CAPSULE 2

FACTORS OF
PRODUCTION

Himalayan river
system

Submitted by

ASWATHY U
SOCIAL SCIENCE
MARTHEO PHILEOS
TRAINING COLLEGE
Nalanchira

Evolution of the Himalayan Rivers

Evolution of the Himalayan Rivers: The geologists and geomorphologists are not unanimous about the
origin of the Himalayan rivers. The Himalayan rivers have a long geological history. The major rivers of
the Himalayas like Indus, Brahmaputra, Satluj, Ganga (Alaknanda and Bhagirathi), Gandak, Kali, Kosi,
Tista, Manas, etc. originate on the southern slopes of the Tibetan Highlands. Rivers like Indus, Satluj and
Brahmaputra first flowed parallel to the main axis of the moutain in longitudinal troughs, then they take
sudden bends towards the south, carving out deep gorges across the mountain ranges to reach the
northern plains of India. Such deep gorges created by the Indus, Satluj, Alaknanda, Sarju (Kali), Gandak,
Kosi, Tista and Brahmaputra suggest that they are older than the Himalayan mountains, and are
antecedent in character.E. H. Pascoe (1919) and G.E. Pilgrim (1919) attempted to give a tangible
explanation to the problem of the Himalayan drainage. According to them, the Tibetan Plateau was
drained to the west by the mighty Tsangpo-Indus-Oxus combine with the Tibetan river merging into Oxus
Lake
before
the
upheaval
of
theHimalayas.
Similarly, another big river called the Indo-Brahma River (Pascoe, 1919) or the Shiwalik River (Pilgrim,
1919) traversed the entire longi-tudinal extent of the Himalaya from Assam to Punjab from north-east to
empty into the Gulf of Sindh, near lower Punjab, during the Miocene Period.The former (Tsangpo-IndusOxus) was disrupted by the headward erosion of its left hand tributaries, i.e. the Proto-Sind, the ProSatluj, the Proto-Brahmaputra, and later was captured by the present lower Irradwady-Chindwin, the
lower Brahmaputra, the lower Satluj, and the lower Indus which are the probable remnants of the
Shiwalik River.

Evolution of the Himalayan Rivers

Look at fig1 in which different factors are involved in the production
of a commodity. Production requires space people money building
etc from the figure identify the various factors involved in the
production process
Fig.5

INDUS GANGA
BHRAHMAPUTRA

The Great Plain of India is also called the Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra plain. It extends for a distance of
about 3200 km and width of this plain varies from 150 km to 300 km.
The plain was formed as a result of filling of marine depressions by detrital materials brought by water.
Plains were formed after the upliftment of Himalayas. Majority of thus plain consists of Alluvial soils.
On the basis of some characteristic land features this plain is divided into following parts:
Bhabar Region: Bhabhar Region is 8 to 16 km wide, region lies along the foothills of Himalayas
between Indus and Teesta rivers. It contains pebbles & stones which are extremely pervious.
Small river and streams disappear underground on reaching this region.
Terai Region: 15 to 30 km wide belt found south of the Bhabar region is called as Terai. It is a
marshy tract and zone of excessive dampness with the thick grown of forests and high biological
diversity. The speed of river flow in Terai region is slow. Disappeared rivers of Bhabar region
again appeared in terai region thats why, this region is a flood prone region. In Terai region rice
is grown mostly of the lands for cultivation. E.g: Sitapur, Rampur, Lakhimpur, Philibhit, Bareilly
region of Uttar Pradesh.
Bangar Region: It is is the higher part of the plains, where the floodwater cannot reach. Bangar
region is made up of old alluvium and it contains pebbles and coarser sediments. These plains
are less fertile. In this region, whenever the high lands are created by stones and sand, it is
locally called as Bhur. For example: Bhurs are found in the upper parts of Ganga-Yamuna doab.
Khadar Region: Khadar Region is made up of new alluvium. In this region, floods bring new
alluvium every year. Khadar region is mainly found along the river banks and contains fine
particles or clays so Khadar region is fertile region.
Deltaic Plains: Deltaic plains are formed by very fine alluvial soils formed by river deltas contain
mainly clays are called delatic plains. These are very fertile and are suitable for jute & rice
cultivation.For example: The Ganga-Brahmaputra delta, spread in India and Bangladesh.
The Great Plains of India (Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra)

