Red River

The second one in Top 10 Longest Rivers in Vietnam that Toplist would like to introduce to you is Red River. The Red River, also known as the Hong River (Vietnamese: Sông Hồng), the Hồng Hà and Sông Cái in Vietnamese and the Yuan River in Chinese, is a 1,149-kilometer (714-mile)-long river that flows from Yunnan in Southwest China to the Gulf of Tonkin. According to C. Michael Hogan, the associated Red River Fault played a role in the formation of the entire South China Sea as early as 37 million years ago. In China, the name red and the southern position are associated in traditional cardinal directions.

The Red River begins in the mountains south of Dali in China's Yunnan province. The main headstreams, the Leqiu River, the Xi River, and the Juli River, all confluence at Nanjian to form the Lishe River. At Hongtupo, Chuxiong Prefecture, the Lishe River joins another headstream, the Yijie River. It flows southeast, passing through Yi and Dai ethnic minority areas before exiting China via Yunnan's Honghe Autonomous Prefecture. It enters Vietnam at Lào Cai Province and forms part of China's and Vietnam's international border. For this upper stretch, the river is known as the Thao River, and it flows southeast through northwestern Vietnam before emerging from the mountains and reaching the midlands. Its two main tributaries, the Black River (Da River) and the Lô River, join to form the very broad Hng near Việt Trì, Phú Thọ Province.

The Red River Delta is formed by the river and its main distributaries, the Đuống River, Kinh Thầy River, Bạch Đằng River and the Thái Bình river system, which flow downstream from Việt Trì. The Red River flows through Hanoi, Vietnam, before emptying into the Gulf of Tonkin. Its estuary is a Ramsar site and the focal point of the Xuân Thủy National Park.

The river gets its name from its reddish-brown, silt-filled water. The Red River is well-known for its violent floods and seasonal volume fluctuations. Seasonal flooding is exacerbated by erosion, development, and pollution. The delta is a major agricultural area in Vietnam, with a large area dedicated to rice cultivation. An intricate network of dikes and levees protects the land.

Length: 1,149 km (714 mi- shared with China)