The Ganga is the longest and the most important river system of India. It has a total length of over 2500 km. Nearly the entire river basin of the Ganga **** in India with a part of its lower Course and delta in Bangladesh.
The headwaters of the Ganga are called the ‘Bhagirathi’. It is fed by the Gangotri Glacier. It is joined by the Alaknanda at Devaprayag in Uttarakhand. At Haridwar, the Ganga emerges from the mountains and enters the plains. The Ganga is joined by a large number of tributaries.
The Yamuna, a right-bank tributary of the Ganga, rises from the Yamunotri Glacier, flows parallel to the Ganga and joins it at Allahabad. The Ghaghra, the Gandak, the Kosi and the Sarda are the left-bank tributaries of the Ganga. The other right bank tributaries of the Ganga – the Chambal, the Betwa and the Son come from the peninsular uplands. The Ganga and its tributaries form a major portion of the northern plains.
On account of water availability and fertile soil, it is the most important agricultural region of India. The Ganga develops large meanders in the plains. The Ganga flows eastwards with the increased volume up to Farakka in West Bengal. The river bifurcates here. Its distributary, the Bhagirathi-Hooghly, flows through the deltaic plains to the Bay of Bengal.
The mainstream flows southwards into Bangladesh. Here it is known as Padma. It is joined by the Brahmaputra. Further downstream it is known as Meghna. Together they form the Ganga- Brahmaputra Delta, also known as Sunderban delta. It is the world’* largest and fastest growing delta.
