Wednesday, October 28, 2009

The Ganga and The Yamuna

The Ganga System India's most important river system, it covers more than a fourth of the country's total surface. The upper course of the Ganga is popularly known as Bhagirathi. The Gangotri glacier or Gomukh is considered as the source of this river. Another stream from the Alaka glaciers flowing southward is known as Alaknanda. The Ganga is formed by these two head streams when they meet at Devaprayag. The basin of the Ganga measuring about 838,200 sq km is the largest river basin in the country. The river flows for 2,510 km and drains 9,51,600 sq km. It has numerous large and small tributaries. The Ram Ganga, the Ghaghra, the Gandak and the Kosi are its major left bank tributaries while the Yamuna and the Son form the major right bank tributaries.

The Yamuna
The Yamuna rises at the Yamunotri glacier, which is to the west of the Ganga source, at a height of 6,315 m. It flows towards the south up to Agra and farther down towards the south-east direction till it joins the Ganga at Allahabad. The Chambal, Sind, Betwa and Ken are its important tributaries. The length of the Yamuna is 1,376 km from its source to Allahabad. It drains 3,59,000 sq km of area. The Chambal rises near Mhow in the Vindhyan range and flows up to Kota towards north. After reaching Pinahat, it turns to the east and joins Yamuna river
in the southern part of the Etawah district. It has a length I
of 1,050 km. Its important left bank tributary is the Banas. I
The Sind, the Betwa and the Ken flow towards the north I and form many ravines in the Ganga plain.

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