# What's the largest city in the world not near water? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 19, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-city-in-the-world-not-near-water/500323 "2009-06-19T19:13:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-city-in-the-world-not-near-water/500323/41 "2009-06-21T01:01:54Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I dunno, I’d make the “water” restriction to be such that the city had to be navigable to by some sort of viable commercial vessels. Any old water hole will do for some local irrigation, and rules in too many cities, IMHO. > > Granted, some cities which were once serviced by commercial ships no longer are able to be, with the closing up of various locks and the neglect of river dredging. I was surprised to learn that once one could sail from the Ohio river across the state of Ohio, and into Lake Erie, via a chain of streams, canals, and locks. But no more. > > But that’s my bias, and I’m a bit of a geography geek, so my biases may be a bit quirky. Well, that might make for a more interesting question in some ways, but it’s not what the OP was talking about. The OP appears to be talking about cities where the only involvement of water was that they had enough to drink, but no other obvious watercourse such as a river. ---
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-city-in-the-world-not-near-water/500323/42 "2009-06-21T01:58:36Z")
> [@fandango](#): > > I always thought it was Pretoria, South Africa. Well, the [Hartbeespoort Dam](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartbeespoort_Dam) is only 35 kilometres from the city, so it depends on your definition of “near”. Edit: The Hartbeespoort Dam is fed by the Crocodile River, which doesn’t flow through Pretoria, but the city sits in a kind of valley with a bunch of smaller rivers/streams which would presumably have been sufficient to supply it in its earlier days. ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-city-in-the-world-not-near-water/500323/43 "2009-06-28T02:15:47Z")
Basically I meant big enough water supply to explain that’s why the city ended up being there (or at least thrived once it was). ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-city-in-the-world-not-near-water/500323/44 "2009-06-29T06:09:26Z")
I think 95% of water in Riyadh is from external sources. And Mecca is an oasis or was one at one time. ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-city-in-the-world-not-near-water/500323/45 "2009-06-29T06:48:57Z")
I don’t see it mentioned, but what about Tuscan, Az? Seems to me that all the water that the city gets is by aqueduct (not natural anyway). ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-city-in-the-world-not-near-water/500323/46 "2009-06-29T08:51:53Z")
In terms of population, I’m think Bangalore (pop. 6.2 million) is in the running. 80% of the water for the city comes from a river about 70km away; the rest from a reservoir about 50km away. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-city-in-the-world-not-near-water/500323/47 "2009-06-29T15:37:57Z")
Is Tehran (pop. 7.9 million) on any major waterways? The Caspian Sea is a good 50 miles away from it. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-city-in-the-world-not-near-water/500323/48 "2009-06-29T17:25:59Z")
Good call, **MikeS**. Preliminary research seems to give the nod to Tehran over less-populous Riyadh and Bangalore. The only navigable river in Iran is the Karun in the south of the country, far away from Tehran. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-city-in-the-world-not-near-water/500323/49 "2009-06-29T18:16:44Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Every winter, people manage to fall in the rushing LA River and drown due to the large volume and swift currents. I’ve read “The Narrows” by Michael Connelly and I’m aware of this temporary phenomenon. But how long does that water stay in the river? ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-city-in-the-world-not-near-water/500323/50 "2009-06-29T18:21:07Z")
> [@The\_Great\_Philosopher](#): > > Maybe this is a joke… but if not, apart from the Pacific (!), Los Angeles also has a number of rivers in close proximity - the San Gabriel and [Los Angeles](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_River) Rivers, with the Rio Hondo as a separate tributary - plus a handful of lakes. Apparently they had some serious problems with flooding in the early 20th century. It’s a pretty watery city. 🙂 Well, In My Humble Opinion, and coming from Switzerland, a river is not really a river if it’s dry 3/4 of the year or more. Now [the Rhone](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rh%C3%B4ne_%C3%A0_Gen%C3%A8ve.jpg) or [the Rhine](http://www.railaway.ch/uploads/media/Schifffahrt-Schaffhausen-Stein-am-Rhein_03.jpg) - those are rivers! ---
