Indus River: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description| River in Asia}} | {{Short description| River in Asia}} | ||
{{For|other rivers named Indus|Indus (disambiguation)#Rivers}} | {{For|other rivers named Indus|Indus (disambiguation)#Rivers}} | ||
{{Redirect-multi| | {{Redirect-multi|3|Indus Valley|Indus|Sindhu|the Bronze Age civilisation|Indus Valley Civilisation||Indus (disambiguation)|and|Sindhu (disambiguation)}} | ||
{{pp-pc}} | {{pp-pc}} | ||
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}} | {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}} | ||
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| subdivision_type1 = Countries or regions | | subdivision_type1 = Countries or regions | ||
| subdivision_name1 = [[China]], [[Kashmir]] (disputed region),<!-- Please don't edit anything here in countries or regions parameter as this is well established per WP:CONSENSUS, consider starting discussion at the talkpage --><ref name=indus-britannica-quote>{{cite web|title=Indus River|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=8 March 2025 |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Indus-River|quote=For about 200 miles (320 km) it flows northwest, crossing the southeastern boundary of the disputed Kashmir region at about 15,000 feet (4,600 meters). A short way beyond Leh, in the Indian-administered union territory of Ladakh, it is joined on its left by its first major tributary, the Zanskar River. Continuing for 150 miles (240 km) in the same direction into the Pakistani-administered areas of the Kashmir region, the Indus is joined by its notable tributary the Shyok River on the right bank. Below its confluence with the Shyok, as far as the Kohistan region of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, it is fed by mighty glaciers}}</ref><ref name=tertiary-kashmir> | | subdivision_name1 = [[China]], [[Kashmir]] (disputed region),<!-- Please don't edit anything here in countries or regions parameter as this is well established per WP:CONSENSUS, consider starting discussion at the talkpage --><ref name=indus-britannica-quote>{{cite web|title=Indus River|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=8 March 2025 |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Indus-River|quote=For about 200 miles (320 km) it flows northwest, crossing the southeastern boundary of the disputed Kashmir region at about 15,000 feet (4,600 meters). A short way beyond Leh, in the Indian-administered union territory of Ladakh, it is joined on its left by its first major tributary, the Zanskar River. Continuing for 150 miles (240 km) in the same direction into the Pakistani-administered areas of the Kashmir region, the Indus is joined by its notable tributary the Shyok River on the right bank. Below its confluence with the Shyok, as far as the Kohistan region of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, it is fed by mighty glaciers}}</ref><ref name=tertiary-kashmir> | ||
(a) {{citation|title=Kashmir, region Indian subcontinent|publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Kashmir-region-Indian-subcontinent|accessdate=15 August 2019|archive-date=13 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190813203817/https://www.britannica.com/place/Kashmir-region-Indian-subcontinent|url-status=live}} (subscription required) Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent ... has been the subject of dispute between India and Pakistan since the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. The northern and western portions are administered by Pakistan and comprise three areas: Azad Kashmir, Gilgit, and Baltistan, the last two being part of a territory called the Northern Areas. Administered by India are the southern and southeastern portions, which constitute the state of Jammu and Kashmir but are slated to be split into two union territories.";<br/> (b) {{citation|last1=Pletcher|first1=Kenneth|title=Aksai Chin, Plateau Region, Asia|publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Aksai-Chin|accessdate=16 August 2019|archive-date=2 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402090308/https://www.britannica.com/place/Aksai-Chin|url-status=live}} (subscription required) Quote: "Aksai Chin, Chinese (Pinyin) Aksayqin, portion of the Kashmir region, at the northernmost extent of the Indian subcontinent in south-central Asia. It constitutes nearly all the territory of the Chinese-administered sector of Kashmir that is claimed by India to be part of the Ladakh area of Jammu and Kashmir state."; <br/> (c) {{citation|chapter=Kashmir|title=Encyclopedia Americana|publisher=Scholastic Library Publishing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l_cWAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA328|year=2006|isbn=978-0-7172-0139-6|page=328|access-date=6 November 2019|archive-date=17 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117135716/https://books.google.com/books?id=l_cWAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA328|url-status=live}} C. E Bosworth, University of Manchester Quote: "KASHMIR, kash'mer, the northernmost region of the Indian subcontinent, administered partly by India, partly by Pakistan, and partly by China. The region has been the subject of a bitter dispute between India and Pakistan since they became independent in 1947"; <br/> (d) {{citation|last1=Osmańczyk|first1=Edmund Jan|title=Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Agreements: G to M|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fSIMXHMdfkkC&pg=PA1191|year=2003|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-93922-5|pages=1191–|access-date=12 June 2023|archive-date=17 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117140437/https://books.google.com/books?id=fSIMXHMdfkkC&pg=PA1191|url-status=live}} Quote: "Jammu and Kashmir: Territory in northwestern India, subject to a dispute between India and Pakistan. It has borders with Pakistan and China." <br/>(e) {{citation|last=Talbot|first=Ian|title=A History of Modern South Asia: Politics, States, Diasporas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eNg_CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28|year=2016|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-19694-8|pages=28–29}} Quote: "We move from a disputed international border to a dotted line on the map that represents a military border not recognized in international law. | (a) {{citation|title=Kashmir, region Indian subcontinent|publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Kashmir-region-Indian-subcontinent|accessdate=15 August 2019|archive-date=13 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190813203817/https://www.britannica.com/place/Kashmir-region-Indian-subcontinent|url-status=live}} (subscription required) Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent ... has been the subject of dispute between India and Pakistan since the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. The northern and western portions are administered by Pakistan and comprise three areas: Azad Kashmir, Gilgit, and Baltistan, the last two being part of a territory called the Northern Areas. Administered by India are the southern and southeastern portions, which constitute the state of Jammu and Kashmir but are slated to be split into two union territories.";<br/> (b) {{citation|last1=Pletcher|first1=Kenneth|title=Aksai Chin, Plateau Region, Asia|publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Aksai-Chin|accessdate=16 August 2019|archive-date=2 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402090308/https://www.britannica.com/place/Aksai-Chin|url-status=live}} (subscription required) Quote: "Aksai Chin, Chinese (Pinyin) Aksayqin, portion of the Kashmir region, at the northernmost extent of the Indian subcontinent in south-central Asia. It constitutes nearly all the territory of the Chinese-administered sector of Kashmir that is claimed by India to be part of the Ladakh area of Jammu and Kashmir state."; <br/> (c) {{citation|chapter=Kashmir|title=Encyclopedia Americana|publisher=Scholastic Library Publishing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l_cWAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA328|year=2006|isbn=978-0-7172-0139-6|page=328|access-date=6 November 2019|archive-date=17 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117135716/https://books.google.com/books?id=l_cWAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA328|url-status=live}} C. E Bosworth, University of Manchester Quote: "KASHMIR, kash'mer, the northernmost region of the Indian subcontinent, administered partly by India, partly by Pakistan, and partly by China. The region has been the subject of a bitter dispute between India and Pakistan since they became independent in 1947"; <br/> (d) {{citation|last1=Osmańczyk|first1=Edmund Jan|title=Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Agreements: G to M|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fSIMXHMdfkkC&pg=PA1191|year=2003|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-93922-5|pages=1191–|access-date=12 June 2023|archive-date=17 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117140437/https://books.google.com/books?id=fSIMXHMdfkkC&pg=PA1191|url-status=live}} Quote: "Jammu and Kashmir: Territory in northwestern India, subject to a dispute between India and Pakistan. It has borders with Pakistan and China." <br/>(e) {{citation|last=Talbot|first=Ian|title=A History of Modern South Asia: Politics, States, Diasporas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eNg_CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28|year=2016|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-19694-8|pages=28–29}} Quote: "We move from a disputed international border to a dotted line on the map that represents a military border not recognized in international law. The line of control separates the Indian and Pakistani administered areas of the former Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir."; <br/> (f) {{citation|last=Skutsch|first=Carl|editor-last=Ciment|editor-first=James|title=Encyclopedia of Conflicts Since World War II|edition=2nd|year=2015|orig-year=2007|isbn=978-0-7656-8005-1|chapter=China: Border War with India, 1962|location=London and New York|publisher=Routledge|page=573|quote=The situation between the two nations was complicated by the 1957–1959 uprising by Tibetans against Chinese rule. Refugees poured across the Indian border, and the Indian public was outraged. Any compromise with China on the border issue became impossible. Similarly, China was offended that India had given political asylum to the Dalai Lama when he fled across the border in March 1959. In late 1959, shots were fired between border patrols operating along the McMahon Line and in the Aksai Chin.}}<br/> (g) {{citation|last=Fisher|first=Michael H.|title=An Environmental History of India: From Earliest Times to the Twenty-First Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA166|year=2018|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-11162-2|page=166}} Quote: "Kashmir's identity remains hotly disputed with a UN-supervised "Line of Control" still separating Pakistani-held Azad ("Free") Kashmir from Indian-held Kashmir.";</ref> [[Pakistan]] | ||
| subdivision_type2 = States, provinces or administered regions | | subdivision_type2 = States, provinces or administered regions | ||
| subdivision_name2 = [[Tibet Autonomous Region]], Indian-administered [[Ladakh]], Pakistani-administered [[Gilgit-Baltistan]], [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]], [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], and [[Sindh]]<ref name=indus-britannica-quote/><ref name=tertiary-kashmir/> | | subdivision_name2 = [[Tibet Autonomous Region]], Indian-administered [[Ladakh]], Pakistani-administered [[Gilgit-Baltistan]], [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]], [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], and [[Sindh]]<ref name=indus-britannica-quote/><ref name=tertiary-kashmir/> | ||
| subdivision_type5 = Cities | | subdivision_type5 = Cities | ||
| subdivision_name5 = [[Leh]], [[Kargil]], [[Skardu]], [[Dasu]], [[Besham]], [[Thakot]], [[Swabi]], [[ | | subdivision_name5 = [[Leh]], [[Kargil]], [[Skardu]], [[Dasu]], [[Besham]], [[Thakot]], [[Swabi]], [[Mianwali]], [[Dera Ismail Khan]], [[Bhakkar]], [[Sukkur]], [[Hyderabad, Sindh|Hyderabad]], [[Karachi]] | ||
| length = {{cvt|3,180|km|mi}}<ref name="International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development">{{cite book |veditors=Shrestha AB, Agrawal NK, Alfthan B, Bajracharya SR, Maréchal J, van Oort B |title=The Himalayan Climate and Water Atlas: Impact of Climate Change on Water Resources in Five of Asia's Major River Basins |publisher=International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development |isbn=978-92-9115-357-2 |url=https://lib.icimod.org/record/31180 |page=58 |access-date=21 September 2022 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817085543/https://lib.icimod.org/record/31180 |url-status=live }}</ref> | | length = {{cvt|3,180|km|mi}}<ref name="International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development">{{cite book |veditors=Shrestha AB, Agrawal NK, Alfthan B, Bajracharya SR, Maréchal J, van Oort B |title=The Himalayan Climate and Water Atlas: Impact of Climate Change on Water Resources in Five of Asia's Major River Basins |publisher=International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development |isbn=978-92-9115-357-2 |url=https://lib.icimod.org/record/31180 |page=58 |access-date=21 September 2022 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817085543/https://lib.icimod.org/record/31180 |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
| discharge1_location = [[Indus Delta]] | | discharge1_location = [[Indus Delta]] | ||
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| tributaries_left = [[Zanskar River|Zanskar]], [[Suru River (Indus)|Suru]], [[Soan River|Soan]], [[Panjnad River|Panjnad]], [[Ghaggar-Hakra River|Ghaggar]] | | tributaries_left = [[Zanskar River|Zanskar]], [[Suru River (Indus)|Suru]], [[Soan River|Soan]], [[Panjnad River|Panjnad]], [[Ghaggar-Hakra River|Ghaggar]] | ||
| tributaries_right = [[Shyok River|Shyok]], [[Hunza River|Hunza]], [[Gilgit River|Gilgit]], [[Swat River|Swat]], [[Kunar River|Kunar]], [[Kabul River|Kabul]], [[Kurram River|Kurram]], [[Gomal River|Gomal]], [[Zhob River|Zhob]] | | tributaries_right = [[Shyok River|Shyok]], [[Hunza River|Hunza]], [[Gilgit River|Gilgit]], [[Swat River|Swat]], [[Kunar River|Kunar]], [[Kabul River|Kabul]], [[Kurram River|Kurram]], [[Gomal River|Gomal]], [[Zhob River|Zhob]] | ||
| | | mapframe = yes | ||
| mapframe-zoom = 4 | |||
| mapframe-wikidata = yes | |||
| mapframe-point = none | |||
| discharge3_location = [[Mithankot]] | | discharge3_location = [[Mithankot]] | ||
| discharge3_avg = (Period: 1971–2000){{cvt|5,812.3|m3/s|cuft/s}}<ref name="Indus">{{cite web|url=https://www.riversnetwork.org/V1/index.php/component/content/?view=article&id=58&catid=220&Itemid=179|title=Indus}}</ref> | | discharge3_avg = (Period: 1971–2000){{cvt|5,812.3|m3/s|cuft/s}}<ref name="Indus">{{cite web|url=https://www.riversnetwork.org/V1/index.php/component/content/?view=article&id=58&catid=220&Itemid=179|title=Indus}}</ref> | ||
| Line 59: | Line 60: | ||
}} | }} | ||
