Brahmaputra

Brahmaputra or Yarlung Zangbo (Sanskrit, “son of Brahma”; ancient Dyardanes or Oedanes), one of the great rivers of southern Asia, about 2,700 km (1,680 mi) long. It flows from south-western Tibet, through Arunachal Pradesh and Assam states in India, into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. In Tibet it is called the Yarlung Zangbo. Rising in the Kailas Range of the Himalaya, at an elevation of about 5,180 m (17,000 ft), the stream follows an easterly course for about 1,450 km (900 mi) in Tibet at an altitude of about 3,660 m (12,000 ft), then swings south, crosses the Himalaya, and enters the lowland plains of Assam, where it is called the Dihang. Near Sadiya, Assam, it changes course to south-west and becomes the Brahmaputra. After about 800 km (500 mi) in this direction it turns south again, going through Bangladesh. At the Ganges delta, the river divides into two channels, and the main channel becomes known as the Jamuna River. Both channels empty into the Bay of Bengal. The plains watered by the stream yield abundant crops of rice, jute, and mustard. Steamers can navigate the Brahmaputra from the Bay of Bengal up as far as Dibrugarh in Assam, 1,287 km (800 mi) from the sea. In recent years soil erosion caused by deforestation in the valleys of Tibet and north-east India has caused frequent flooding of the delta region in Bangladesh on a massive scale.