Sahyadri IAS

Origin and Flow of River

Origin

Ganga originates as Bhagirathi from Gangotri glacier near Gaumukh in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand.
Alkananda joins Bhagirathi at Devaprayag. But before the river reaches Devaprayag, the Dhauliganga, the Pindar, and the Mandakini rivers pour into the Alaknanda.
Below Devaprayag, the combined water of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda flows under the name of the Ganga.

The flow of Ganga in Plains

Ganga enters plains at Haridwar.
From here, it flows in south and southeast directions for a distance of 770 km to reach Allahabad, where the Yamuna joins it. After that, it passes through the Bihar plains.
It ceases to be known as Ganga as it turns southeast and south of Farraka near Rajmahal Hills. It splits into Padma in Bangladesh and Hugli in West Bengal.
After travelling 220 km further down in Bangladesh, the Brahmaputra (or the Jamuna as it is known here) joins it at Goalundo.
Further, it meets Meghna and joins the Bay of Bengal.
The Ganga and the Brahmaputra form the largest delta in the world before entering the Bay of Bengal. The delta comprises a web of distributaries and islands covered by dense forests called the Sundarbans.

Tributaries of Ganga

Numerous tributaries join Ganga, both on the left and the right. Most of them have their origins in the Himalayan Mountains, although some originate from the Peninsular Plateau.

Right bank tributaries of Ganga

Right bank tributaries of the Ganga include Yamuna, Son and Damodar.

1. Yamuna

Yamuna is the largest & most important tributary of the Ganga.
It originates from the Yamnotri glacier on the Bandarpunch Peak in Garhwal in Uttarakhand (very close to the source of the Ganga).
In the upper reaches, it is joined by many small streams. The most important tributary of Yamuna in the upper reaches is Tons which also rises from Bandarpunch Peak and joins Yamuna at Kalsi, right before Yamuna leaves the hills.
After passing through the Himalayas, it enters the plains.
Yamuna flows southward till Mathura and southeast after Mathura till Allahabad, where it unites with Ganga.
Between Mathura and Allahabad, it is joined by Chambal, Sind, Betwa and Ken (tributaries of Yamuna originating from the Peninsular Plateau).

Peninsular Tributaries of Yamuna

1.1. Chambal