Indus River

Course of the Indus

River bed of the Indus in Skardu

Mouth of Zanskar (from above) in the Indus (from left) in Ladakh

The Indus River (Sanskrit सिन्धु Sindhu, Urdu سندھ Sindh ) is 3180 km, the longest river in the Indian subcontinent and most important power in Pakistan.

River course

It arises in the Trans Himalayas in Tibet from the confluence of the glacial streams in Sênggêkanbab, breaks through the Himalayas and then flows through the Tarbela Dam (254 km ² 13.69 km ³) and the provinces of Punjab and Sindh in Pakistan. There it forms a delta below Hyderabad of 7800 km ², and then empties into the Arabian Sea. In its middle reaches of the river is the basis for extensive irrigation systems for agriculture. There, the largest agricultural irrigation area in the world is supplied by a large number of dams and canals. In the middle and lower reaches of the river meanders very strong. An agreement between India and Pakistan ( the Indus Waters Treaty 1960) regulates the water supply. The amount of recycled water varies greatly due to the monsoon rains.

Etymology

The name " Indus " goes beyond mediation of ancient Greek, more precisely, of the Ionian dialect, of the sound " h" not know ( Ἰνδός Indos ) and Old Persian ( Hindus ) on the Sanskrit word sindhu सिन्धु meaning " flow " back. From the name of the river is also the name 'India' is derived. The name of the Indus in the South Asian languages ​​(eg Urdu سندھ Sindh ) is derived directly from the Sanskrit, however her form. Also located on the lower reaches of the Indus Sindh province got its name from the river.

History

The early Indus civilization in the valley of the Indus River, one of the oldest civilizations in the world, is also called Indus Civilization. The Indus marks the extreme eastern border of the empire of Alexander the Great. With his army he went down the Indus.

2010 came in the wake of the flood disaster in Pakistan on the entire course of the river flooding.