The '''Indus''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɪ|n|d|ə|s}} {{respell|IN|dəs}}) is a [[transboundary river]] of Asia and a trans-[[Himalayas|Himalayan]] river of [[South Asia|South]] and [[Central Asia]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Richardson |first1=Hugh E. |last2=Wylie |first2=Turrell V. |last3=Falkenheim |first3=Victor C. |last4=Shakabpa |first4=Tsepon W. D. |title=Tibet |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |date=3 March 2020 |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Tibet |access-date=9 August 2021 |quote=historic region and autonomous region of China that is often called "the roof of the world." It occupies a vast area of plateaus and mountains in Central Asia |archive-date=14 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814152626/https://www.britannica.com/place/Tibet |url-status=live }}</ref> The {{cvt|3,180|km|mi|abbr=on}}<ref name="International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development"/> river rises in | The '''Indus''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɪ|n|d|ə|s}} {{respell|IN|dəs}}) is a [[transboundary river]] of Asia and a trans-[[Himalayas|Himalayan]] river of [[South Asia|South]] and [[Central Asia]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Richardson |first1=Hugh E. |last2=Wylie |first2=Turrell V. |last3=Falkenheim |first3=Victor C. |last4=Shakabpa |first4=Tsepon W. D. |title=Tibet |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |date=3 March 2020 |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Tibet |access-date=9 August 2021 |quote=historic region and autonomous region of China that is often called "the roof of the world." It occupies a vast area of plateaus and mountains in Central Asia |archive-date=14 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814152626/https://www.britannica.com/place/Tibet |url-status=live }}</ref> The {{cvt|3,180|km|mi|abbr=on}}<ref name="International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development"/> river rises in western [[China]] where it is known as [[Sengge Zangbo]], flows northwest through the disputed<ref name=indus-britannica-quote/> [[Kashmir]] region,<ref name=tertiary-kashmir/> first through the Indian-administered [[Ladakh]], and then the Pakistani-administered [[Gilgit-Baltistan]],{{efn|For about 200 miles (320 km) it flows northwest, crossing the southeastern boundary of the disputed Kashmir region at about 15,000 feet (4,600 meters). A short way beyond Leh, in the Indian-administered union territory of Ladakh, it is joined on its left by its first major tributary, the Zanskar River. Continuing for 150 miles (240 km) in the same direction into the Pakistani-administered areas of the Kashmir region, the Indus is joined by its notable tributary the Shyok River on the right bank.<ref name=indus-britannica>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Indus River|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=8 March 2025 |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Indus-River}}</ref>}}<ref name="Kashmir">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Kashmir: region, Indian subcontinent |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=16 July 2016 |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Kashmir-region-Indian-subcontinent |archive-date=13 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190813203817/https://www.britannica.com/place/Kashmir-region-Indian-subcontinent |url-status=live }} Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent. It is bounded by the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang to the northeast and the Tibet Autonomous Region to the east (both parts of China), by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south, by Pakistan to the west, and by Afghanistan to the northwest. The northern and western portions are administered by Pakistan and comprise three areas: Azad Kashmir, Gilgit, and Baltistan, ... The southern and southeastern portions constitute the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian- and Pakistani-administered portions are divided by a "line of control" agreed to in 1972, although neither country recognizes it as an international boundary. In addition, China became active in the eastern area of Kashmir in the 1950s and since 1962 has controlled the northeastern part of Ladakh (the easternmost portion of the region)."</ref> bends sharply to the left after the [[Nanga Parbat]] [[massif]], and flows south-by-southwest through [[Pakistan]], before [[river bifurcation|bifurcating]] and emptying into the [[Arabian Sea]], its [[main stem]] located near the port city of [[Karachi]].<ref name="Ahmad-2019">{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Ahmad |first1=Nafis |last2=Lodrick |first2=Deryck |title=Indus River |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |date=6 February 2019 |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Indus-River |access-date=5 February 2021 |archive-date=7 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200507163743/https://www.britannica.com/place/Indus-River |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first= |last= |title=Natural Wonders of the World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=abqpDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA240 |year=2017 |publisher=[[Penguin Random House]]/[[DK (publisher)|DK]] & [[Smithsonian Institution|Smithsonian]] |isbn=978-1-4654-9492-4 |pages=240 |access-date=5 February 2021 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817085743/https://books.google.com/books?id=abqpDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA240#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
The Indus | The Indus River has a total [[drainage area]] of circa {{cvt|1,120,000|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}.<ref name="International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development"/> Its estimated annual flow is around {{cvt|175|km3/year|m3/s|abbr=on}}, making it one of the 50 largest rivers in the world [[List of rivers by discharge|in terms of average annual flow]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.wapda.gov.pk/index.php/river-flow-in-pakistan |title=Indus water flow data in to reservoirs of Pakistan |access-date=15 August 2017 |archive-date=6 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806005852/http://www.wapda.gov.pk/index.php/river-flow-in-pakistan }}</ref> Its left-bank [[tributary]] in Ladakh is the [[Zanskar River]], and its left-bank tributary in the [[Punjab Plain|plains]] is the [[Panjnad River]] which is formed by the successive confluences of the five Punjab rivers, namely the [[Chenab River|Chenab]], [[Jhelum River|Jhelum]], [[Ravi River|Ravi]], [[Beas River|Beas]], and [[Sutlej]] rivers. Its principal right-bank tributaries are the [[Shyok River|Shyok]], [[Gilgit River|Gilgit]], [[Kabul River|Kabul]], [[Kurram River|Kurram]], and [[Gomal River|Gomal]] rivers. Beginning in a mountain spring and fed with [[glacier]]s and rivers in the [[Himalayas|Himalayan]], [[Karakoram]], and [[Hindu Kush]] ranges, the river supports the [[ecosystem]]s of [[temperate forest]]s, plains, and [[arid]] countryside. | ||
