Table of Contents
Where is the Ganges floodplain?
The early Ganges river delta developed about 50,000 years ago as the Brahmaputra river delta was formed at the same time. The early Ganges river delta is located in the west southern region in Bangladesh and a part of West Bengal of India.
What is active floodplain?
Active floodplain is defined as an area on either side of a stream/river which is regularly flooded on a periodic basis. A typical hydrological criterion to designate an active floodplain in a given reach is the 2.33 year return period of the flood.
Which is the largest flood plain in India?
Highest flood prone areas in India
- Ganga Basin: The Ganga Basin gets flooded mostly in the northern part by its northern tributaries.
- Brahmaputra and Barak Basins: The river banks of Brahmaputra and Barak gets flooded due to the Surplus water found in the Brahmaputra basin and the Barak basin.
What are the characteristics of a floodplain?
Characteristics of a flood plain include:
- A large area of flat land either side of a river.
- layers of alluvium cover the flood plain.
- a river bluff along the edge of a flood plain.
- meander scars.
- levees.
- rich, fertile soil.
- reeds and marsh plants.
Why does the Ganges flood?
The Ganges is one of the highest sediment load carrying rivers. The silt deposition is said to have raised the river’s bed-level causing it to break embankments and flood the adjoining human settlements and farmlands. As a result, they say, the Ganges’ water flows back to Bihar and causes floods.
When did Ganges flood?
The Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna (GBM) basin and numerous minor rivers provide the main freshwater flow into the northern and central part of Bangladesh (see Fig. 8.1). During the monsoon period (June–October), the volume of water often exceeds the carrying capacity of these rivers, and fluvial flooding occurs.
Does the Ganges flood?
People have to be careful on the river delta as severe flooding also occurs. In 1998, the Ganges flooded the delta, killing about 1,000 people and leaving more than 30 million people homeless.
Why is India vulnerable to floods?
India is one of the most flood prone countries in the world. The principal reasons for flood lie in the very nature of natural ecological systems in this country, namely, the monsoon, the highly silted river systems and the steep and highly erodible mountains, particularly those of the Himalayan ranges.
How many people live in the Ganges River basin?
Ganges River Basin. Encyclopedic Entry. Vocabulary. The Ganges (Ganga) River runs through northern India and is sacred to those who follow Hinduism. More than four hundred million people in India live in the area that feeds the river, known as the Ganges River Basin. A river basin is a region that is drained by a river, such as the Ganges,
When did the Ganges river start to flood?
The second image, acquired with the MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite, shows the river on August 30, 2016. In this true-color image, the Ganges and its tributaries appear brown.
Is the Ganges River part of the Brahmaputra River basin?
The Ganges River Basin is sometimes considered part of a larger river basin consisting of the nearby Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers. Known as the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) River Basin, it is one of the largest river systems in the world.
What is the alternative name for the Ganges River?
Alternative Title: Ganga. Ganges River, Hindi Ganga, great river of the plains of the northern Indian subcontinent. Although officially as well as popularly called the Ganga in Hindi and in other Indian languages, internationally it is known by its conventional name, the Ganges.