The Indus River

Course of the Indus

Introduction to the Course | Source | Irrigation System | The Delta

The Indus River is one of the longest rivers in the world with a length of 1800 miles. The Indus river rises in southwestern Tibet at a height of about 5500 meters and it flows in a northwesterly direction along the slope of Himalayas which then crosses into Jammu and Kashmir from the Southeast of the Indus River.

Source
The Source of the Indus River is located in Sindh. The yearly flow of the Indus river comes to about 187 cubic kilometers but there is a maximum of 11327 m3/s to the flood flow of the river. The river crosses the western Kashmir border and then turns south and southwest to enter Pakistan. As it flow through Pakistan it emerges from the highlands and flows as a rapid stream between the Swat and Hazara regions and across the salt range to enter the semiarid Punjab plain. The upper Indus Basin system is made up of its seven tributaries which are Kabul and Gomal on the right bank of the river and the five rivers of the Punjab, Namely, Jhelum, Chenab, Rabi, Beas and Sutlej which is on the left bank of the river
back to top

Irrigation System

In the higher part of the Indus Basin system, flood water spilling over the river banks generally returns to the river. However, in the lower part of the Indus River, which flows at a higher distance from the ground than the bordering lands for the most part, spills do not return to the river. This augments the extent and period of inundation, resulting in more damage. Even though flood defence is provided by the embankment about along all of the significant length of the river in Sindh region and a lot of locations in the upper areas, bunds have been breached at times. Such breaches frequently cause greater damage than would have occurred without the bunds because of their unexpected nature and intensification of land use following the provision of flood protection.

The Delta

The Delta of the Indus river is the highlight of the south-southeast looking, low-oblique in the photograph to the right. The river is fed by snowmelt and glacial melt water from the mountains of the Tibet Plateau, the river flows 1900 miles before it empties into the Arabian Sea. After it leaves the Tibet Plateau the river flows onto the Punjab plains of western Pakistan and through a vast alluvial lowland where it will then receive its major tributary, the five streams which would carry the united water of the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. The Delta of the Indus River is formed at the east of Karachi which is where the mouth of the river would be located.