Himalayan Rivers

Antecedent rivers existed before the uplift of the mountains. As the Himalayas rose, these rivers maintained their original channels by downcutting into the rising landmass at a matching rate, creating deep, vertical gorges.

Devprayag is the final confluence point among the Panch Prayag where the Bhagirathi (originating from Gaumukh/Gangotri) and Alaknanda (originating from Satopanth glacier) unite to form the Ganga.

The Brahmaputra is known as the Tsangpo in Tibet. Near Namcha Barwa, it takes a sharp U-turn (syntaxial bend) and enters India in Arunachal Pradesh, where it is locally called the Dihang or Siang.

The Jhelum River, an important tributary of the Indus, rises from the Verinag spring, flows through Srinagar, enters the Wular Lake, and then carves a deep gorge through the Pir Panjal range.

Majuli is a large fluvial river island formed by the Brahmaputra River, its branch Kherkutia Xuti, and the Subansiri River in the state of Assam.

The Son River originates near Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh, flows north-northeast through Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, and joins the Ganga near Patna as a major right-bank tributary.

The Sutlej River originates from the Rakshasthal lake near Mount Kailash in Tibet, before entering India through the Shipki La pass in Himachal Pradesh.

Himalayan rivers like the Ganga and Indus display perennial river regimes because they are supplied by both glacial meltwater during summer months and convective monsoon precipitation during autumn.

The proposed MSTG link is a major component of the Himalayan rivers development project designed to divert surplus water from the Brahmaputra system tributaries westwards into the Ganga basin.

The Betwa River originates in the Vindhyan Range of Madhya Pradesh, flows northeast through MP and Uttar Pradesh, and joins the Yamuna near Hamirpur without intersecting Rajasthan, unlike the Chambal.