Geologically, the [[headwaters]] of the Indus and to their east those of the [[Yarlung Tsangpo]] (later in its course, the [[Brahmaputra]]) flow along the [[Indus-Yarlung suture zone]], which defines the boundary along which the [[Indian plate]] collided with the [[Eurasian plate]] in the [[Ypresian|Early Eocene]] (approximately 50 [[Million years ago]]).{{sfn|Frisch|Meschede|Blakey|2011|p=172}} These two Eurasian rivers, whose courses were continually diverted by the rising Himalayas, define the western and eastern limits, respectively, of the mountain range.{{sfn|Frisch|Meschede|Blakey|2011|p=172}} After the Indus [[debouche]]s from its narrow Himalayan valley, it forms, along with its tributaries, the [[Punjab]] region of South Asia. The lower course of the river ends in [[Indus River Delta|a large delta]] in the [[Sindh]] province of Pakistan. | Geologically, the [[headwaters]] of the Indus and to their east those of the [[Yarlung Tsangpo]] (later in its course, the [[Brahmaputra]]) flow along the [[Indus-Yarlung suture zone]], which defines the boundary along which the [[Indian plate]] collided with the [[Eurasian plate]] in the [[Ypresian|Early Eocene]] (approximately 50 [[Million years ago]]).{{sfn|Frisch|Meschede|Blakey|2011|p=172}} These two Eurasian rivers, whose courses were continually diverted by the rising Himalayas, define the western and eastern limits, respectively, of the mountain range.{{sfn|Frisch|Meschede|Blakey|2011|p=172}} After the Indus [[debouche]]s from its narrow Himalayan valley, it forms, along with its tributaries, the [[Punjab]] region of South Asia. The lower course of the river ends in [[Indus River Delta|a large delta]] in the [[Sindh]] province of Pakistan. | ||
Historically, the Indus was important to many cultures. The 3rd millennium BC saw the rise of [[Indus Valley Civilisation]], a major | Historically, the Indus was important to many cultures. The 3rd millennium BC saw the rise of [[Indus Valley Civilisation]], a major urban civilization of the Bronze Age. During the 2nd millennium BC, the Punjab region was mentioned in the [[Rigveda]] hymns as ''Sapta Sindhu'' and in the [[Avesta]] religious texts as ''Hapta Həndu'' (both terms meaning "[[Rigvedic rivers|seven rivers]]"). Early historical kingdoms that arose in the Indus Valley include [[Gandhara|Gandhāra]] and [[Sindhu-Sauvīra]]. The Indus River came into the knowledge of the Western world early in the [[classical antiquity|classical period]], when [[Darius the Great|King Darius]] of [[Persia]] sent his Greek subject [[Scylax of Caryanda]] to explore the river, {{Circa|515 BC}}.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Allchin | first1=F.R. | last2=Erdosy | first2=G. | title=The Archaeology of Early Historic South Asia: The Emergence of Cities and States | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=1995 | isbn=978-0-521-37695-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q5kI02_zW70C&pg=PA292 | page=292}}</ref> | ||
== Etymology and names == | == Etymology and names == | ||
The [[English language]] word "Indus" comes from [[Late Latin]] Indus (1598), specifically a use of classical Latin ''Indus'' (inhabitant of India, Indian) from [[ancient Greek]] Ἰνδός "inhabitant of India, Indian, the River Indus" from [[Achaemenian]] [[Old Persian]] "hindu," denoting an eastern province of the [[Achaemenid Empire]] ([[Persian language]] ''hind'' India), and [[Avestan]] ''hiṇdu'', ''həṇdu'' "river," (natural) frontier; with same [[Proto Indo-Iranian language]]-root as [[Sanskrit]] sindhu (river), specifically the River Indus; hence also the region of the Indus, the province Sindh (which also developed into [[Hellenistic Greek]] Σίνθος ("the River Indus").<ref name=oed-indus-1598>{{cite OED|Indus|7247270110}}</ref><ref name=oed-India>{{cite OED|India|3183874375}}</ref> This river's traditional name in [[Sanskrit]] and Tibetan is "sindhu". In Sanskrit, its range of meanings includes: stream, river; Indus; flood; sea or ocean; region or country in the vicinity of the Indus, Sindh, people of Sindh."<ref name=macdonell-sindhu>{{cite encyclopedia |last= Macdonell|first= Arthur Anthony|author-link= |encyclopedia= A practical Sanskrit dictionary|title= सिन्धु sindhu |url= https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/sanskrit_query.py?qs=sindhu&matchtype=default|access-date=November 24, 2024 |year=2020|orig-year=1929 |publisher= Oxford University Press |quote= m. f. [moving to a goal: √2. sidh] stream, river; Indus; m. flood (V.); ocean; region of the Indus, Sindh, people of Sindh }}</ref><ref name=apte-sindu>{{cite encyclopedia |last= Apte|first= Vaman Shivaram|author-link= |encyclopedia= A practical Sanskrit dictionary|title= सिन्धुः sindhuḥ |url= https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/sanskrit_query.py?qs=sindhu&matchtype=default|access-date=November 24, 2024|year=2023|orig-year=1959 |publisher= Prasad Prakashan|location=Poona |quote=1 The sea, ocean; 2 The Indus. 3 The country around the Indus.}}</ref> | |||
The modern name in [[Urdu]] is ''Sindh'' ({{Langx|ur|{{unq|سندھ}}}}) or ''Daryā-i-Sindh'' ({{Langx|ur|{{unq|دریائے سندھ}}|4=The River Sindh}}), contrasting to the [[Province of Sindh]] ({{langx|ur|{{unq|صوبہِ سندھ}}|translit=Sūba-i-sindh}}). The [[Ladakhis]] and [[Tibetan people|Tibetans]] call the river ''Senge Tsangpo'' (སེང་གེ་གཙང་པོ།), [[Balti people|Baltis]] call it ''Gemtsuh'' and ''Tsuh-Fo'', [[Pashtuns]] call it ''Nilab'', ''Sher Darya'' and ''Abbasin'', while [[Sindhis]] call it ''Sindhu'', ''Mehran'', ''Purali'' and ''Samundar''.<ref name="Ahmad-2019"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Albinia |first1=Alice |author-link=Alice Albinia |title=The guardian first book award longlist: Empires of the Indus by Alice Albinia |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/aug/28/guardianfirstbookaward.awardsandprizes1 |access-date=19 May 2022 |work=the Guardian |date=28 August 2008 |language=en }}</ref> | The modern name in [[Urdu]] is ''Sindh'' ({{Langx|ur|{{unq|سندھ}}}}) or ''Daryā-i-Sindh'' ({{Langx|ur|{{unq|دریائے سندھ}}|4=The River Sindh}}), contrasting to the [[Province of Sindh]] ({{langx|ur|{{unq|صوبہِ سندھ}}|translit=Sūba-i-sindh}}). The [[Ladakhis]] and [[Tibetan people|Tibetans]] call the river ''Senge Tsangpo'' (སེང་གེ་གཙང་པོ།), [[Balti people|Baltis]] call it ''Gemtsuh'' and ''Tsuh-Fo'', [[Pashtuns]] call it ''Nilab'', ''Sher Darya'' and ''Abbasin'', while [[Sindhis]] call it ''Sindhu'', ''Mehran'', ''Purali'' and ''Samundar''.<ref name="Ahmad-2019"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Albinia |first1=Alice |author-link=Alice Albinia |title=The guardian first book award longlist: Empires of the Indus by Alice Albinia |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/aug/28/guardianfirstbookaward.awardsandprizes1 |access-date=19 May 2022 |work=the Guardian |date=28 August 2008 |language=en }}</ref> | ||
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[[File:The Indus river in the Kashmir region.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The course of the Indus in the disputed [[Kashmir|Kashmir region]]; the river flows through [[Ladakh]] and [[Gilgit-Baltistan]], administered respectively by India and Pakistan]] | [[File:The Indus river in the Kashmir region.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The course of the Indus in the disputed [[Kashmir|Kashmir region]]; the river flows through [[Ladakh]] and [[Gilgit-Baltistan]], administered respectively by India and Pakistan]] | ||
The Indus River provides key water resources for [[economy of Pakistan|Pakistan's economy]] – especially the ''breadbasket'' of [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab province]], which accounts for most of the nation's agricultural production | The Indus River provides key water resources for [[economy of Pakistan|Pakistan's economy]] – especially the ''breadbasket'' of [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab province]], which accounts for most of the nation's agricultural production. The word Punjab means "land of five rivers" and the five rivers are [[Jhelum River|Jhelum]], [[Chenab River|Chenab]], [[Ravi River|Ravi]], [[Beas River|Beas]] and [[Sutlej River|Sutlej]], all of which finally flow into the Indus. The Indus also supports many heavy industries and provides the main supply of [[potable water]] in Pakistan. | ||
