Indus (river)

Indus (river), river, formed in western Tibet by the confluence of the glacial streams from the Himalaya. It flows from Tibet north-west across the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India, passing between the western extremity of the Himalaya and the northern extremity of the Hindu Kush mountain range; it then flows generally south through Pakistan to the Arabian Sea, covering a distance of about 2,736 km (1,700 mi). The major tributaries of the Indus are the Sutlej, Ravi, and Chenab.

The Indus enters the Indian state of Punjab 1,304 km (810 mi) from its source, and, at a point 77 km (48 mi) farther, it becomes navigable as a result of its junction with the Kabul River from Afghanistan. Entering the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, it flows under the Lansdowne Bridge at Sukkur and the Hyderabad-Kotri Bridge before branching into the generally infertile delta that covers an area of about 7,770 sq km (3,000 sq mi) and extends for some 201 km (125 mi) along the Arabian Sea. The Indus has some importance as an artery of traffic and in addition provides irrigation for many millions of acres of the naturally arid lands of the Sind area. Historically, the Indus River valley is important as the cradle of the ancient Indus valley civilization, which, with Mesopotamia and Egypt, was one of the earliest civilizations.