Brahmaputra River - ब्रह्मपुत्र नदी

River Name Brahmaputra River Length of River 2900Km Course Himalayas Starting Point Chemayung-Dung glacier , Kailas range of the Himalayas Ending Point Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh Points of Interest Assam, Guwahati, Kolkata Starting Coordinates 27.247304, 94.619751 Major Tributaries Amochu, Raidak, Sankosh, Mans, Bhareli, Dibang and Luhit. Wikipedia Links http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmaputra_River Other Langauge Names Hindi: ब्रह्मपुत्र नदी Tamil: பிரம்மபுத்திரா ஆறு

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Brahmaputra is the biggest of the Indian rivers, even bigger than the Ganga. Brahmaputra is regarded as one of the great rivers of southern Asia (1,800 mi) long. In Sanskrit, it means "son of Brahma".

The Journey

The Brahmaputra River flows 2,900 km from its source in the Kailas range of the Himalayas to its massive delta and the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh. It flows through China, India, and Bangladesh, but its watershed includes Nepal, Bhutan, and Burma as well.The river drops steeply from high on the Tibetan Plateau through the world's deepest valley (5,075m) into northeast India where the river eventually merges with the Ganges and Meghna rivers to form the largest river delta in the world (60,000km2). The plains watered by the stream yield abundant crops of rice, jute, and mustard.

Legend Behind Brahmaputra

In the ancient Indian tradition, two rivers are known to originate from Manasarovar Lake, in Mt. Kailas; one flowing to the east is called Brahmaputra and the other flowing to the west was called Shatadru, a tributary of the Sarasvati (joining the latter at Shatrana, Punjab) in Rigvedic times. Both these major rivers, Brahmaputra and Sarasvati are related to the God of creation, Brahma. The lower portion of the river is sacred to Hindus.

Overview

The river's three names, the Brahmaputra (India), Yarlung Zangbo (Tibet), and Jamuna (Bangladesh), reflect the social fabric of ethnic groups and international communities living along its banks. The river is considered to be a symbol of synthesis of people of all religions, castes and creeds.

The river Brahmaputra drains a vast area of nearly 9,36,800 sq. kms. It is a river of immense importance and navigable from the Bay of Bengal to Assam, a distance of nearly 1,280 kms. It is a splendid waterway for commerce and travel.

The Brahmaputra enters India in the far eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh after traveling hundreds of miles across Tibet as the Tsangpo from its birthplace near the holy lake of Mansarovar. It is one of the world's largest, on a scale with the Indus, Mississippi, and the Nile.

One of the great rivers of Asia, the Brahmaputra commences its 3,000-km journey to the Bay of Bengal from the slopes of Kailash in western Tibet. As Tibet's great river, the Tsangpo, transverses east across the high-altitude Tibetan plateau north of the Great Himalayan Range, carving out myriad channels and sandbanks on its way. As it tumbles from the Himalayan heights towards the plains of the subcontinent it twists back on itself, cutting a deep and still unnavigated gorge, until finally turning south it emerges in Arunachal Pradesh as the Dihong. Just beyond Pasighat, it meets the Dibang and Lohit where it finally becomes the Brahmaputra.

It runs through dense forests and tribal settlements. Our rafting trip starts in a place called Tuting, so remote that we have to reach there via helicopter ride! A seldom-run river, the Brahmputra offers beautiful scenery, excellent big white water and great wild life in a less-visited corner of the sub-continent. After having big fun and adventure, we finish our rafting at Passighat. The Brahamputra has its source at holy Mount Kailash Mansarover in Tibet, traverses the entire Tibetan plateau, and then makes its great bend into India, cutting into the Himalaya the deepest gorge in the world, a canyon which has as yet eluded all attempts at exploration.

The various adventurous sports held in the Bharmaputra river has helped the India's poor high-end adventure reputation to be changed. The experienced crew of rafters and kayakers have put together a rafting expedition down the mighty Brahmaputra. aimed at putting India on the international white water map 180-km stretch of the Brahmaputra will mark the first non-military expedition on the river and the first commercial foray in the politically sensitive region.

Brahmaputra River one of the largest rivers in the world, with its basin covering areas in Tibet, China, India and Bangladesh. It originates in the Chemayung-Dung glacier, approximately at 31?30?N and 82?0?E, some 145 km from Parkha, an important trade centre between lake Manassarowar and Mount Kailas. It has a long course through the dry and flat region of southern Tibet before it breaks through the himalayas near the Namcha Barwa peak at about 7,755m. Its chief tributaries in India are the Amochu, Raidak, Sankosh, Mans, Bhareli, Dibang and Luhit. The several tributaries in Tibet are derived partly from a low range between the main Himalayas and the Tsang-po. The total length of the river from its source in southwestern Tibet to the mouth in the bay of bengal is about 2,850 km (including Padma and Meghna up to the mouth). Within Bangladesh territory, Brahmaputra-Jamuna is 276 km long, of which Brahmaputra is only 69 km.

The Brahmaputra is known as the Dihang in Assam Himalayas before it comes into the Great Plains of Bengal. The Dibang and the Luhit meet it from the east near Sadiya. The Dibang drains the Himalayas east of the Dihang while the Luhit drains an area between assam and Myanmar.

The course of the Brahmaputra in Tibet, known as the Tsang-po, is through a plain south of Lhasa; the flow here is sluggish. From the source to where the river enters the central Himalayan range near Namcha Barwa it is 1,600 km long. There it has three tributaries. The elevation of its bed is about 4,523m at Tradom, 2,440m at Gaela Sindong near Namcha Barwa, but only 135m at Sadiya in northeast Assam. In Assam, it flows roughly southwest to a point north of the shillong massif before entering Bangladesh.

In the plains of Assam the Brahmaputra is a mighty river and spreads into a vast expanse of water. It has numerous islands and changes its course very often. After traversing the Assam valley for 720 km, it sweeps round the Garo Hills, enters Bangladesh and flows southward for nearly 240 km before joining the ganges and the sea in the south. In Bangladesh the reach of this river is very small-up to the off-take of the old brahmaputra-and its downstream portion after the off-take is known as the jamuna.

The Course

After entering the hills of Assam Brahmaputra flows to Guwahati. Here lies a very ancient place of pilgrimage, the temple of goddess Kamakhya on a hill. The river then passes through Umananda Bhairab, with its granite foundations rising from the lap of the river. The river then reaches Pandughat, close to which lies the hill station of Shillong. The river flows through various towns til it reaches Goalundo. It is here that the river Ganga joins it to form the river Padma.The river then flows towards Calcutta and then finally empties itself in the Bay of Bengal.