# Ganges Basin
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{{Short description|Part of the Ganges-Brahmaputra basin}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2019}}
thumb|400px|Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna basins
The '''Ganges Basin''' is a major part of the [Ganges](/source/Ganges_River)-[Brahmaputra](/source/Brahmaputra_River)-[Meghna](/source/Meghna) (GBM) basin draining 1,999,000 square kilometres in [Tibet](/source/Tibet), [Nepal](/source/Nepal), [India](/source/India) and [Bangladesh](/source/Bangladesh). To the north, the [Himalaya](/source/Himalaya) or lower parallel ranges beyond form the Ganges-Brahmaputra divide. On the west the Ganges Basin borders the [Indus basin](/source/Indus_River) and then the [Aravalli](/source/Aravalli_Range) ridge. Southern limits are the [Vindhya](/source/Vindhya)s and [Chota Nagpur Plateau](/source/Chota_Nagpur_Plateau). On the east the Ganges merges with the Brahmaputra through a complex system of common distributaries into the [Bay of Bengal](/source/Bay_of_Bengal). Its [catchment](/source/Drainage_basin) lies in the states of [Uttar Pradesh](/source/Uttar_Pradesh) (294,364 km2), [Madhya Pradesh](/source/Madhya_Pradesh) (198,962 km2), [Bihar](/source/Bihar) (143,961 km2), [Rajasthan](/source/Rajasthan) (112,490 km2), [West Bengal](/source/West_Bengal) (71,485 km2), [Haryana](/source/Haryana) (34,341 km2), [Himachal Pradesh](/source/Himachal_Pradesh) (4,317 km2), [Delhi](/source/Delhi), [Arunachal Pradesh](/source/Arunachal_Pradesh) (1,484 km2), the whole of Bangladesh, Nepal and [Bhutan](/source/Bhutan). Several tributaries rise inside Tibet before flowing south through Nepal. The basin has a population of more than 500 million, making it the most populated river basin in the world.
==Description of the Ganges basin==
{{more citations needed section|date=August 2014}}
The Ganges River flows into Bangladesh and mixes in the Brahmaputra River, creating the basin.[{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Divyansh |title=India- Ganga Bramhmaputra basin |date=2 May 2026 |publisher=The Ganga Bramhmaputra basin |isbn= |edition=Map |location=India }}]
The basin comprises semi-arid valleys in the rain shadow north of the Himalaya, densely forested mountains south of the highest ranges, the scrubby [Shiwalik](/source/Shiwalik) foothills and the fertile [Gangetic Plains](/source/Gangetic_Plains). Central highlands south of the Gangetic Plain have plateaus, hills and mountains intersected by valleys and river plains. The important [soil](/source/soil) types found in the basin are sand, loam, [clay](/source/clay) and their combinations such as sandy loam, silty clay etc.[{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWqFgEuzqt0|title = Life in the Ganga - Brahmaputra Basin | Human Environment Interaction | Geography Class 7 Chapter 8|website = [YouTube](/source/YouTube) | date=30 January 2021 }}]
The annual surface water potential of the basin has been assessed as 525 km3 in India, out of which 250 km3 is utilisable water. There is about 580,000 km2 of arable land; 29.5% of the cultivable area of India.
Water-related issues of the basin are due to both high and low flows. In [India](/source/India), the states of [Uttrakhand](/source/Uttrakhand), [Uttar Pradesh](/source/Uttar_Pradesh), [Bihar](/source/Bihar) and [West Bengal](/source/West_Bengal) are affected by floods. [Bangladesh](/source/Bangladesh) – at the confluence of [Brahmaputra River](/source/Brahmaputra_River) and [Ganges River](/source/Ganges_River) – suffers from severe floods almost every year. Northern Ganges tributaries such as [Kosi](/source/Kosi_River), [Gandak](/source/Gandaki_River) and [Mahananda](/source/Mahananda_River) are the most flood-prone, but southern tributaries also contribute. Low flows are caused by scarcity of rainfall outside the summer [Monsoon](/source/Monsoon), and sometimes by failure of this monsoon to develop to its normal extent.
The Ganges is joined by [Kosi](/source/Kosi_River), [Ghaghra](/source/Ghaghra), Gandak from the Himalayas and by [Chambal](/source/Chambal_River), Betwa, Son from the peninsular region.
== See also ==
* [Foreland basin](/source/Foreland_basin)
* [Forebulge](/source/Forebulge)
==References==
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14634988.2017.1304129
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commons}}
* [http://www.ppl.nl/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=82 Bibliography on Water Resources and International Law]. Peace Palace Library
* [https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4322582.stm S Asia's deadly Himalayan fault]
* http://cpwfbfp.pbwiki.com
{{Waters of South Asia}}
{{GeoSouthAsia}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|25.7|N|84.9|E|type:river_region:IN|display=title}}
{{Uttarakhand}}
Category:Ganges basin
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Category:Drainage basins of India
Category:Landforms of Bangladesh
Category:Northeast India
Category:Freshwater ecoregions
Category:Natural regions of India
Category:Geography of India
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ganges Basin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganges_Basin) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganges_Basin?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.