It is estimated that in Tibet, the Yarlung Tsangpo river receives about 22 major tributaries. While flowing within the boundaries of Assam, the width of the river increases to about 20m in some areas. This is particularly true for the dry season when water availability is crucial for the irrigation systems. Below the Tista, the Brahmaputra splits into two distributary branches. It was opened to traffic in April 1962. Presently, the river's erosion rate has decreased to 30m per year as compared to 150m per year from 1973 to 1992. Is Brahmaputra a river basin? Theme by. These frequent earthquakes cause extensive landslides, subsidence, and fissuring of the valley as well as lead to a change in the course of the main river and its tributaries. In India, the Brahmaputra first flows through the northern region of the state of Arunachal Pradesh. The environment of the Brahmaputra floodplains in Assam have been described as the Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests ecoregion. The Brahmaputra has a direct impact on the lives of millions of residents, as it serves as a supply of water, especially for agriculture. While flowing within the boundaries of Arunachal Pradesh, the river is referred to as Siang. It flows some 1,800 miles (2,900 km) from its source in the Himalayas to its confluence with the Ganges (Ganga) River, after which the mingled waters of the two rivers empty into the Bay of Bengal. Below the Lohit, the river is called Brahmaputra and Doima (mother of water) and Burlung-Buthur by native Bodo tribals, it then enters the state of Assam, and becomes very wideas wide as 20km (12mi) in parts of Assam. After that it enters Arunachal Pradesh of India and is known as Siang River. Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Geography, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong. After flowing through Tibet, it enters India at Bishing as 'Siang'. A tributary of the Dhaleswari, the Buriganga ("Old Ganga"), flows past Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, and joins the Meghna River above Munshiganj. This has been denied by the Chinese government for many years. In its lower course the river is both a creator and a destroyerdepositing huge quantities of fertile alluvial soil but also causing disastrous and frequent floods. The climate of the Brahmaputra valley varies from the harsh, cold, and dry conditions found in Tibet to the generally hot and humid conditions prevailing in Assam state and in Bangladesh. Universit Paris 8 Vincennes Saint-Denis, 2014. The river runs across south Tibet to penetrate. Islands and sizable newly deposited lands (chars) in the river appear and disappear seasonally. [31] Recent years have seen an intensification of grassroots opposition, especially in the state of Assam, against Chinese upstream dam building, as well as growing criticism of the Indian government for its perceived failure to respond appropriately to Chinese hydropower plans.[32]. The height difference of the channel topography is often not more than 1m-2m. Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests, East-West Arunachal Industrial Corridor Highway, "Scientists pinpoint sources of four major international rivers", "Brahmaputra River Flowing Down From Himalayas Towards Bay of Bengal", "Brahmaputra River - Map Tributaries Flow Bridges Tunnel", "Change in snow cover area of Brahmaputra river basin and its sensitivity to temperature", "Migration and Home Gardens in the Brahmaputra Valley, Assam, India", "Channel and Bed Morphology of a Part of the Brahmaputra River in Assam", Monsoon Floods 2004: Post Flood Needs Assessment Summary Report, "China operationalizes biggest dam on Brahmaputra in Tibet", MacArthur Foundation, Asian Security Initiative, "Chinese dam will not impact the flow of Brahmaputra: Krishna", "The New Nation, Bangladesh, 17 January 2010", "PM Modi launches Mahabahu-Brahmaputra initiative ahead of polls in Assam - INSIDE NE", Nitin Gadkari flags off cargo movement on Brahmaputra, "Fencing to be over by December: Sonowal", "Centre gives in-principle approval for tunnel under the Brahmaputra amid tension with China: Report", "Modi govt proposes 15.6-km twin road tunnel of strategic importance under Brahmaputra", Bibliography on Water Resources and International Law, https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01139754, My Trip of Mighty Brahmaputra (in Gujarati), River bank erosion along the Ganges in Malda and Murshidabad districts, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brahmaputra_River&oldid=1119366284, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2020, Articles containing Assamese-language text, Articles containing Standard Tibetan-language text, Articles containing simplified Chinese-language text, Articles containing traditional Chinese-language text, Articles containing Bengali-language text, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from August 2017, Articles to be expanded from December 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, From Sanskrit (brahmaputra, "son of. The Brahmaputra River is a long transboundary river in the Continent of Asia that flows through the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, India, and Bangladesh. The Survey of India undertook extensive charting of the Brahmaputras tributaries during the Abor Expedition in 191112, as part of the Abor Expedition. China had built the Zangmu Dam in the upper course of the Brahmaputra River in the Tibet region and it was operationalised on 13 October 2015.