The total length of the river varies in different sources. The length used in this article is {{cvt|3,180|km|mi|abbr=on}}, taken from the ''Himalayan Climate and Water Atlas'' (2015).<ref name="International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development"/> Historically, the 1909 ''[[The Imperial Gazetteer of India]]'' gave it as "just over 1,800 miles".<ref>{{cite book |title=Imperial Gazetteer of India |date=1909 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=357 |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?volume=13&objectid=DS405.1.I34_V13_363.gif |volume=13 |access-date=21 September 2022 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817085545/https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?volume=13&objectid=DS405.1.I34_V13_363.gif |url-status=live }}</ref> A shorter figure of {{cvt|2,880|km|mi}} has been widely used in modern sources, as has the one of {{cvt|3,180|km|mi}}. The modern ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica|Encyclopedia Britannica]]'' was originally published in 1999 with the shorter measurement, but was updated in 2015 to use the longer measurement.<ref name="Ahmad-2019"/> Both lengths are commonly found in modern publications; in some cases, both measurements can be found within the same work.<ref>For example, {{cite book |title=The Indus River: biodiversity, resources, humankind |date=1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Karachi |isbn=0195779053}} Papers in this edited collection generally use the shorter measurement, but at least two use the longer one.</ref> An extended figure of circa {{cvt|3,600|km|mi}} was announced by a Chinese research group in 2011, based on a comprehensive remeasurement from satellite imagery, and a ground expedition to identify an alternative source point, but detailed analysis has not yet been published.<ref name="Dawn-2011">{{cite news |title=Earthly matters: Origins of the Indus |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/656472/earthly-matters-origins-of-the-indus |work=Dawn |date=4 September 2011 |language=en |access-date=29 September 2022 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817085747/https://www.dawn.com/news/656472/earthly-matters-origins-of-the-indus |url-status=live }}</ref> | The total length of the river varies in different sources. The length used in this article is {{cvt|3,180|km|mi|abbr=on}}, taken from the ''Himalayan Climate and Water Atlas'' (2015).<ref name="International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development"/> Historically, the 1909 ''[[The Imperial Gazetteer of India]]'' gave it as "just over 1,800 miles".<ref>{{cite book |title=Imperial Gazetteer of India |date=1909 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=357 |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?volume=13&objectid=DS405.1.I34_V13_363.gif |volume=13 |access-date=21 September 2022 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817085545/https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?volume=13&objectid=DS405.1.I34_V13_363.gif |url-status=live }}</ref> A shorter figure of {{cvt|2,880|km|mi}} has been widely used in modern sources, as has the one of {{cvt|3,180|km|mi}}. The modern ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica|Encyclopedia Britannica]]'' was originally published in 1999 with the shorter measurement, but was updated in 2015 to use the longer measurement.<ref name="Ahmad-2019"/> Both lengths are commonly found in modern publications; in some cases, both measurements can be found within the same work.<ref>For example, {{cite book |title=The Indus River: biodiversity, resources, humankind |date=1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Karachi |isbn=0195779053}} Papers in this edited collection generally use the shorter measurement, but at least two use the longer one.</ref> An extended figure of circa {{cvt|3,600|km|mi}} was announced by a Chinese research group in 2011, based on a comprehensive remeasurement from satellite imagery, and a ground expedition to identify an alternative source point, but detailed analysis has not yet been published.<ref name="Dawn-2011">{{cite news |title=Earthly matters: Origins of the Indus |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/656472/earthly-matters-origins-of-the-indus |work=Dawn |date=4 September 2011 |language=en |access-date=29 September 2022 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817085747/https://www.dawn.com/news/656472/earthly-matters-origins-of-the-indus |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
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The Indus then flows northwest through [[Ladakh]] (Indian-administered Kashmir) and [[Baltistan]] and [[Gilgit]] (Pakistan-administered Kashmir), just south of the [[Karakoram]] range. The [[Shyok River|Shyok]], [[Shigar]] and [[Gilgit River|Gilgit]] rivers carry glacial waters into the main river. It gradually bends to the south and descends into the Punjab plains at [[Kalabagh]], Pakistan. The Indus passes gigantic gorges {{convert|4500|-|5200|m|ft|sigfig=2}} deep near the [[Nanga Parbat]] [[massif]]. It flows swiftly across [[Hazara region|Hazara]] and is dammed at the [[Tarbela Dam|Tarbela Reservoir]]. The [[Kabul River]] joins it near [[Attock]]. The remainder of its route to the sea is in the plains of the Punjab<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Indus |volume=14 |pages=507–508 |first=Thomas Hungerford |last=Holdich }}</ref> and Sindh, where the flow of the river becomes slow and highly braided. It is joined by the [[Panjnad River|Panjnad]] at [[Mithankot]]. Beyond this confluence, the river, at one time, was named the ''Satnad River'' (''sat'' = "seven", ''nadī'' = "river"), as the river now carried the waters of the Kabul River, the Indus River and the five Punjab rivers. When the river passes [[Jamshoro]], it ends in a large delta to the South of [[Thatta]] in the [[Sindh]] province of Pakistan. | The Indus then flows northwest through [[Ladakh]] (Indian-administered Kashmir) and [[Baltistan]] and [[Gilgit]] (Pakistan-administered Kashmir), just south of the [[Karakoram]] range. The [[Shyok River|Shyok]], [[Shigar]] and [[Gilgit River|Gilgit]] rivers carry glacial waters into the main river. It gradually bends to the south and descends into the Punjab plains at [[Kalabagh]], Pakistan. The Indus passes gigantic gorges {{convert|4500|-|5200|m|ft|sigfig=2}} deep near the [[Nanga Parbat]] [[massif]]. It flows swiftly across [[Hazara region|Hazara]] and is dammed at the [[Tarbela Dam|Tarbela Reservoir]]. The [[Kabul River]] joins it near [[Attock]]. The remainder of its route to the sea is in the plains of the Punjab<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Indus |volume=14 |pages=507–508 |first=Thomas Hungerford |last=Holdich }}</ref> and Sindh, where the flow of the river becomes slow and highly braided. It is joined by the [[Panjnad River|Panjnad]] at [[Mithankot]]. Beyond this confluence, the river, at one time, was named the ''Satnad River'' (''sat'' = "seven", ''nadī'' = "river"), as the river now carried the waters of the Kabul River, the Indus River and the five Punjab rivers. When the river passes [[Jamshoro]], it ends in a large delta to the South of [[Thatta]] in the [[Sindh]] province of Pakistan. | ||