EVALUATION OF HIMALAYAN RIVER

Attock
Oxux
IndoTibeten River
Shiwalik River
Bay of Bengal

All Himalayan riuvers are

antecedent in Character

Yes

Refer Brain Relaxer

2.1

No

Click here

Himalayan
Rivers
are
antecedent because they
Originate from Himalayan
Ranges

HIMALAYAN RIVERS

The Indus
System

Tributaries of indus system

Jhelum
Chenab
Ravi
Beas
sutleg

JHELUM
Jehlam River or Jhelum River (/delm/) is a river that flows in India and Pakistan. It is the largest and most western of the five
rivers of Punjab, and passes through Jhelum District. It is a tributary of the Chenab River and has a total length of about 725
kilometres (450 mi).[1]
The river Jhelum is called Vitast in the Rigveda and Hydaspes by the ancient Greeks. The Vitasta (Sanskrit: , fem.,
also,Vetast) is mentioned as one of the major rivers by the holy scriptures the Rigveda. It has been speculated that the Vitast
must have been one of the seven rivers (sapta-sindhu) mentioned so many times in the Rigveda. The name survives in the Kashmiri
name for this river as Vyeth. According to the major religious work Srimad Bhagavatam, the Vitast is one of the many
transcendental rivers flowing through land of Bharata, or ancient India.[3]
Jehlum Bridge, Jhelum City
The river was regarded as a god by the ancient Greeks, as were most mountains and streams; the poet Nonnus in theDionysiaca
(section 26, line 350) makes the Hydaspes a titan-descended god, the son of the sea-god Thaumas and the cloud-goddess Elektra.
He was the brother of Iris, the goddess of the rainbow, and half-brother to the Harpies, the snatching winds. Since the river is in a
country foreign to the ancient Greeks, it is not clear whether they named the river after the god, or whether the god Hydaspeswas
named after the river. Alexander the Great and his army crossed the Jhelum in BC 326 at the Battle of the Hydaspes River where it
is believed that he defeated the Indian king, Porus. According to Arrian (Anabasis, 29), he built a city "on the spot whence he started
to cross the river Hydaspes", which he named Bukephala (or Bucephala[disambiguation needed]) to honour his famous horse Bukephalus or
Bucephaluswhich was buried in Jalalpur Sharif. It is thought that ancient Bukephala was near the site of modern Jhelum City.
According to a historian of Gujrat district, Mansoor Behzad Butt, Bukephalus was buried in Jalalpur Sharif, but the people of Mandi
Bahauddin, a district close to Jehlum, believed that their tehsil Phalia was named after Bucephalus, Alexander's dead horse. They
say that the name Phalia was the distortion of the word Bucephala. The waters of the Jhelum are allocated to Pakistan under the
terms of the Indus Waters Treaty. India is working on a hydropower project on a tributary of Jhelum river to establish first-use rights
on the river water over Pakistan as per the Indus waters Treaty.[4]

CHINAB
The Chenab River is a major river of India and Pakistan. It forms in the
upper Himalayas in the Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh, India,
and flows through the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir into the plains of
the Punjab, Pakistan. The waters of the Chenab are allocated to Pakistan
under the terms of the Indus Waters Treaty.[2][3]

Ravi river
The Ravi (Punjabi: , Urdu
: , Sanskrit: , , Hindi
: ) is a trans-boundary river
flowing through Northwestern
Indiaand eastern Pakistan. It is
one of the six rivers of the Indus
System in Punjab region (name
of Punjab means "Five Rivers").[1]
The waters of Ravi are allocated

