides the connection between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, and is also an immense source of hydroelectricity for Canada and the United States. Only 500 km (just over 300 mi.) long, the St. Lawrence is North America's largest river by discharge volume, and it created the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the largest river estuary in the world. Contributor Dizfilms created this epic aerial tour of this mighty seaway.
Zambezi: River of Sub-Saharan Africa
Victoria Falls Zimbabwe-Zambia Mosi-oa-Tunya 1700m

- FreD ...///...
- 3.6k VŪZ
51 - 49
- over 3 years ago
The Zambezi river in southern Africa is almost 2.6k km (1.6k mi.) long, making it the fourth longest river on the continent. It rises in Zambia and flows through three other countries before reaching Zambia again on its border with Zimbabwe where Victoria Falls, the river's most notable feature, is located. In this video, contributor FredD flew his drone over the mighty river as it courses through the mighty waterfall, creating a masterpiece from the visuals of the water rushing downriver.
Columbia: River of USA's Pacific Northwest
Columbia River Gorge

- Oregon Skywalker
- 2.4k VŪZ
23 - 24
- about 4 years ago
Contributor and pilot Oregon Skywalker created this beautiful drone video shot on the Columbia River, unquestionably the most important in western North America. It drains a huge section of the mountains of the USA's Pacific Northwest and Canada's British Columbia province, running 2k km (1.24k mi.) before discharging into the Pacific Ocean in Oregon. The third largest purely USA river by discharge volume, it supplies the region with some of its top tourist spots as well as most of its electricity.
Mekong: River of Indochina
Mekong Delta, Vietnam
- benandstories
- 1.0k VŪZ
19 - 13
- over 3 years ago
The Mekong River is one of the world's most important waterways, and with a length of about 4.4k km (about 2.7k mi), it's one of the dozen longest rivers in the world. It rises in Tibet and runs down the southeast side of the Indochina Peninsula, discharging into the South China Sea in Vietnam. Its valleys and those of its tributaries feed hundreds of millions. Benandstories created this awesome drone video of the river near its mouth, on the Mekong Delta near Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon).
Indus: Pakistan's Most Important River
Cruising the Indus River in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
- imrankw
- 926 VŪZ
17 - 11
- over 3 years ago
Contributor Imrankw created this aerial view of a spot on the Indus River in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of northern Pakistan. The Indus is one of Asia's most important waterways, comparable in importance to Pakistan as the Ganges is to India. Like the Ganges, it rises in the highlands of Tibet, a giant plateau which covers much of western China. After running through a portion of northwestern India, the remainder of its almost 3.2k km (just under 2k mi.) course is through Pakistan, where it discharges into the Arabian Sea.
Dneister: River of Eastern Europe
The Dneister River in Winter
- Lens Flare
- 1.1k VŪZ
16 - 18
- almost 3 years ago
Contributor and pilot Lens Flare used a DJI Mavic Pro drone to create this video of a town on the bend of the Dneister River, an important waterway in Eastern Europe. The town is Roghi, in the eastern part of the nation of Moldova. The river originates in Ukraine, and runs a nearly 1.4k km (846 mi.) generally southward course and discharging into the Black Sea. In between, it runs through eastern Moldova, in certain areas serving as the border between the two countries, before crossing back into Ukraine.
Orange: South Africa's National Waterway
Dronie from a Kayak on the Orange River

- YoumiTrip
- 1.6k VŪZ
44 - 34
- about 3 years ago
Contributor and drone-explorer extraordinaire brings us this epic pull-out shot taken on the longest river in southern Africa. The Orange River sources from the Drakensberg mountains and runs most of its 2.2 km (1,4k mi.) course westwards through South Africa, serving as its northern border with Namibia before discharging into the South Atlantic Ocean. It is considered one of South Africa's greatest natural resources, supplying vast amounts of irrigation and hydropower to the region's most populous country.
Loire: River of France
The Loire Valley by Drone