[24]. The combined flow of the Padma-Jomuna Rivers joins the Meghna River near the district of Chandpur. The Brahmaputras source is the Chemayungdung Glacier, which covers the slopes of the Himalayas about 60 miles (100 km) southeast of Lake Mapam in southwestern Tibet. The control of uplift and subsidence is, however, clear. In India, it spreads over states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Sikkim and lies between 8811 to 9657 east longitudes and 2444 to 303 north latitudes and extends over an area of 1,94,413 Sq.km which is nearly 5.9 % of the total geographical area of the country. As the river descends from Tibet, increased precipitation supports the growth of forests. Then it flows into the Bay of Bengal. Suggest Corrections. The average depth of the river is 30m (100ft) and its maximum depth is 135m (440ft) (at Sadiya). Throughout its upper course the river is generally known as the Tsangpo (Purifier); it is also known by its Chinese name (Yarlung Zangbo) and by other local Tibetan names. After joining the Lohit River, it is known as the Brahmaputra. Brahmaputra River has its source in southwest Tibet. The river flows for nearly 2,400 miles until it reaches its mouth in the Bay of Bengal. Mipun, B.S. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). After flowing through Tibet it enters India through Arunachal Pradesh and flows through Assam and Bangladesh before it joins Bay of Bengal. No. Just west of the town of Sadiya, the river again turns to the southwest and is joined by two mountain streams, the Lohit and the Dibang. . Present hazard assessment studies have limitations in considering such morpho-dynamic responses in evaluating flood hazards or risks. River Brahmaputra basin in India spreads over various States which consists of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, west bengal, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Sikkim. This project, named the Brahmaputra River Restoration Project, is yet to be implemented by the government. It is the 9th largest river in the world by discharge, and the 15th longest. The Subansiri River It is the right-bank tributary of the Brahmaputra river. Impact of Migrants and Agricultural Changes in the Lower Brahmaputra Valley: A Case Study of Darrang District. [26] In the past, the course of the lower Brahmaputra was different and passed through the Jamalpur and Mymensingh districts. The thickness of the sediment accumulated above the Precambrian basement has increased over the years from a few hundred meters to over 18 km in the Bengal fore-deep to the south. Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) River Along its course the Brahmaputra passes through the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, and Bangladesh. Geologically, the Brahmaputra River is considered one of the youngest rivers in the world. Also, during this period, tropical storms are a common occurrence in the delta region. A question about the river system in Bangladesh is when and why the Brahmaputra changed its main course, at the site of the Jamuna and the "Old Brahmaputra" fork that can be seen by comparing modern maps to historic maps before the 1800s. In the 1990s and 2000s, there was repeated speculation that mentioned Chinese plans to build a dam at the Great Bend, with a view to diverting the waters to the north of the country. Does Delhi, India, lie far from any river? From its source, the river runs for nearly 1,100km (680mi) in a generally easterly direction between the main range of the Himalayas to the south and the Kailas Range to the north. The river drains the Himalayas east of the Indo-Nepal border, south-central portion of the Tibetan plateau above the Ganga basin, south-eastern portion of Tibet, the Patkai hills, the northern slopes of the Meghalaya hills, the Assam plains, and the northern portion of Bangladesh. After originating in the Angsi Glacier, the Brahmaputra follows an easterly path for nearly 680 miles, and is bound by the Himalayas to the south and the Gangdese Range to the north. The Kachari group called the river "Dilao", "Tilao". Which state does Brahmaputra river flow first? Its delta is home to 130 million people and 600 000 people live on the riverine islands. Burhidhing Railway Bridge road bridge on Brahmaputra's tributary Dihing river near Khowang in Assam. The catchments area of Brahmaputra in Tibet is 2, 93,000 Sq. It is one of the principal tributaries of the Brahmaputra river. PhD Thesis, Department of Geography, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong. Prior to 1843, the Brahmaputra flowed within the channel now termed the "Old Brahmaputra". The Brahmaputra River is also one of the few rivers in the world that displays a tidal bore. Brahmaputra, at the head of the Assam valley, the Mishmi hills, in hill Tipperah, Chittagong, and then southwards through Burmah to the hills bordering on the Koladyne river. . The rivers' combined suspended sediment load of about 1.87 billion tonnes (1.84 billion tons) per year is the world's highest. Throughout the years, bars, scroll bars, and sand dunes are formed at the edge of the flood plain by deposition. It is navigable for most of its length. [6] The river is prone to catastrophic flooding in the spring when the Himalayan snow melts. The Brahmaputra River experiences high levels of bank erosion (usually via slab failure) and channel migration caused by its strong current, lack of riverbank vegetation, and loose sand and silt which compose its banks. This erosion has, however, destroyed so much land that it has caused 0.7 million people to become homeless due to loss of land. The two channels join again about 100km (62mi) downstream, forming the Majuli island, which is the largest river island in the world. It is the 9th largest river in the world by discharge, and the 15th longest . It is only next to Amazon with a specific yield of 85 ha m / sq km in comparison to 87 ha m /sq km of the latter. As the river follows its braided 450-mile (700-km) course through the valley, it receives several rapidly rushing Himalayan streams, including the Subansiri, Kameng, Bhareli, Dhansiri, Manas, Champamati, Saralbhanga, and Sankosh rivers.