GANGA
The Ganges (/ndiz/ gan-jeez), also Ganga (Hindustani: [a]) is a trans-boundary river of Asia which flows through the
nations of India and Bangladesh. The 2,525 km (1,569 mi) river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state uttranchal, and
flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. It is the
third largest river by discharge.
The Ganga is the most sacred river to Hindus.[4] It is also a lifeline to millions of Indians who live along its course and depend on it
for their daily needs.[5] It is worshipped as the goddess Ganga in Hinduism.[6] It has also been important historically, with many
former provincial or imperial capitals (such as Pataliputra,[7] Kannauj,[7] Kara, Kashi, Patna, Hajipur, Munger, Bhagalpur,
Murshidabad, Baharampur, Kampilya, and Kolkata) located on its banks
The Ganges was ranked as the fifth most polluted river of the world in 2007. Pollution threatens not only humans, but also more
than 140 fish species, 90 amphibian species and the endangered Ganges river dolphin.[citation needed] The Ganga Action Plan, an
environmental initiative to clean up the river, has been a major failure thus far, [8][9][10] due to corruption, lack of technical expertise,
[11]
poor environmental planning,[12] and lack of support from religious authorities. [13]
The name "Ganges", ending in "-es", came to English via Latin from Ancient Greek sources, particularly from accounts of
Alexander the Great's wars, which entered India.

The Ganges begins at the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers at Devprayag. The
Bhagirathi is considered to be the true source in Hindu culture and theology, although the
Alaknanda is longer.[14][15] The headwaters of the Alakananda are formed by snowmelt from such
peaks as Nanda Devi, Trisul, and Kamet. The Bhagirathi rises at the foot of Gangotri Glacier, at
Gaumukh, at an elevation of 3,892 m (12,769 ft). [16]
Although many small streams comprise the headwaters of the Ganges, the six longest and their
five confluences are considered sacred. The six headstreams are the Alaknanda, Dhauliganga,
Nandakini, Pindar, Mandakini, and Bhagirathi rivers.[17] The five confluences, known as thePanch
Prayag, are all along the Alaknanda. They are, in downstream order: Vishnuprayag, where the
Dhauliganga joins the Alaknanda;Nandprayag, where the Nandakini joins; Karnaprayag, where
the Pindar joins; Rudraprayag, where the Mandakini joins; and, finally,Devprayag, where the
Bhagirathi joins the Alaknanda to form the Ganga River proper.[14]
After flowing 250 kilometres (160 mi) [16] through its narrow Himalayan valley, the Ganges
emerges from the mountains at Rishikesh, thendebouches onto the Gangetic Plain at the
pilgrimage town of Haridwar.[14] At Haridwar, a dam diverts some of its waters into the
Ganges Canal, which irrigates the Doab region of Uttar Pradesh, whereas the river, whose
course has been roughly southwest until this point, now begins to flow southeast through the
plains of northern India.
The Ganga follows an 800-kilometre (500 mi) arching course passing through the cities of
Kannauj, Farukhabad, and Kanpur. Along the way it is joined by the Ramganga, which
contributes an average annual flow of about 500 m 3/s (18,000 cu ft/s).[18] The Ganges joins the
Yamunaat the Triveni Sangam at Allahabad, a holy confluence in Hinduism. At their confluence
the Yamuna is larger than the Ganges, contributing about 2,950 m 3/s (104,000 cu ft/s),[18] or
about 58.5% of the combined flow.[19]
Now flowing east, the river meets the Tamsa River (also called Tons), which flows north from the
Kaimur Range and contributes an average flow of about 190 m 3/s (6,700 cu ft/s). After the Tamsa
the Gomti River joins, flowing south from the Himalayas. The Gomti contributes an average
annual flow of about 234 m 3/s (8,300 cu ft/s). Then the Ghaghara River (Karnali

