The two major Himalayan rivers, the Indus and the Brahmaputra originate from the north of the mountain ranges.
The Himalayan rivers have long courses from their source to the sea.
The Brahmaputra River System
The Brahmaputra rises in Tibet; east of Mansarowar lake.
River Brahmaputra is a little longer than the river Indus.
Most of the course of the Brahmaputra lies outside India, popularly known as Tsangpo . It flows eastwards parallel to the Himalayas.
After reaching Namcha Barwa, it takes a "U" turn (also known as Hair Pin turn) and enters India in Arunachal Pradesh through a gorge known as Dihang. In this region the river is known as Dihang.
It is joined by Dibang, Lohit, Kenula and many other tributaries and finally forms the Brahmaputra in Assam.
Majuli (in Assam) is the largest riverine island in the world. The island had a total area of 1,250 square kms.
Unlike other north Indian rivers the Brahmaputra gets huge deposits of silt on its bed. This results in rising of the river bed.
River Brahmaputra is known by different names in different regions: (Tsangpo in Tibet, Brahmaputra in India & Jamuna in Bangladesh).
The Ganga River System
The river Ganga originates from the Gangotri Glacier in Uttarakhand in the form of Bhagirathi river.
Bhagirathi is joined by Alaknanda at Devprayag in Uttarakhand.
Ganga emerges from the mountains on to the plains at Haridwar.
Yamuna, Ghaghara, Gandak and Kosi are the major tributaries of Ganga.
The Yamuna originates from the Yamunotri Glacier in the Himalayas. It meets Ganga at Allahabad.
Ghaghara, Gandak and Kosi rise in the Nepal Himalaya.
Chambal, Betwa and Son are the major tributaries which come from the peninsular uplands.
After taking waters from various tributaries, Ganga flows towards east till Farakka (West Bengal). The river bifurcates at Farakka. The Bhagirathi-Hooghly (a distributary) flows towards south to the Bay of Bengal.
The mainstream flows southwards into Bangladesh; where it is joined by the Brahmaputra. It is known as Meghna.
Finally, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra flow into the Bay of Bengal forming the Sunderban Delta. The total length of river Ganga is 2500 km.
Ambala is located on the water divide between Indus and Ganga.
Length of plains from Ambala to Sundarban delta is around 1800 km. But the slope is only 300 metres. In this area, river develops large meanders.
The Indus River System
The river Indus originates in Tibet; near Lake Mansarowar. It enters India in the Ladakh district of Jammu & Kashmir.
Zaskar, Nubra, Shyok and Hunza are the main tributaries which join the Indus in Kashmir region.
After flowing through Baltistan and Gilgit, the Indus emerges from the mountains at Attock.
Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Chenab and Jhelum join together and enter the Indus near Mithankot in Pakistan.
After that, the Indus flows southwards and finally reaches the Arabian Sea, east of Karachi.
Indus is 2900 km long.
The Indus plain has a very gentle slope.
A little over one-third of the Indus basin is located in India; in the states of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. The rest of the portion is in Pakista.