**Author:** ![Rev.H-Cubed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Rev.H-Cubed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rev.H-Cubed)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-city-in-the-world-not-near-water/500323/51 "2010-04-19T19:47:31Z")
> [@fandango](#): > > I always thought it was Pretoria, South Africa. Here’s a link to some [**Johannesburg** history](http://www.joburgnews.co.za/facts/water.stm), explaining it’s founding as “the city without water”. It has always been a tough town 😃 All Jo’burgers are rather proud that we’ve built, from that dusty origin, a city that currently resembles a rainforest on satellite imagery. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-city-in-the-world-not-near-water/500323/52 "2010-04-19T20:37:31Z")
Sana’a, Yemen comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-city-in-the-world-not-near-water/500323/53 "2010-04-19T20:59:33Z")
> **[Ürümqi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urumqi)** > > Ürümqi\[n 1\] (/ʊˈrʊmtʃi/ i uu-RUUM-chee; also spelled Urumqi or Urumchi), formerly known as Dihua\[n 2\] (also spelled Tihwa), is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the far northwest of the People's Republic of China. Ürümqi developed its reputation as a leading cultural and commercial center during the Qing dynasty in the 19th century. > With a census population of 4 million in 2020, Ürümqi is the second-largest city in China's northwestern interior after Xi'an as well as the... i see some reservoirs on googlemaps, but none of them are more than a mile in diameter. some larger lakes to the south, but again, nothing major. no major rivers, and it is noteworthy of being super-remote if nothing else. ---
**Author:** ![EdwardLost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@EdwardLost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdwardLost)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-city-in-the-world-not-near-water/500323/54 "2010-04-19T21:23:53Z")
How do old threads like this suddenly pop back up? What’s the mechanism? ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-city-in-the-world-not-near-water/500323/55 "2010-04-19T21:33:03Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > Madrid has a ridiculous stream as an excuse for a river and none of the water that feeds Madrid is from that river but brought from many Km away. According to legend, the French ambassador commented on a particularly lovely bridge over the Manzanares: “A most impressive bridge. If only it had a river.” ---
**Author:** ![Sutremaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@Sutremaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sutremaine)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-city-in-the-world-not-near-water/500323/56 "2010-04-20T20:38:53Z")
> [@EdwardLost](#): > > How do old threads like this suddenly pop back up? What’s the mechanism? I can’t speak for other people, but usually when I start composing a reply to an ancient thread it’s because I searched for it and then forgot it was brought up as part of a search. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-city-in-the-world-not-near-water/500323/57 "2010-04-20T22:32:25Z")
How about Tombstone, Arizona? > [@](#): > > Country United States > State Arizona > County Cochise > Founded 1879 > > Area > > - Total 4.3 sq mi (11.1 km2) > - Land 4.3 sq mi (11.1 km2) > - Water 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) > Since Tombstone was in the desert, a company built a pipeline to supply the town with water. No sooner was this pipeline built than Tombstone’s silver mines struck water. (Wikipedia) ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-city-in-the-world-not-near-water/500323/58 "2010-04-21T01:08:25Z")
> [@MikeS](#): > > Is Tehran (pop. 7.9 million) on any major waterways? This was going to be my guess as well. [Tehran geography](http://en.tehran.ir/Default.aspx?tabid=12508). ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-city-in-the-world-not-near-water/500323/59 "2010-04-21T02:25:12Z")
> [@EdwardLost](#): > > How do old threads like this suddenly pop back up? What’s the mechanism? Newbies paging through the topics. It’s easy to get lost in there. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-city-in-the-world-not-near-water/500323/60 "2010-04-21T06:38:27Z")
> [@johnspartan](#): > > Basically I meant big enough water supply to explain that’s why the city ended up being there (or at least thrived once it was). Then I’ll add my vote to **sailor** ’s for Madrid and props to Jerusalem. While Mexico City has outgrown its local water sources, it was placed where it is because of the lake; same goes for Vegas and its artesian wells. Madrid, on the other hand, would never have grown beyond being a pimple on Spain’s backside if Felipe II hadn’t decided he wanted his capital to be in the center of the Iberian Peninsula. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-city-in-the-world-not-near-water/500323.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-city-in-the-world-not-near-water/500323.md?page=4)