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    Alaknanda River: Alaknandā

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    Srinivas Kala
    The Alaknanda River is one of the two headstreams of the Ganges River. It rises in the Himalayas in Uttarakhand, India near the Tibet border at an elevation of 3,880 meters and flows for 190 kilometers before merging with the Bhagirathi River to form the Ganges at Devprayag. The Alaknanda contributes a larger volume of water to the Ganges than the Bhagirathi. It is an important site for Hindu pilgrimage and river rafting.

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    Alaknanda River: Alaknandā

    Uploaded by

    Srinivas Kala
    208 views4 pages
    The Alaknanda River is one of the two headstreams of the Ganges River. It rises in the Himalayas in Uttarakhand, India near the Tibet border at an elevation of 3,880 meters and flows for 190 kilometers before merging with the Bhagirathi River to form the Ganges at Devprayag. The Alaknanda contributes a larger volume of water to the Ganges than the Bhagirathi. It is an important site for Hindu pilgrimage and river rafting.

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    Alaknanda River

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    The Alaknanda River is one of the two headstreams of the Ganges River. It rises in the Himalayas in Uttarakhand, India near the Tibet border at an elevation of 3,880 meters and flows for 190 kilometers before merging with the Bhagirathi River to form the Ganges at Devprayag. The Alaknanda contributes a larger volume of water to the Ganges than the Bhagirathi. It is an important site for Hindu pilgrimage and river rafting.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    208 views4 pages

    Alaknanda River: Alaknandā

    Uploaded by

    Srinivas Kala
    The Alaknanda River is one of the two headstreams of the Ganges River. It rises in the Himalayas in Uttarakhand, India near the Tibet border at an elevation of 3,880 meters and flows for 190 kilometers before merging with the Bhagirathi River to form the Ganges at Devprayag. The Alaknanda contributes a larger volume of water to the Ganges than the Bhagirathi. It is an important site for Hindu pilgrimage and river rafting.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 4

    Alaknanda River

    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


      (Redirected from Alaknanda)
    This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup
    reason has been specified. Please help improve this article if you can. (January 2010)
    This article is about the tributary of the Ganges.
    Alaknandā (अलकनंदा)
    River

    The sediment-laden Alaknanda river


    flowing into Devprayag, Uttarakhand.
    Country  India
    State Uttarakhand
    Region Garhwal division
    Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Pauri
    Districts
    Garhwal
    Tributaries
    Saraswati, Dhauliganga,
     - left
    Nandakini, Pindar
     - right Mandakini
    Confluence of Satopanth
    Source Glacier and Bhagirathi
    Kharak Glacier
     - elevation 3,880 m (12,730 ft)
    Source
    Bhagirathi River
    confluence
    Mouth Ganges
    Devprayag, Uttarakhand,
     - location
    India
     - elevation 475 m (1,558 ft)
    Length 190 km (118 mi)
    Basin 10,882 km2 (4,202 sq mi)
    Discharge
     - average 439.36 m3/s (15,516 cu ft/s)

    The Himalayan headwaters of the Ganges


    river in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand,
    India. The Alaknanda is the left bank
    tributary of the Ganges at Devprayag.

    The Alaknanda is a Himalayan river in the Indian state of Uttarakhand and one of the two
    headstreams of the Ganga, the major river of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism. In
    hydrology, the Alaknanda is considered the source stream of the Ganges on account of its greater
    length and discharge;[1] however, in Hindu mythology and culture, the other headstream, the
    Bhagirathi, is considered the source stream.

    Overview
    The Alaknanda is considered to rise at the confluence and foot of the Satopanth and Bhagirath
    Kharak glaciers in Uttarakhand, though the Saraswati River tributary flowing from Mana Pass is
    longer; the two meet at Mana, India, 21 km from Tibet. Three km below Mana the Alaknanda
    flows past the Hindu pilgrimage centre of Badrinath. It meets the Bhagirathi River at Devprayag
    after flowing for approximately 190 km (118.1 mi) through the Alaknanda valley. Its main
    tributaries are the Mandakini, Nandakini, and Pindar rivers. The Alaknanda system drains parts
    of Chamoli, Tehri, and Pauri districts.[2]
    River Alaknanda near Badrikashram

    Following the merging at Devprayag, the river is known as the Ganges. The Alaknanda
    contributes a significantly larger portion to the flow of the Ganges than the Bhagirathi. The
    Alaknanda is also known for adventure sports such as rafting.

    In mythology, the Goddess Ganga descended to earth at Gangotri, the original source of the
    Bhagirathi before the Gangotri Glacier receded to its current location at Gomukh. The Alaknanda
    is believed to have split off from the celestial Ganges when it descended from heaven.

    The origin of Alaknanda River is of special interest to the tourists who visit the important
    pilgrimages in Uttarakhand. The Ganges rises in the southern Himalayas on the Indian side of the
    Tibet border. The five headstreams of the Ganges including the Bhagirathi, Mandakini,
    Alaknanda, Dhauliganga and Pindar, all rising in the northern mountainous regions of
    Uttarakhand.

    On the Satopanth Glacier six km up from Alaknanda's origin at its snout, the triangular Lake
    Satopanth is found at a height of 4350 m. It and the glacier are named after the Hindu trinity
    Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva.

    Nanda Devi is the highest point in the Alaknanda basin.

    Attractions
    Badrinath:

    Badrinath, one of the holy destinations for Hindus in India is located near to the bank of the
    Alaknanda River. This place is surrounded by two mountain ranges of Nar and Narayan and
    Neelkanth peak is located at the back side.

    Recreation
    Rafting

    Alaknanda River origin is of great interest for the tourists who visit the pilgrimages in
    Uttarakhand. Rise of the Ganges in India is from the southern part of the Indian Himalaya, near
    the Tibet border. This river is among the best for river rafting in the world due to its high rafting
    grade.[citation needed]

    Panch Prayag
    Several rivers in the Garhwal region merge with the Alaknanda at Panch Prayag or 'holy
    confluence of rivers'. These are:[3]

    1. Vishnuprayag, where the Alaknanda is met by the Dhauliganga River


    2. Nandaprayag, where it is met by the Nandakini River
    3. Karnaprayag, where it is met by the Pindar River
    4. Rudraprayag, where it is met by the Mandakini River
    5. Devprayag, where it meets the Bhagirathi River and officially becomes the Ganges

    Dams
    There are 37 hydroelectric dams in operation, under construction or planned to harness the
    energy of the Alaknanda river and its tributaries and generate electricity.

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