- Etienne Lehuédé
- 1.5k VŪZ
19 - 14
- about 4 years ago
The Loire River is the longest waterway in France, a country known in part for its rivers. Running entirely within France's borders, the Loire stretches a total of just over 1k km (about 630 miles), rising in Central France and discharging into the Atlantic Ocean at the Bay of Biscay. It runs through the very heart of historical France; the Loire Valley includes hallowed towns such as Orleans, Tour, and Nantes, as well as many of France's most famous chateaus, such as as Chenonceau and Chambord.
Lena River: Draining Siberia
Siberian Flights: Along the Lena River
- adrianotrapani.com
- 1.5k VŪZ
20 - 21
- over 3 years ago
Contributor Adrianotrapani created this magnificent video from western Siberia in Russia. It was shot in a district of the Irkust Oblast, which lies just to the west of Lake Baikal. The video was shot along the Lena River, one of the three great rivers which drain Siberia into the Arctic Sea. Drawing from the same watershed as Lake Baikal (the world's largest freshwater lake measured by water volume), the Lena runs over 4.3k mi. (almost 2.7k mi.), forming a giant delta north of the Arctic Circle.
France's River Rhône
Over the Rhône - DJI MAVIC PRO
- Najibk
- 787 VŪZ
15 - 11
- over 3 years ago
The Rhône is the most important river of Southern France. While it isn't quite as long as the Loire River, it is easily the country's largest by discharge volume. The river rises in the Alps and flows westwards and southwards, eventually splitting into two rivers (the Great Rhône and Little Rhône) and creating a large delta in the Comarge region before ending in the Mediterranean. In this drone video by contributor Najibk, you'll get a look at the mighty waterway as it makes its way through the countryside.
Missouri: Mighty Mississippi Tributary
Pierre, South Dakota: Missouri River Town

- North Skye Aerial ...
- 177 VŪZ
11 - 5
- over 2 years ago
Contrary to what many believe, the Mississippi is technically not the USA's longest river. That title belongs to the Missouri River, which runs over 3.7k km (over 2.3k mi.) before joining the Mississippi in St. Louis, Missouri. Over its course, towns and cities in ten different states owe their existence to the mighty waterway. In this drone video by North Sky Aerial Imaging, you'll get a bird's eye look at the river as it flows through one of these cities, the South Dakota state capital of Pierre.
Portugal's Douro River
The Douro
- 1586528741370096
- 101 VŪZ
9 - 8
- over 3 years ago
The Douro River is one of the major waterways on the Iberian Peninsula; it's the third-longest after the Ebro and the Tagus. The Douro rises in northern Spain and runs a course of just under 900 km (around 550 mi.), emptying into the Atlantic in the Portuguese city of Porto. For about a fifth of its run it forms the national boundary between Portugal and Spain. With 15 dams, it's also a significant source of hydropower. In this drone video, you'll see a stretch of the river as it runs through Portugal's wine country.
Dvina: River of Russia and Belarus
Fog over the Dvina River

- onekit
- 226 VŪZ
10 - 7
- about 3 years ago
The Dvina River, also called the Daugava, is an important river in Eastern Europe. The waterway rises in Russia and runs a course of just over 1.0k km (620 mi.) through Belarus and Latvia before discharging into the Baltic Sea at the Gulf of Riga. Historically, the river played an important defensive role given the lack of other natural defenses on the approaches to Moscow. In this video, you'll get a bird's eye view of the river near the Belarus town of Vtibesk, compliments of contributor Onekit.
Ohio: Draining the USA's Appalachians
Aerial Drone Footage | Ohio River Bridge East End Crossing | 4K |

- VizionAir
- 275 VŪZ
11 - 8
- about 4 years ago
The Ohio River is one of the USA's most important waterways. It arises from the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, draining a large portion of the Appalachians and flowing almost 1.6k km (just under 1k mi.) to join the Mississippi in Cairo, Illinois. While it's not as long as the Missouri River, it is the largest Mississippi tributary by discharge. VizionAir used a drone to aerially film a new bridge over the great river near Louisville, Kentucky.
Colorado: Great River of the American West
The Mighty Colorado River

- pk productions
- 1.2k VŪZ
26 - 25
- about 3 years ago
The Colorado River is one of the principal waterways of western North America. It rises in the Rocky Mountains, and runs over 2.3k km to discharge into the Gulf of California in northern Mexico. Its course carved out some of the world's most well known canyons, including the Arizona's Grand Canyon and the Black Canyon, the site of Hoover Dam. In this drone video by pk productions, you'll get a great aerial view of the river flowing through Moab in southern Utah, compliments of PK Productions.
Pearl: River of Southern China
Pearl River Delta: Over the Hong Kong Border

- Droneland
- 3.3k VŪZ
49 - 42
- over 2 years ago
In this amazing aerial video by contributor Droneland, you'll get a tour-by-drone of China's great Pearl River Delta. The estuary of China's third largest river is home to over a hundred million people and for decades has been one of the world's most important economic regions. The area explored is that beyond (inland) from Hong Kong, which sits at the northern mouth of the river's mouth. This is Guangzhou Province, whose largest cities (Guangzhou and Shenzen) are amongst the largest in the country.
New York's Hudson River
Autumn Foliage in New York's Hudson Valley
- utcinema
- 838 VŪZ
15 - 13
- about 3 years ago
The Hudson River is most closely associated with its end-point in the harbor of New York City. In contrast, its upstream sections are far less well known. Originating with runoff from the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York, the great river runs a course of just over 500 km (315 mi.). It's divided into an Upper Hudson and Lower Hudson, the divider being Federal Dam in Troy. In this video by Utcinema, you'll get a bird's eye view of the valley of the Lower Hudson, at the height of the Fall season.
Western Europe's Meuse River
Flying my DJI Mavic 2 in Neer, Limburg

