The Brahmaputra System
- Length: about 2,900 km (India about 916 km); origin: Chemayungdung glacier, near Mansarovar (Tibet).
- In Tibet it is called Yarlung Tsangpo (Tsangpo); flows east for about 1,200 km, bends round Namcha Barwa at a deep gorge (Tsangpo-Brahmaputra Grand Canyon), and enters Arunachal as Dihang (Siang).
- At Sadiya it meets Dibang and Lohit and becomes the Brahmaputra; it flows through Assam for about 640 km, then enters Bangladesh as the Jamuna.
- Braided, wide (up to 10 km), annual floods, shifting channels; Majuli island.
Tributaries
| River | Notes |
|---|---|
| Subansiri | Largest tributary of the Brahmaputra in India (Tibet-Arunachal); Subansiri Lower Hydro project |
| Kameng, Manas, Sankosh, Dhansiri, Kopili | North and south bank rivers |
| Teesta (Tista) | Sikkim (Pahunri glacier); joins the Brahmaputra in Bangladesh; Teesta water-sharing dispute |
| Burhi Dihing, Dibang, Lohit | East Assam |
| Barak | Manipur-Mizoram-Assam; flows into Bangladesh (Surma-Meghna), not the Brahmaputra |
Why floods?
Heavy monsoon rain, steep Himalayan slopes, silt, earthquakes (landslide dams), river bank erosion; Assam loses land every year; Majuli has shrunk.
Keep practising
Notes are only half the work. Test yourself with questions and discuss doubts with other aspirants.
Prepared for exam revision from NCERT, standard geography textbooks, the Census of India 2011, the India State of Forest Report, IMD, Ministry of Agriculture and other official sources. Maps are schematic teaching maps, not Survey of India maps, and zone boundaries are approximate. Figures such as production, capacity, counts of parks and ports, and census status change, so check the latest official source before relying on them. Found a mistake? Tell us.