Question

Give a brief description of the Ganga river system.

Answer 1

(i) The headwaters of the Ganga, called the Bhagirathi, is fed by the Gangotri glacier and joined by the Alaknanda at Devaprayag in Ifttaralchand. At Haridwar the Ganga emerges from the mountains on to the plains.
(ii) The Ganga is joined by many tributaries from the Himalayas. These are the Yamuna, the Ghaghara, the Gandak and the Kosi.
(iii) The river Yamuna flows parallel to the Ganga and as a right bank tributary, meets the Ganga at Allahabad.
(iv) The Ghaghara, the Gandak and the Kosi rise in the Nepal Himalayas. The main tributaries which come from the peninsular uplands are the Chambal, the Betwa and the Son.
(v) Enlarged with the water from its right and left bank tributaries, the Ganga flows eastwards till Farakka in West Bengal. The length of the Ganga is over 2500 km.