- Dedication Photogr...
- 190 VŪZ
13 - 8
- about 1 month ago
The Meuse is one of the most important rivers in Western Europe. Also known for parts of its course as the Maas, it rises on a plateau in northeastern France and flows on a generally northwards course through eastern Belgium and the southern Netherlands before taking a western turn and emptying into the North Sea as part of the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt Delta. In this drone video by Dedication Photography, you'll get an aerial view of the great waterway as it runs its course around Neer, in the Dutch province of Limburg.
North America's Yukon River
Misty Reflections on the Yukon River

- WayNorth Drones
- 205 VŪZ
11 - 10
- 29 days ago
Check out this fantastic drone video of the giant Yukon River, compliments of AirVuz contributor and pilot WayNorth Drones. One of the longest waterways in North America, the river rises in the mountains of northwestern British Columbia in Western Canada and runs a southeast-to-northwest route through the southwestern corner of the Yukon Territory (where the video was filmed). It then crosses into Alaska and runs on a generally western course to discharge into the Bering Sea, completing its course of about 3.2k km or just under 2k mi.
The Don River in Southern Russia
Chasing Racing Boats with FPV, Rostov-on-Don

- D3nzlFPV
- 638 VŪZ
13 - 11
- over 2 years ago
Here's an amazing first personn view (FPV) video of a boat race on the Don River in southern Russia, compliments of content creator and FPV pilot D3nzlFPV. It's a great example of the power of racing drones to film subjects which are simply moving too fast for gimbal-stabilized camera drones. The filming scene is near the city of Rostov-on-Don, a port city near the mouth of the mighty Don River in Russia's Southern Federated District. The Don is one of the most important waterways in southern Russia.
Spain's Ebro River
Catalonia Delta de l'Ebre || Mavic Pro + GoPRo Cinematic

- Karl Veca
- 377 VŪZ
12 - 8
- over 2 years ago
The Ebro River is the most important waterway in Spain. It drains much of the mountainous are in the northern part of the country, running 930 km (a bit under 600 mi.) to a discharge point into the Mediterranean in Catalonia, south of Terragona. If you look at a map of the lower river, you'll see where the term "river delta" comes from; the area of land around the mouth makes an almost perfect triangle. In this video, you'll get an aerial view of the Ebro Delta, compliments of contrbutor Karl Veca.
The Ural: Europe's Third Longest River
Foggy Morning
- sekl
- 856 VŪZ
12 - 12
- over 3 years ago
The Ural River is the third longest river in Europe, after the Volga and the Danube. It rises in the Ural Mountains in Russia, then passes through a portion of western Kazakhstan before discharging into the great Caspian Sea. It's an immensely important natural resource to Kazakhstan, much of which is covered by desert. In this drone video by contributor sekl, you'll get a bird's eye view of the great waterway as it meanders its way through Kazakhstan, the world's largest landlocked country.
More Rivers from an Aerial View
Along The Mississippi - Aerial Journey With Rick Ray
- Rick Ray Films
- 793 VŪZ
15 - 12
- 12 months ago
Tower Bridge, London in 4K

- CH drone
- 2.7k VŪZ
22 - 32
- about 2 years ago
Sunset At Algiers Point

- Bumble Bee Product...
- 994 VŪZ
16 - 23
- over 1 year ago
Amazon in 4K - Sunset cruising

- Exclusive Aerials
- 3.1k VŪZ
44 - 42
- over 3 years ago
Agno River
- 10205500336185849
- 246 VŪZ
10 - 5
- about 2 years ago
Winter Fog in the Snake River Canyon.

- RFS
- 1.6k VŪZ
43 - 25
- about 3 years ago
Transport Ships Trapped on the Frozen Danube, Romania

- GeorgeMarcu
- 1.7k VŪZ
42 - 23
- almost 4 years ago
Dark Canyon ( Kemaliye )
- Alp Karagulle
- 2.4k VŪZ
51 - 31
- over 3 years ago
Cazanele Dunarii - Danube - Romania
- By: fabriziob
- 1.7k VŪZ
29 - 28
- over 3 years ago
Air of Serenity
- MagicAerials
- 957 VŪZ
18 - 13
- over 1 year ago