The Ganga River System
Ganga or the Ganges is a major river in India. This river is the cradle of one of the dense populations in the world.
Ganga is so important for the society, economy and culture of the Indian subcontinent that it is worshipped as a goddess in every part of the country. In this part of the lesson, apart from the Ganga River System you will also learn about the Brahmaputra which is the main river of the northeastern part of India.
- The headwaters of Ganga are called Bhagirathi. It is fed by the Gangotri Glacier. It is joined by Alaknanda at Devprayag in Uttarakhand.
- Ganga emerges from the mountains on to the plains at Haridwar.
- Yamuna, Ghaghra, Gandak and Kosi are the major tributaries of Ganga. Yamuna originates from the Yamunotri Glacier in the Himalayas. It meets Ganga at Allahabad aka Prayagraj.
- Gaghra, Gandak and Kosi rise in the Nepal Himalaya.
- Chambal, Betwa and Son are the major tributaries which come from the peninsular uplands.
- After taking waters from various tributaries, Ganga flows towards east till Farakka (West Bengal). The river bifurcates at Farakka. The Bhagirathi-Hooghly (a distributary) flows towards south to the Bay of Bengal.
- The mainstream flows southwards into Bangladesh, where it is joined by the Brahmaputra. Further downstream, tt is known as Meghna.
- Finally, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra flow into the Bay of Bengal forming the Sunderban Delta. The total length of Ganga is 2500 km.
The Brahmaputra River System
- The Brahmaputra rises in Tibet, east of Mansarowar lake. It is a little longer than the Indus. Most of the course of the Brahmaputra lies outside India. It flows eastwards parallel to the Himalayas.
- After reaching Namcha Barwa, it enters India in Arunachal Pradesh through a gorge. It is known as Dihang in this region. It is joined by Dibang, Lohit, Kenula and many other tribuatries and finally forms the Brahmaputra in Assam.
- Unlike other north Indian rivers, the Brahmaputra gets huge deposits of silt on its bed. This results in rising of the river bed. It also shifts its channel frequently.