Question

Write short notes on the brambhputra river system.

Answer 1

The Brahmaputra River System (3848 km) is one of the longest rivers of the world. It is known as the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet, the Brahmaputra, Lohit, Siang, and Dihang in India, and the Jamuna in Bangladesh.

River Course of Brahmaputra River System

It originates in Himalayan Lake Manasarover in Tibet to the outfall in the Bay of Bengal. It flows eastward in Tibet and south, south-west in India and traverses a distance of about 2900 km out of which 1,700km is in Tibet, 900 km is in India and 300 km is in Bangladesh. It is fed by the glaciers and joined by a number of tributaries which originates at different elevation in the hills encircling the catchment forming watershed.

It traverses eastward longitudinally for a distance of nearly 1,200 km in a dry and flat region of southern Tibet, where it is known as the Tsangpo, which means ‘the purifier.’ The Rango Tsangpo is the major right bank tributary of this river in Tibet. It emerges as a turbulent and dynamic river after carving out a deep gorge in the Central Himalayas near Namcha Barwa(7,755 m).

The river emerges from the foothills under the name of Siang or Dihang. It enters India west of Sadiya town in Arunachal Pradesh. Flowing southwest, it receives its main left bank tributaries, viz., Dibang or Sikang and Lohit;thereafter, it is known as the Brahmaputra. Among the tributaries Subansiri, Manas, Jiabharali, Pagladiya, Puthimari and Sankoshetc. are snow fed.