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The
Ganges
Facts
|
Continent
|
Asia
|
|
Countries
it flows through
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India,
Bangladesh
|
|
Length
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2510
kilometres
|
|
Number
of tributaries
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2
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|
Source
|
in
the Himalayas
|
|
Mouth
|
Bay
of Bengal
|
Location
Map reproduced from the Oxford Practical Atlas with permission
from Oxford University Press.
The
Ganges is the main river system in India. Its source
is found 3000 metres high in the Himalayas, the world's highest mountains.
The Ganges gets its water from the snow melting in the spring and summer
months. The course of the Ganges takes it across northern India before
it finally reaches its mouth
in the Bay of Bengal. The mouth of the Ganges is a delta
(it is the World's largest delta).
The
Ganges has two main tributaries: the Jumna and the Brahmaputra. The
Jumna is 1358 kilometres in length and joins the Ganges at the city
of Allahabad. The Brahmaputra is 2900 kilometres long and joins the
Ganges in its delta. The Brahmaputra is
navigable for 1285 kilometres from the sea.
The Brahmaputra
River, a tributary of the Ganges.
The
Ganges and Religion
The
River Ganges is holy to all Hindu people. They consider the river to
be the Ganga Mai which means Mother Ganges. Every year about one million
Hindus go to the city of Varanasi to bathe in the river. The city of
Allahabad is also another bathing site.
The
Ganges for Food
The
Ganges is an important source of food. Fish are a vital food for millions
of Indian people.
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