The Indus is one of the few rivers in the world to exhibit a [[tidal bore]]. The Indus system is largely fed by the snow and glaciers of the [[Himalayas]], Karakoram and the [[Hindu Kush]] ranges. The flow of the river is also determined by the seasons – it diminishes greatly in the winter while flooding its banks in the [[monsoon]] months from July to September. There is also evidence of a steady shift in the course of the river since prehistoric times – it deviated westwards from flowing into the [[Rann of Kutch]] and adjoining [[Banni grasslands]] after the 1816 earthquake.<ref>[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/70-of-cattle-breeders-desert-Banni/articleshow/904446.cms 70% of cattle-breeders desert Banni] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403141239/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/70-of-cattle-breeders-desert-Banni/articleshow/904446.cms |date=3 April 2019 }}; by Narandas Thacker, TNN, 14 February 2002; ''The Times of India''</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.india-seminar.com/2006/564/564_c_bharwada_%26_v_mahajan.htm |title=564 Charul Bharwada & Vinay Mahajan, Lost and forgotten: grasslands and pastoralists of Gujarat |access-date=17 January 2022 |archive-date=1 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101171959/https://www.india-seminar.com/2006/564/564_c_bharwada_%26_v_mahajan.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> {{as of|2011}}, Indus water flows in to the Rann of Kutch during its floods breaching [[flood bank]]s.<ref name="Indus re">{{cite web |url= | The Indus is one of the few rivers in the world to exhibit a [[tidal bore]]. The Indus system is largely fed by the snow and glaciers of the [[Himalayas]], Karakoram and the [[Hindu Kush]] ranges. The flow of the river is also determined by the seasons – it diminishes greatly in the winter while flooding its banks in the [[monsoon]] months from July to September. There is also evidence of a steady shift in the course of the river since prehistoric times – it deviated westwards from flowing into the [[Rann of Kutch]] and adjoining [[Banni grasslands]] after the 1816 earthquake.<ref>[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/70-of-cattle-breeders-desert-Banni/articleshow/904446.cms 70% of cattle-breeders desert Banni] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403141239/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/70-of-cattle-breeders-desert-Banni/articleshow/904446.cms |date=3 April 2019 }}; by Narandas Thacker, TNN, 14 February 2002; ''The Times of India''</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.india-seminar.com/2006/564/564_c_bharwada_%26_v_mahajan.htm |title=564 Charul Bharwada & Vinay Mahajan, Lost and forgotten: grasslands and pastoralists of Gujarat |access-date=17 January 2022 |archive-date=1 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101171959/https://www.india-seminar.com/2006/564/564_c_bharwada_%26_v_mahajan.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> {{as of|2011}}, Indus water flows in to the Rann of Kutch during its floods breaching [[flood bank]]s.<ref name="Indus re">{{cite web |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/west/story/indus-river-re-enters-india-145091-2011-11-06 |title=Indus re-enters India after two centuries, feeds Little Rann, Nal Sarovar |date=7 November 2011 |access-date=22 December 2017 |archive-date=9 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180109090722/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/indus-river-re-enters-india/1/158976.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
==History== | ==History== | ||
[[File:IVC-major-sites-2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|The major sites of the Indus Valley Civilization {{Circa|2600}}–1900 BC in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan]] | [[File:IVC-major-sites-2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|The major sites of the Indus Valley Civilization {{Circa|2600}}–1900 BC in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan]] | ||
{{Main|Indus Valley Civilisation|History of Sindh}} | {{Main|Indus Valley Civilisation|History of Sindh}} | ||
The major cities of the [[Indus Valley Civilisation]], such as [[Harappa]] and [[Mohenjo-daro]], date back to around 3300 BC, and represent some of the largest human habitations of the ancient world. The Indus Valley Civilisation extended from across northeast Afghanistan to [[Northwest India (pre-1947)|Pakistan and northwest India]],<ref>{{cite book |title=Daily Life in the Indus Valley Civilization |page=6 |first=Brian |last=Williams |publisher=Raintree |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ArReCgAAQBAJ |year=2016 |isbn=978-1406298574 }}</ref> with an upward reach from east of the [[Jhelum River]] to [[Ropar]] on the upper Sutlej. The coastal settlements extended from [[Sutkagan Dor]] at the Pakistan-[[Iran]] border to [[Kutch]] in modern [[Gujarat]], India. There is an Indus site on the [[Amu Darya]] at Shortughai in northern Afghanistan, and the Indus site [[Alamgirpur]] at the [[Hindon River]] is located only {{cvt|28|km|0}} from Delhi. To date, over 1,052 cities and settlements have been found, mainly in the general region of the [[Ghaggar-Hakra River]] and its tributaries. Among the settlements were the major urban centres of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, as well as [[Lothal]], [[Dholavira]], [[Ganeriwala]], and [[Rakhigarhi]]. Only 40 Indus Valley sites have been discovered on the Indus and its tributaries.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Malik |first=Dr Malti |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bMg-DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA12 |title=History of India |date=1943 |publisher=New Saraswati House India Pvt Ltd |isbn=978-81-7335-498-4 |page=12 |language=en |access-date=26 October 2020 |archive-date=3 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703061640/https://books.google.com/books?id=bMg-DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA12 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, it is notable that majority of the [[Indus script|Indus script seals and inscribed objects]] discovered were found at sites along the Indus river.{{efn|Number of Indus script inscribed objects and seals obtained from various Harappan sites: 1540 from Mohanjodaro, 985 from Harappa, 66 from Chanhudaro, 165 from Lothal, 99 from Kalibangan, 7 from Banawali, 6 from Ur in Iraq, 5 from Surkotada, 4 from Chandigarh}}<ref>[[Iravatham Mahadevan]], 1977, [https://archive.org/details/masi77indusscripttextsconcordancestablesiravathammahadevanalt_443_h ''The Indus Script: Text, Concordance and Tables''], pp. 6–7</ref><ref>[[Upinder Singh]], 2008, [https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC&pg=PA169 ''A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India From the Stone Age to the 12th Century''] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129142938/https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC&lpg=PA211&pg=PA169 |date=29 November 2022 }}, p. 169</ref> | |||
The [[Rigveda]] describes [[Rigvedic rivers|several rivers]], including one named "Sindhu". The Rigvedic "Sindhu" is thought to be the present-day Indus River. It is attested 176 times in its text, 94 times in the plural, and most often used in the generic sense of "river". In the Rigveda, notably in the later hymns, the meaning of the word is narrowed to refer to the Indus | Some scholars believe that settlements of [[Gandhara grave culture]] of the early [[Indo-Aryans]] flourished in [[Gandhara]] from 1700 BC to 600 BC, when [[Mohenjo-daro]] and Harappa had already been abandoned.{{cn|date=December 2024}} | ||
