The Brahmaputra river system

The Brahmaputra river system

Origin of Brahmaputra: This river rises in the Chemayungdung glacier in the Kailash range near Mansarovar lake. It is a transboundary river that flows through Tibet, China, India, and Bangladesh.

This river is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet, Siang or Dihang in Arunachal Pradesh, and Dilao in Assam.

• The length of the river is 3848 km
• In India, it flows for 916 km
• The basin size of the Brahmaputra river is 651334 km².

Brahmaputra river traverses Eastward longitudinally for a distance of 1200 km in the dry and flat region of Southern Tibet and here it is known as Tsangpo. In Tibet, the main right bank tributary of this river is Rango Tsangpo.

It craves out a deep gorge in the central Himalaya near Namcha Barwa (7,755m) and emerges from the foothills as the river named Dihang or Siang.

The river Dihang enters India in the west of Sadiya town in Arunachal Pradesh. Dihang is joined by Dibang or Sikang and Lohit on its left bank, after this, the river is called the Brahmaputra. The Brahmaputra river goes through Assam valley.

• The maximum depth of the Brahmaputra river is at Sadiya (135m)

The  Brahmaputra river basin covers the countries and states:

• The river drains the Himalaya East of Indo Nepal Border
• The southcentral portion of the Tibetan plateau above the Ganga basin,
• In the southeastern portion of Tibet,
• The Patkai bum hills
• On the northern slopes of the Meghalaya hills,
• The Assam plains,
• the northern portion of Bangladesh.

Indian states are covered by the Brahmaputra river basin: Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Sikkim.

The river enters Bangladesh near Dhubri, flowing Southwards, and is joined by the Tista from its right bank where it is known as the Jamuna and then it merges with the Padma. Here it is named Meghna and finally empties into the Bay of Bengal.

The river is well known for flood, channel shifting, and bank erosion because most of its tributaries are large that bring a large number of sediments due to heavy rainfall in its catchment area.

Tributaries of Brahmaputra river

Left Bank tributaries: Lhasa river, Nyang river, Parlung Zangbo, Lohit river, Dhansiri river, Kolong river

Right Bank tributaries: Kameng river, Manas river, Sankosh, Beki river, Raidak river, Jaldhaka river, Tista river, Subansiri river

Brahmaputra river system

You can also read:

• Namami Gange Programme
• Rivers of India and their main Tributaries
• The Indus (Sindhu) River System
• The Ganga river system
• Soils of India

Thank you 🙂