Brahmaputra River

The Brahmaputra (Assamese: [ˈbɹɔɦ.mɔ.put.ɹɔ]) is a trans-boundary river which flows through Southwestern China, Northeastern India, and Bangladesh. It is known as the Brahmaputra in Assam, Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in the Mishmi language, and Jamuna River in Bangladesh. By itself, it is the 9th largest river in the world by discharge, and the 15th longest. It originates in the Manasarovar Lake region, near Mount Kailash, on the northern side of the Himalayas in Burang County of Tibet where it is known as the Yarlung Tsangpo River. The Brahmaputra flows along southern Tibet to break through the Himalayas in great gorges (including the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon) and into Arunachal Pradesh. It enters India near the village of Gelling in Arunachal Pradesh and flows southwest through the Assam Valley as the Brahmaputra and south through Bangladesh as the Jamuna (not to be confused with the Yamuna of India). In the vast Ganges Delta, it merges with the Ganges, popularly known as the Padma in Bangladesh, and becomes the Meghna and ultimately empties into the Bay of Bengal. At 3,000 km (1,900 mi) long, the Brahmaputra is an important river for irrigation and transportation in the region. The average depth of the river is 30 m (100 ft) and its maximum depth is 135 m (440 ft) (at Sadiya). The river is prone to catastrophic flooding in the spring when the Himalayan snow melts. The average discharge of the Brahmaputra is about ~22,000 m3/s (780,000 cu ft/s), and floods reach about 103,000 m3/s (3,600,000 cu ft/s). It is a classic example of a braided river and is highly susceptible to channel migration and avulsion. It is also one of the few rivers in the world that exhibits a tidal bore. It is navigable for most of its length. The...