The [[Rigveda]] describes [[Rigvedic rivers|several rivers]], including one named "Sindhu". The Rigvedic "Sindhu" is thought to be the present-day Indus River. It is attested 176 times in its text, 94 times in the plural, and most often used in the generic sense of "river". In the Rigveda, notably in the later hymns, the meaning of the word is narrowed to refer to the Indus River in particular; for example, in the list of rivers mentioned in the hymn of ''[[Nadistuti sukta]]''. The Rigvedic hymns apply a feminine gender to all the rivers mentioned therein, except for the [[Brahmaputra]]. | |||
The word [[Etymology of India|"India"]] is derived from the Indus River. In ancient times, "India" initially referred to those regions immediately along the east bank of the Indus, where are [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] and [[Sindh]] now but by 300 BC, Greek writers including [[Herodotus]] and [[Megasthenes]] were applying the term to the entire subcontinent that extends much farther eastward.<ref>[[Henry Yule]]: [https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.1:1:191.hobson ''India, Indies''] {{webarchive |url=https://archive.today/20120628235414/http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.1:1:191.hobson |date=28 June 2012 }}. In ''[[Hobson-Jobson]]: A glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological, historical, geographical and discursive.'' New ed. edited by William Crooke, B.A. London: J. Murray, 1903</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://scroll.in/article/723351/was-the-ramayana-actually-set-in-and-around-todays-afghanistan |title=Was the Ramayana actually set in and around today's Afghanistan? |date=26 April 2015 |access-date=16 June 2015 |archive-date=6 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106083141/https://scroll.in/article/723351/was-the-ramayana-actually-set-in-and-around-todays-afghanistan |url-status=live }}</ref> | The word [[Etymology of India|"India"]] is derived from the Indus River. In ancient times, "India" initially referred to those regions immediately along the east bank of the Indus, where are [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] and [[Sindh]] now but by 300 BC, Greek writers including [[Herodotus]] and [[Megasthenes]] were applying the term to the entire subcontinent that extends much farther eastward.<ref>[[Henry Yule]]: [https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.1:1:191.hobson ''India, Indies''] {{webarchive |url=https://archive.today/20120628235414/http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.1:1:191.hobson |date=28 June 2012 }}. In ''[[Hobson-Jobson]]: A glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological, historical, geographical and discursive.'' New ed. edited by William Crooke, B.A. London: J. Murray, 1903</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://scroll.in/article/723351/was-the-ramayana-actually-set-in-and-around-todays-afghanistan |title=Was the Ramayana actually set in and around today's Afghanistan? |date=26 April 2015 |access-date=16 June 2015 |archive-date=6 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106083141/https://scroll.in/article/723351/was-the-ramayana-actually-set-in-and-around-todays-afghanistan |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
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The Indus River is an [[Antecedent drainage stream|antecedent river]], meaning that it existed before the Himalayas and [[Entrenched river|entrenched itself]] while they were rising. | The Indus River is an [[Antecedent drainage stream|antecedent river]], meaning that it existed before the Himalayas and [[Entrenched river|entrenched itself]] while they were rising. | ||
The Indus River feeds the Indus [[submarine fan]], which is the second largest sediment body on Earth.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Clift P, Gaedicke C, Edwards R, Lee JI, Hildebrand P, Amjad S, White RS, Schlüter HU |title=The stratigraphic evolution of the Indus Fan and the history of sedimentation in the Arabian Sea |year=2002 |journal=Marine Geophysical Researches |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=223–245 |doi=10.1023/A:1023627123093 |bibcode=2002MarGR..23..223C |s2cid=129735252 }}</ref> It consists of around 5 million cubic kilometers of material eroded from the mountains. Studies of the sediment in the modern river indicate that the [[Karakoram|Karakoram Mountains]] in northern Pakistan and India are the single most important source of material, with the Himalayas providing the next largest contribution, mostly via the large rivers of the Punjab (Jhelum, Ravi, Chenab, Beas and Sutlej). Analysis of sediments from the Arabian Sea has demonstrated that | The Indus River feeds the Indus [[submarine fan]], which is the second largest sediment body on Earth.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Clift P, Gaedicke C, Edwards R, Lee JI, Hildebrand P, Amjad S, White RS, Schlüter HU |title=The stratigraphic evolution of the Indus Fan and the history of sedimentation in the Arabian Sea |year=2002 |journal=Marine Geophysical Researches |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=223–245 |doi=10.1023/A:1023627123093 |bibcode=2002MarGR..23..223C |s2cid=129735252 }}</ref> It consists of around 5 million cubic kilometers of material eroded from the mountains. Studies of the sediment in the modern river indicate that the [[Karakoram|Karakoram Mountains]] in northern Pakistan and India are the single most important source of material, with the Himalayas providing the next largest contribution, mostly via the large rivers of the Punjab (Jhelum, Ravi, Chenab, Beas and Sutlej). Analysis of sediments from the Arabian Sea has demonstrated that five million years ago the Indus was not connected to these [[Punjab region|Punjab]] rivers which instead flowed east into the [[Ganges|Ganga]] and were captured after that time.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Clift |first=Peter D. |author2=Blusztajn, Jerzy |date=15 December 2005 |title=Reorganization of the western Himalayan river system after five million years ago |journal=Nature |volume=438 |pages=1001–1003 |doi=10.1038/nature04379 |pmid=16355221 |issue=7070 |bibcode=2005Natur.438.1001C |s2cid=4427250 }}</ref> Earlier work showed that sand and silt from western Tibet was reaching the Arabian Sea by 45 million years ago, implying the existence of an ancient Indus River by that time.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Clift |first=Peter D. |author2=Shimizu, N. |author3=Layne, G.D. |author4=Blusztajn, J.S. |author5=Gaedicke, C. |author6=Schlüter, H.-U. |author7=Clark, M.K. |author8=Amjad, S. |author7-link=Marin Clark |date=August 2001 |title=Development of the Indus Fan and its significance for the erosional history of the Western Himalaya and Karakoram |journal=GSA Bulletin |volume=113 |issue=8 |pages=1039–1051 |doi=10.1130/0016-7606(2001)113<1039:DOTIFA>2.0.CO;2 |bibcode=2001GSAB..113.1039C }}</ref> The delta of this proto-Indus River has subsequently been found in the [[Katawaz Basin]], on the [[Durand Line|Afghan-Pakistan border]]. | ||
In the [[Nanga Parbat]] region, the massive amounts of erosion due to the Indus | In the [[Nanga Parbat]] region, the massive amounts of erosion due to the Indus River following the capture and rerouting through that area are thought to bring middle and lower crustal rocks to the surface.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Zeitler |first=Peter K. |author2=Koons, Peter O. |author3=Bishop, Michael P. |author4=Chamberlain, C. Page |author5=Craw, David |author6=Edwards, Michael A. |author7=Hamidullah, Syed |author8=Jam, Qasim M. |author9=Kahn, M. Asif|author10= Khattak, M. Umar Khan |author11=Kidd, William S. F. |author12=Mackie, Randall L. |author13=Meltzer, Anne S. |author14=Park, Stephen K. |author15=Pecher, Arnaud |author16=Poage, Michael A. |author17=Sarker, Golam |author18=Schneider, David A. |author19=Seeber, Leonardo|author20= Shroder, John F. |date=October 2001 |title=Crustal reworking at Nanga Parbat, Pakistan: Metamorphic consequences of thermal-mechanical coupling facilitated by erosion |journal=Tectonics |volume=20 |issue=5 |pages=712–728 |doi=10.1029/2000TC001243 |bibcode=2001Tecto..20..712Z |doi-access=free }}</ref> | ||
