Himalayan River Systems: Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra with Their Tributaries

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Why Himalayan rivers are different

The Himalayan rivers are perennial, fed by rain as well as by melting snow and glaciers, so they flow all year. Some, such as the Indus, Sutlej and Brahmaputra, are older than the ranges they cross and cut deep gorges as the mountains rose. In the plains they meander, shift course and build wide flood plains and deltas. Three great systems drain northern India: the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra. For each river, learn where it rises, which tributaries join it and on which bank, and which cities stand on it.

The Indus system

The Indus rises in Tibet near Lake Mansarovar, enters India in Ladakh, flows north-west between the Ladakh and Zaskar ranges past Leh, and turns south through Pakistan to the Arabian Sea near Karachi. It is about 2,880 km long, 1,114 km of it in India. In Ladakh it receives the Zaskar, Shyok and Nubra. Its five Punjab tributaries unite as the Panjnad and join it near Mithankot in Pakistan. The Jhelum rises at the Verinag spring in the Kashmir valley, flows through Srinagar and Wular lake and joins the Chenab in Pakistan. The Chenab, the largest tributary, forms where the Chandra and the Bhaga meet at Tandi in Himachal Pradesh, so it is also called the Chandrabhaga. The Ravi rises near the Rohtang pass and drains the Chamba valley. The Beas rises at Beas Kund near Rohtang, flows through the Kullu valley and meets the Sutlej at Harike in Punjab, staying wholly within India. The Sutlej rises at Rakas lake near Mansarovar and enters India at Shipki La.

Indus Waters Treaty, 1960

Because these rivers flow from India into Pakistan, the two countries signed the Indus Waters Treaty at Karachi on 19 September 1960, with the World Bank as broker; it was signed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and President Ayub Khan. India received the three eastern rivers, the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, and Pakistan the three western rivers, the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab, on which India may make limited use for domestic needs, irrigation and run-of-river hydropower. In all, India may use only about 20 percent of the water of the Indus system. The treaty set up a Permanent Indus Commission, with a commissioner from each country, to share data and settle questions about the rivers. Projects on these rivers include Bhakra on the Sutlej, Pong on the Beas, Ranjit Sagar on the Ravi and Salal and Baglihar on the Chenab.

The Ganga and its course

The Ganga, about 2,525 km long, is the longest river of India. It rises as the Bhagirathi at Gaumukh, the snout of the Gangotri glacier in Uttarakhand, and is joined at Devprayag by the Alaknanda, which rises from the Satopanth glacier above Badrinath; only after Devprayag is it called the Ganga. It enters the plains at Haridwar and flows through Uttar Pradesh, which has its longest stretch, Bihar, a short stretch of Jharkhand and West Bengal. At Farakka it splits: the Bhagirathi-Hugli flows south past Kolkata to the Bay of Bengal, while the main stream enters Bangladesh as the Padma, is joined by the Brahmaputra and then the Meghna, and forms the Sundarbans delta. The Ganga was declared the National River in 2008. Haridwar, Kanpur, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Patna and Bhagalpur stand on its banks.

Tributaries of the Ganga

From the left (northern) bank, mostly from the Himalayas and Nepal, come the Ramganga, Gomti (Lucknow, Jaunpur), Ghaghara (called the Sarayu at Ayodhya, joining near Chhapra), Gandak (joining near Patna), Kosi (the Sorrow of Bihar, known for shifting its course) and Mahananda. From the right (southern) bank come the Yamuna and the Son. The Yamuna, the longest tributary, rises at the Yamunotri glacier on the Bandarpunch range, flows past Delhi, Mathura and Agra and meets the Ganga at Prayagraj; its right-bank tributaries, the Chambal (Kota), Sind, Betwa and Ken, come from the plateau. The Son rises at Amarkantak and joins the Ganga west of Patna. The Damodar, the Sorrow of Bengal, flows through a rift valley in the Chotanagpur plateau and joins the Hugli.

The Brahmaputra system

The Brahmaputra rises in the Chemayungdung glacier of the Kailash range near Mansarovar and flows east across southern Tibet as the Tsangpo. Near Namcha Barwa it takes a hairpin turn and enters Arunachal Pradesh through a deep gorge as the Siang or Dihang. Joined by the Dibang and the Lohit near Sadiya, it becomes the Brahmaputra and flows west through Assam past Dibrugarh, Tezpur and Guwahati in a wide braided channel full of islands such as Majuli. Its right-bank tributaries include the Subansiri (the largest), Kameng, Manas and Sankosh, and the Teesta, which joins it in Bangladesh; its left-bank tributaries include the Burhi Dihing, Dhansiri and Kopili. In Bangladesh it is called the Jamuna. It is about 2,900 km long, carries a huge load of water and silt, and floods Assam almost every year.

Key facts

Indus: rises near Mansarovar (Tibet), enters India in Ladakh, flows past Leh; about 2,880 km, 1,114 km in India; the Panjnad joins it at Mithankot (Pakistan).
Jhelum: Verinag spring, Srinagar, Wular lake. Chenab (largest Indus tributary): Chandra and Bhaga meet at Tandi (HP). Beas: Beas Kund, Kullu valley, meets the Sutlej at Harike.
Sutlej: Rakas lake (Tibet), enters India at Shipki La, Bhakra dam; Ravi: near Rohtang, Chamba valley, Ranjit Sagar dam.
Indus Waters Treaty: 19 September 1960, Karachi, World Bank broker, Nehru and Ayub Khan; eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej) to India, western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) to Pakistan.
Ganga: Bhagirathi (Gaumukh, Gangotri glacier) and Alaknanda (Satopanth glacier) meet at Devprayag; about 2,525 km; National River since 2008; splits at Farakka into Hugli and Padma.
Left-bank Ganga tributaries: Ramganga, Gomti, Ghaghara, Gandak, Kosi, Mahananda; right-bank: Yamuna (longest tributary, meets at Prayagraj) and Son (from Amarkantak).
Yamuna's right-bank tributaries from the plateau: Chambal, Sind, Betwa, Ken. Kosi is the Sorrow of Bihar and the Damodar the Sorrow of Bengal.
Brahmaputra names: Tsangpo in Tibet, Siang or Dihang in Arunachal, Brahmaputra after the Dibang and Lohit join near Sadiya, Jamuna in Bangladesh.
Brahmaputra tributaries: right bank Subansiri (largest), Kameng, Manas, Sankosh, Teesta; left bank Burhi Dihing, Dhansiri, Kopili.
City-river pairs: Leh-Indus, Srinagar-Jhelum, Delhi and Agra-Yamuna, Lucknow-Gomti, Ayodhya-Sarayu, Kota-Chambal, Varanasi and Patna-Ganga, Kolkata-Hugli, Guwahati-Brahmaputra.

Quick revision

Himalayan rivers perennial; Indus about 2,880 km (1,114 km in India), Leh on it, Panjnad joins at Mithankot; Chenab largest tributary (Chandra + Bhaga); Indus Waters Treaty 19 September 1960: Ravi, Beas, Sutlej to India; Ganga about 2,525 km, Bhagirathi + Alaknanda at Devprayag, National River 2008; Yamuna longest tributary; Kosi Sorrow of Bihar, Damodar Sorrow of Bengal; Brahmaputra = Tsangpo, Siang, Jamuna; Subansiri largest tributary.

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