TRIBUTERIES OF
GANGA

Bhagirathi

Alakananda
Ramaganga
Yamuna
Ghaghara

HIMALAYAN RIVERS

THINKING SESSION

BHAGHIRATHI
TheBhgrath(Pron:/bg/) is a turbulentHimalayanriver in the Indian states ofUttarakhand, and one
of the twoheadstreamsof theGanges, the major river of Northern India and the holy river ofHinduism. In
Hindumythology and culture, theBhagirathiis considered thesource streamof the Ganges. However, in
hydrology, the other headstream,Alaknanda, is considered the source stream on account of its great length
and discharge
The word "Bhagirathi" (Sanskrit, literally, "caused byBhagiratha") refers to amythologicalSagarDynasty
prince who, to gain the release his 60,000 great-uncles from the curse of saintKapila, brought the goddess
Gangain the form of the river Ganges, from the heavens to the earth.[2]Bhagiratha was the king ofKosala, a
kingdom in ancient India. He was a descendent of the great King Sagara of theSuryavanshi, or Surya Dynasty.
He was one of the foref
athers of LordRama, of theRamayana, the epic in which Bhagiratha's tale is primarily recounted.[3]
Course[edit]
Theheadwatersof the Bhagirathi are formed atGaumukh(elevation 3,892 metres (12,769ft)), at the foot of
theGangotri glacierandKhatling glaciersin theGarhwalHimalaya. It is then joined by itstributaries; these
are, in order from the source:
Kedar GangaatGangotri(elevation 3,049m (10,003ft)),
Jadh GangaatBhaironghati(elevation 2,650m (8,690ft)),
Kakora GadandJalandhari GadnearHarsil(elevation 2,745m (9,006ft)),
Siyan GadnearJhala(elevation 2,575m (8,448ft)),
Asi GanganearUttarkashi(elevation 1,158m (3,799ft)),
Bhilangna RivernearOld Tehri(elevation 755m (2,477ft)).
TheBhilangnaitself rises at the foot of the Khatling Glacier (elevation 3,717m (12,195ft)) approximately
50km (31mi) south of Gaumukh.
The river flows from its source for 205km (127mi) before meeting theAlaknanda Riverat an elevation of
475m (1,558ft) in the town ofDevprayag. Downstream of this confluence, considered holy byHindus, the
river is known as theGanga Ji, orGanges Riverby westerners. The controversialTehri damlies at the
confluence of the Bhgirathi and the Bhilangna, at302232N782848E, near Tehri.Chaukhamba Iis the
highest point of the Bhagirathi basin.

RAMAGANGA

Ramganga West River originates from Doodhatoli ranges in the district of Pauri Garhwal,
Uttarakhand state of India. The Ramganga River flows to south west from Kumaun Himalaya. It
is a tributary of the river Ganges, originates from the high altitude zone of 800m-900m.
Ramganga flows by the Corbett National Park near Ramnagar of Nainital district from where it
descends upon the plains.Moradabad, Bareilly, Badaun, Shahjahanpur and hardoi cities of
Uttar Pradesh is situated on its banks. The Ramganga Dam crosses the river at Kalagarh for
irrigation and hydroelectric generation. An annual festival of Ganga Dassahra is organised on
its banks annually during the months of September and October at Chaubari village near
Bareilly. It has a drainage basin of 30,641 km 2. (11,831 sq.mi). Ramganga goes through various
places. It consolidates many places into one. The main location that it goes through are Taal,
Chaukhutia, Bhagoti,
Masi, Bhikyasen etc., these places come under Kumaun region
The dam is a 128 m (420 ft) tall and 715 m (2,346 ft) long earth and rock-fill embankment dam
with 10,000,000 m3(13,079,506 cu yd) of fill. The dam's spillway is controlled by five gates and
has a maximum discharge of 8,467 m 3/s (299,009 cu ft/s). To support the reservoir's elevation,
there is a 72 m (236 ft) tall saddle dam on the reservoir's rim 2.5 km (2 mi) to the northeast on
the Chui Sot River. The reservoir created by both dams has a
2,447,000,000 m3 (1,983,815 acreft) capacity of which 2,190,000,000 m 3 (1,775,462 acreft) is
active (or "useful") capacity. The reservoir has a surface of 55 km 2 (21 sq mi) and acatchment
area of 3,134 km2 (1,210 sq mi).[2][3] The power station at the toe of the dam contains three 66
MW Francis turbine-generators and is afforded 84.4 m (277 ft) of design hydraulic head.[4]
Below the dam is a system of over 6,300 km (3,915 mi) of canals supported by three barrages
and 82 km (51 mi) of main feeder canal. [1]

