Briefly explain the following : (1) ganga river system, (2) the brahmaputra river system, (3) the indus river system.

Indus River System :

The river Indus rises from the Tibetan plateau and enters the Himalaya in Ladakh. It enters the Kashmir region near its confluence with the river Gurtang, at an elevation of about 4200 metres. The drainage basin of the Indus river system extends from the Naga Parbat mass in the extreme North-Western part of the country to the Western slopes of the Shimla ridge in Himachal Pradesh. It includes the whole of Jammu and Kashmir and most of Himachal Pradesh. The extreme Northern tract of the Indus basin comprises of the cold desert of Ladakh, Lahaul Spiti and Pooh. South of this tract lies the higher Himalayan mountain wall. The lower and middle Himalayas occupy the central part of the Indus basin. The low rolling Shivalik hills occur along its Southern periphery.

Climatic conditions in the Indus river system vary from arctic to sub-tropical. The cold desert area remains devoid of rainfall and experiences heavy snowfall. The important rivers of this system are the Satluj, the Beas, the Ravi, the Chenab and the Jhelum. Out of these five, four flow through Himachal Pradesh and along with their tributaries draining parts of Himachal Pradesh.

1. The headwaters of the Ganga, called the ‘Bhagirathi’ is fed by the Gangotri Glacier and joined by the Alaknanda at Devaprayag in Uttaranchal. At Haridwar the Ganga emerges

from the mountains on to the plains. The Ganga is joined by many tributaries from the Himalayas, a few of them being major rivers such as the Yamuna, the Ghaghara, the Gandak and the Kosi. The river Yamuna rises from the Yamunotri Glacier in the Himalayas. It flows parallel to the Ganga and as a right bank tributary, meets the Ganga at Allahabad. The Ghaghara, the Gandak and the Kosi rise in the Nepal Himalaya. They are the rivers, which flood parts of the northern plains every year, causing widespread damage to life and property but enriching the soil for the extensive agricultural lands.

The main tributaries, which come from the peninsular uplands, are the Chambal, the Betwa and the Son. These rise from semi arid areas, have shorter courses and do not carry much water in them. Enlarged with the waters from its right and left bank tributaries, the Ganga flows eastwards till Farakka in West Bengal. This is the northernmost point of the Ganga delta. The river bifurcates here; the Bhagirathi-Hooghly (a distributary) flows southwards through the deltaic plains to the Bay of Bengal. The mainstream, flows southwards into Bangladesh and is joined by the Brahmaputra. Further down stream, it is known as the Meghna. This mighty river, with waters from the Ganga, and the Brahmaputra, flows into the Bay of Bengal. The delta formed by these rivers is known as the Sunderban delta. The length of the Ganga is over 2500 km.

3. the Indus river system are as follows:

• The river Indus rises in Tibet, near Lake Mansarowar.
• The river flows forming several gorges.
• Important tributaries of Indus are Zaskar, Nubra, Shyoand, Hunza.Satluj, Beas, Ravi, Chenab and Jhelum
• Indus is one of the longest rivers of the world...

i) Brahmaputra River System:

The Brahmaputra is one of the biggest rivers of the world. The Brahmaputra basin covers an area of 5,80,000 Sq. Km of which 1,94,413 Sq. Km falls in India. In India, the basin lies in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, sikkim and West Bengal. Brahmaputra is a perennial river, feed by snow as well as by rain.

The Brahmaputra rolls down the plain of Assam east to west for a distance of 640 km up to Bangladesh border. Through its course, the river receives innumerable tributaries (about 73) coming out of the northern, northeastern and the southern hill ranges. The mighty river with a well-knit network of tributaries drains an area of 56,480 Sq. Km of the state accounting for 72 per cent of its total geographical area. Most of the right bank tributaries of Brahmaputra are snow as well rain feed and are perennial. Although the left bank tributaries is mainly rain feed but perennial in nature.

