The Ganges River (Ganga)
Varanasiganga.jpg
The Ganges in Varanasi
Country India
Bangladesh
Tributaries
left Ramganga, Gomti, Ghaghara, Gandak, Kosi, Mahananda
right Yamuna, Tamsa, Son, Punpun
Cities Rishikesh, Haridwar, Kannauj, Kanpur, Fatehpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Buxar, Patna, Munger, Farakka, Murshidabad, Plassey, Nabadwip, Kolkata, Pandaveswar
Source Gangotri Glacier, Satopanth Glacier, Khatling Glacier, and waters from liquefied snow from such crests as Nanda Devi, Trisul, Kedarnath, Nanda Kot, and Kamet.
location Uttarakhand, India
elevation 3,892 m (12,769 ft)
coordinates 30°59′N 78°55′E
Length 2,525 km (1,569 mi) [1]
Depth 17 m (56 ft)
Basin 1,080,000 km2 (416,990 sq mi) [2]
Discharge for Farakka Barrage
average 16,648 m3/s (587,919 cu ft/s) [3]
max 70,000 m3/s (2,472,027 cu ft/s)
min 2,000 m3/s (70,629 cu ft/s)
Release somewhere else (normal)
- Bay of Bengal 38,129 m3/s (1,346,513 cu ft/s) [3]
Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna basins.jpg
Guide of the consolidated seepage bowls of the Ganges (orange), Brahmaputra (violet), and Meghna (green)
Directions: 25.30°N 83.01°E
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The Ganges (/ˈɡændʒiːz/GAN-jeez), otherwise called Ganga (Hindustani: [ˈɡəŋɡaː]), is a trans-limit stream of Asia which moves through the countries of India and Bangladesh. The 2,525 km (1,569 mi) waterway ascends in the western Himalayas in the Indian province of Uttarakhand, and streams south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India. In the wake of entering West Bengal, it separates into three waterways: The Hooghly River, or Adi Ganga, moves through a few regions of West Bengal and into the Bay of Bengal close Sagar Island. The other, the Padma River, streams into and through Bangladesh, and furthermore purges into the Bay of Bengal. The latter is the Ajay River courses through Burdwan and Birbhum areas. The Ganges is the third biggest stream on the planet by discharge.[citation needed]
The Ganges is a standout amongst the most consecrated waterways to Hindus.[4] It is additionally a life saver to a huge number of Indians who live along its course and rely upon it for their day by day needs. It is loved in Hinduism as the goddess Ganga.[5] It has likewise been critical verifiably, with numerous previous commonplace or majestic capitals, (for example, [6] Kannauj, Kampilya, [6] Kara, Prayag or Allahabad, Kashi, Pataliputra or Patna, Hajipur, Munger, Bhagalpur, Murshidabad, Baharampur, Nabadwip, Saptagram, Kolkata and Dhaka) situated on its banks.
The Ganges is exceptionally dirtied. Contamination undermines people, as well as in excess of 140 fish species, 90 land and water proficient species and the imperiled Ganges stream dolphin.[7] The levels of fecal coliform microscopic organisms from human waste in the waters of the waterway close Varanasi are in excess of 100 times the Indian government's authentic limit.[7] The Ganga Action Plan, an ecological activity to tidy up the waterway, has been a noteworthy disappointment in this way far,[a][b][8] because of defilement, absence of specialized expertise,[c] poor natural planning,[d] and absence of help from religious experts.
Course
Bhagirathi River at Gangotri.
Devprayag, intersection of Alaknanda (right) and Bhagirathi (left) streams, start of the Ganges legitimate.
The Himalayan headwaters of the Ganges River in the Garhwal locale of Uttarakhand, India. The headstreams and streams are marked in italics; the statures of the mountains, lakes, and towns are shown in enclosures in meters.
The standard of the Ganges starts at the intersection of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda streams in the town of Devprayag in the Garhwal division of the Indian province of Uttarakhand. The Bhagirathi is thought to be the source in Hindu culture and folklore, despite the fact that the Alaknanda is longer, and, in this manner, hydrologically the source stream.[9][10] The headwaters of the Alakananda are shaped by snowmelt from pinnacles, for example, Nanda Devi, Trisul, and Kamet. The Bhagirathi ascends at the foot of Gangotri Glacier, at Gomukh, at a rise of 3,892 m (12,769 ft), being fancifully alluded to as, living in the tangled locks of Shiva, emblematically Tapovan, being a knoll of ethereal magnificence at the feet of Mount Shivling, only 5 km (3.1 mi) away.[11][12]
Albeit numerous little streams contain the headwaters of the Ganges, the six longest and their five conjunctions are viewed as holy. The six headstreams are the Alaknanda, Dhauliganga, Nandakini, Pindar, Mandakini, and Bhagirathi waterways. The five intersections, known as the Panch Prayag, are up and down the Alaknanda. They are, in downstream request, Vishnuprayag, where the Dhauliganga joins the Alaknanda; Nandprayag, where the Nandakini joins; Karnaprayag, where the Pindar joins, Rudraprayag, where the Mandakini joins; lastly, Devprayag, where the Bhagirathi joins the Alaknanda to shape the Ganges River proper.[9]
In the wake of streaming 250 km (155.343 mi) [12] through its restricted Himalayan valley, the Ganges rises up out of the mountains at Rishikesh, at that point debouches onto the Gangetic Plain at the journey town of Haridwar.[9] At Haridwar, a dam redirects some of its waters into the Ganges Canal, which floods the Doab district of Uttar Pradesh, while the waterway, whose course has been generally southwest until this point, now starts to stream southeast through the fields of northern India.
The Ganges takes after a 800 km (500 mi) angling course going through the urban areas of Kannauj, Farukhabad, and Kanpur. En route it is joined by the Ramganga, which contributes a normal yearly stream of around 500 m3/s (18,000 cu ft/s).[13] The Ganges joins the Yamuna at the Triveni Sangam at Allahabad, a sacred conjunction in Hinduism. At their conversion the Yamuna is bigger than the Ganges, contributing around 2,950 m3/s (104,000 cu ft/s),[13] or around 58.5% of the joined flow.[14]
Presently streaming east, the waterway meets the Tamsa River (additionally called Tons), which streams north from the Kaimur Range and contributes a normal stream of around 190 m3/s (6,700 cu ft/s). After the Tamsa the Gomti River joins, streaming south from the Himalayas. The Gomti contributes a normal yearly stream of around 234 m3/s (8,300 cu ft/s). At that point the Ghaghara River (Karnali River), additionally streaming south from the Himalayas of Nepal, joins. The Ghaghara (Karnali), with its normal yearly stream of around 2,990 m3/s (106,000 cu ft/s), is the biggest tributary of the Ganges. After the Ghaghara (Karnali) juncture the Ganges is joined from the south by the Son River, contributing around 1,000 m3/s (35,000 cu ft/s). The Gandaki River, at that point the Kosi River, join from the north spilling out of Nepal, contributing around 1,654 m3/s (58,400 cu ft/s) and 2,166 m3/s (76,500 cu ft/s), separately. The Kosi is the third biggest tributary of the Ganges, after the Ghaghara (Karnali) and Yamuna.[13]The koshi converge into the Ganges close Kursela in Bihar.