YAMUNA
The Yamuna (/jmna/; Sanskrit and Hindi: ), sometimes called Jamuna (Hindi: ; /ddm na:/) is the
longest and the second largest tributary river of the Ganges (Ganga) in northern India. Originating from the
Yamunotri Glacier at a height of 6,387 metres on the south western slopes of Banderpooch peaks in the
uppermost region of the Lower Himalayas in Uttarakhand, it travels a total length of 1,376 kilometers (855 mi)
and has a drainage system of 366,223 square kilometres (141,399 sq mi), 40.2% of the entire Ganges Basin,
before merging with the Ganges at Triveni Sangam, Allahabad, the site for the Kumbha Mela every twelve years.
It crosses several states, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, passing by Uttarakhand and later Delhi, and
meets its tributaries on the way, including Tons, its largest and longest tributary in Uttarakhand, Chambal, which
has its own large basin, followed by Sindh, the Betwa, and Ken. Most importantly it creates the highly fertile
alluvial, Yamuna-Ganges Doab region between itself and the Ganges in the Indo-Gangetic plain. Nearly 57 million
people depend on the Yamuna waters. With an annual flow of about 10,000 cubic billion metres (cbm) and usage
of 4,400 cbm (of which irrigation constitutes 96 per cent), the river accounts for more than 70 per cent of Delhis
water supplies. Just like the Ganges, the Yamuna too is highly venerated in Hinduism and worshipped as
goddess Yamuna, throughout its course. In Hindu mythology, she is the daughter of Sun God, Surya, and sister
ofYama, the God of Death, hence also known as Yami and according to popular legends, bathing in its sacred
waters frees one from the torments of death. [2][3]
The water of Yamuna is of "reasonably good quality" through its length from Yamunotri in the Himalayas to
Wazirabad in Delhi, about 375 kilometres (233 mi), where the discharge of waste water through 15 drains
between Wazirabad barrage and Okhla barrage renders the river severely polluted after Wazirabad. One official
describes the river as a "sewage drain" with biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) values ranging from 14 to
28 mg/l and high coliform content.[4] There are three main sources of pollution in the river, namely households
and municipal disposal sites, soil erosion resulting from deforestation occurring to make way for agriculture along
with resulting chemical wash-off from fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides and run-off from commercial activity
and industrial sites.

GHAGARA
Ghaghara River, also spelled Gogra, Ghaghra, or Ghagra, Nepali Kauriala, major left-bank tributary of the
Ganges River. It rises as the Karnali River (Chinese: Kongque He) in the high Himalayas of southernTibet
Autonomous Region, China, and flows southeast through Nepal. Cutting southward across theSiwalik
Range, it splits into two branches that rejoin south of the Indian border and form the Ghaghara proper. It
flows southeast through Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states to enter the Ganges below Chapraafter a 600-mile
(970-km) course.
The major tributariesthe Kuwana, the Rapti, and the Little Gandak riversall flow into the Ghaghara from
the mountains to the north. Together with the Ganges and its tributaries, it has helped form the vast alluvial
plain of northern Uttar Pradesh. Along its lower course it is also called the Sarju River (the Sarabos of the
2nd-century-CE Greek geographer Ptolemy) and the Deoha.
The rivers hydrology is influenced by the South Asian monsoon and glacial melt in its source region in the
Himalayas. Heavy rains occur during the summer monsoon (June to September), and the glaciers provide
their greatest amount of water to the river during the same period. Vegetation varies from low-lying alpine
plants at high elevations to tropical forest where the river crosses the Siwalik Range.
Chhoti Gandak is a groundwater-fed meandering river originating near Dhesopool, Maharajganj district ofUttar
Pradesh. It travels a distance of about 250 kilometres (160 mi) and joins Ghaghara near Gothani, Siwan district
of Bihar. The Chhoti Gandak River Basin is located between 2600' to 2720' N latitude and 8330' to 8415' E
longitude. Right bank tributaries are Khekhra, Hirna, Jethan, Maun, Duhari, Kanchi and Koilar rivers; Khanua
river joins from the left bank. The discharge of Chhoti Gandak is mainly controlled by rain, which is very high
during the monsoon season and low during the summers. It has been observed that whenever precipitation is
high in the catchment areas, there is flood in the downstream part of the Chhoti Gandak River Basin. The region
exhibits upland terrace surface, river valley terrace surface, present-day river channel with narrow flood plains,
natural levee, and point-bar deposits. All these geomorphic features are depositional in nature and made up of
alluvium of different ages.[6][7][8][9]
The main tributaries of the Karnali are: the Seti, the Bheri.[10

Test your knowledge

I
of

Ganga River Formed

Fals by the yergin
True
Alakananda
and e
Bhagirathi

True

Fals
e

2. Elevation of Bhagirathi River is 600m