It is the fourth largest river in the world in term of average water discharge at the mouth with a flow of 19,830 m3s-1. The river carries 82 per cent of its annual flow during the rainy season (May through October). The maximum discharge of the river at Pandu (in Guwahati) on 23-08-62 was 72794 m3s-1 and the minimum discharge at the same point on 20-02-68 was 1757 m3s-1. The mean annual flood discharge and dry season discharge of the river at Pandu is 51156 m3s-1and 4420 m3s-1 respectively. The discharge per unit area of basin at Pandu is 0.03 m3s-1.

Ganga River System : :

The drainage basin of the Ganga river system covers about one third of the Western Himalaya and the entire Central Himalaya. This basin extends from the Eastern face of the Shimla ridge in Himachal Pradesh to the South-Western slopes of the Kanchanjunga massif on the Nepal-Sikkim border, thereby including parts of Kinnaur, Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur district of Himachal and Garhwal, Kumaun and Nepal.

The Ganga is the most sacred river of India. The story of the Ganga from her source to sea, from ancient times to the modern period is the story of India's civilization and culture. The Ganga has its source near Gomukh glacier, near Gangotri ( Uttar Pradesh ). The Ganga is formed by two head streams namely Alaknanda and Bhagirathi. It enters the plains near Haridwar. The Yamuna meets this river at Allahbad known as Sangam. The Ganga is the master stream of the area. South of Farakka, the river divides into a number of channels to form Sunder Ban Delta ( Largest in the world ). The main tributaries of the Ganga system are the Yamuna, Bhagirathi and Alaknanda, Kali and its tributaries, the Ghagra, the Gandak and the Kosi river. The important settlements between its bank are - Haridwar, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna and Kolkata.

  The Ganga River System

 The Ganga originates from the Gangotri Glacier in Uttarakhand in the form of

Bhagirathi river.

 The Bhagirathi and the Alaknanda rivers join together at Devprayag and form

the Ganga river. The Ganga enters the plains at Haridwar in Uttarakhand.

 Major tributaries of the Ganga are the Yamuna, the Ghaghara, the Gandak and

the Kosi.

 The Yamuna originates from the Yamunotri Glacier in the Himalayas and joins

Ganga at Allahabad.

 The Kosi, the Ghaghara and the Gandak originate from the Nepal Himalayas.

They are flood prone rivers and cause heavy damage to life and property during

floods.

 The Chambal, the Betwa and the Son are the tributaries of the Ganga that

originate from the peninsular plateau.

 The Northenmost point of the Ganga delta is Farakka in West Bengal. The river

splits here and Bhagirathi-Hooghly (distributary) flows south into the Bay of

Bengal; the main stream is joined by the Brahmaputra in Bangladesh and

eventually falls into the Bay of Bengal forming the Sunderbans delta. Length of

the Ganga is 2400 km.

 The Brahmaputra River System

 The Brahmaputra originates in Tibet, very close to the origins of the Indus and

the Satluj.

 It flows from West to East parallel to the Himalayas and enters India through

Arunachal Pradesh after taking a U-turn at Namcha Barwa.

 It is called Dihang in Arunachal Pradesh and is joined by tributaries such as the

Lohit and the Dibang.These together form the Brahmaputra in Assam.

 Brahmaputra creates many riverine islands, the largest in the world being Majuli

(in Assam).

 The Brahmaputra is a flood prone river owing to huge deposits of silt on its bed

that cause the overflowing of the river during monsoons.

 The Indus River System

 Originates from Lake Mansarovar in Tibet and enters India through Ladakh in

Jammu and Kashmir.

 The Zaskar, the Nubhra, the Shyok and the Hunza join the Indus in Kashmir.

 The Satluj, the Ravi, the Chenab, the Beas and the Jhelum together join Indus at

Mithankot in Pakistan. Indus merges with the Arabian Sea near Karachi in

Pakistan.

 Length is 2900 km. It is one of the longest rivers in the world.