In November 2011, satellite images showed that the Indus | In November 2011, satellite images showed that the Indus River had re-entered India and was feeding the [[Great Rann of Kutch]], [[Little Rann of Kutch]] and a lake near [[Ahmedabad]] known as [[Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary|Nal Sarovar]].<ref name="Indus re"/> Heavy rains had left the river basin along with the [[Lake Manchar]], Lake Hemal and [[Keenjhar Lake|Kalri Lake]] (all in modern-day Pakistan) inundated. This happened two centuries after the Indus River shifted its course westwards following the [[1819 Rann of Kutch earthquake]]. | ||
The [[Induan]] Age at the start of the [[Triassic]] Period of geological time is named for the Indus region. | The [[Induan]] Age at the start of the [[Triassic]] Period of geological time is named for the Indus region. | ||
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* [[Swat River]] | * [[Swat River]] | ||
* [[Zanskar River]] | * [[Zanskar River]] | ||
* [[Luni | * [[Luni River]] | ||
* [[Zhob River]] | * [[Zhob River]] | ||
{{div end}} | {{div end}} | ||
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==Wildlife== | ==Wildlife== | ||
[[File:Fishermen on the Indus.jpeg|upright=1.25|thumb|Fishermen on the Indus River, c. 1905]] | [[File:Fishermen on the Indus.jpeg|upright=1.25|thumb|Fishermen on the Indus River, c. 1905]] | ||
Accounts of the Indus | Accounts of the Indus Valley from the times of Alexander's campaign indicate a healthy forest cover in the region. The Mughal Emperor [[Babur]] writes of encountering rhinoceroses along its bank in his memoirs (the [[Baburnama]]). Extensive deforestation and human interference in the ecology of the [[Shivalik Hills]] has led to a marked deterioration in vegetation and growing conditions. The Indus Valley regions are arid with poor vegetation. Agriculture is sustained largely due to [[irrigation]] works. The Indus River and its watershed have a rich biodiversity. It is home to around 25 amphibian species.<ref name="World' top 10 rivers at risk">{{cite web |title=Indus River |url=http://www.unwater.org/downloads/worldstop10riversatriskfinalmarch13_1.pdf |work=World' top 10 rivers at risk |publisher=WWF |access-date=11 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004084045/http://www.unwater.org/downloads/worldstop10riversatriskfinalmarch13_1.pdf |archive-date=4 October 2012 }}</ref> | ||
===Mammals=== | ===Mammals=== | ||
The [[Indus | The [[Indus River dolphin]] (''Platanista indicus minor'') is found only in the Indus River. It is a subspecies of the [[South Asian river dolphin]]. The Indus River dolphin formerly also occurred in the tributaries of the Indus River. According to the [[World Wildlife Fund]] it is one of the most threatened [[cetacea]]ns with only about 1,816 still existing.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Indus River Dolphin {{!}} Species {{!}} WWF |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/indus-river-dolphin |access-date=29 January 2023 |website=World Wildlife Fund |language=en }}</ref> It is threatened by habitat degradation from the construction of dams and canals, entanglement in fishing gear, and industrial water pollution.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fisheries |first=NOAA |date=15 September 2022 |title=Indus River Dolphin {{!}} NOAA Fisheries |url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/indus-river-dolphin |access-date=29 January 2023 |website=NOAA |language=en |archive-date=26 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210626085750/https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/indus-river-dolphin |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
There are two otter species in the Indus River basin: the [[Eurasian otter]] in the northeastern highland sections and the [[smooth-coated otter]] elsewhere in the river basin. The smooth-coated otters in the Indus River represent a subspecies found nowhere else, the Sindh otter (''Lutrogale perspicillata sindica'').<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Khan, W.A. |author2=Bhagat, H.B. |year=2010 |title=Otter Conservation in Pakistan |journal=IUCN Otter Spec. Group Bull. |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=89–92 }}</ref> | There are two otter species in the Indus River basin: the [[Eurasian otter]] in the northeastern highland sections and the [[smooth-coated otter]] elsewhere in the river basin. The smooth-coated otters in the Indus River represent a subspecies found nowhere else, the Sindh otter (''Lutrogale perspicillata sindica'').<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Khan, W.A. |author2=Bhagat, H.B. |year=2010 |title=Otter Conservation in Pakistan |journal=IUCN Otter Spec. Group Bull. |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=89–92 }}</ref> | ||
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==Economy== | ==Economy== | ||
[[File:Sukkur Skyline along the shores of the River Indus.jpg|thumb|400px|Skyline of [[Sukkur]] along the shores of the Indus River]] | [[File:Sukkur Skyline along the shores of the River Indus.jpg|thumb|400px|Skyline of [[Sukkur]] along the shores of the Indus River]] | ||
The Indus is the most important supplier of water resources to the [[Punjab]] and Sindh plains – it forms the backbone of agriculture and food production in Pakistan. The river is especially critical since rainfall is meagre in the lower Indus valley. [[Canal|Irrigation canals]] were first built by the people of the [[Indus Valley | The Indus is the most important supplier of water resources to the [[Punjab]] and Sindh plains – it forms the backbone of agriculture and food production in Pakistan. The river is especially critical since rainfall is meagre in the lower Indus valley. [[Canal|Irrigation canals]] were first built by the people of the [[Indus Valley Civilisation]], and later by the engineers of the [[Kushan Empire]] and the [[Mughal Empire]]. Modern irrigation was introduced by the [[British East India Company]] in 1850 – the construction of modern canals accompanied with the restoration of old canals. The British supervised the construction of one of the most complex irrigation networks in the world. The [[Guddu Barrage]] is {{cvt|1350|m}} long – irrigating [[Sukkur]], [[Jacobabad]], [[Larkana]] and [[Kalat District|Kalat]]. The [[Sukkur Barrage]] serves over {{cvt|20000|km2}}. | ||
After Pakistan came into existence, a [[Indus Waters Treaty|water control treaty signed between India and Pakistan in 1960]] guaranteed that Pakistan would receive water from the Indus River and its two tributaries the [[Jhelum River]] and the [[Chenab River]] independently of upstream control by India.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?ID=s0003769 |title=Tarabela Dam |publisher=structurae.the cat in the hat |access-date=9 July 2007 |archive-date=29 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629115912/http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?id=s0003769 |url-status=live }}</ref> | After Pakistan came into existence, a [[Indus Waters Treaty|water control treaty signed between India and Pakistan in 1960]] guaranteed that Pakistan would receive water from the Indus River and its two tributaries the [[Jhelum River]] and the [[Chenab River]] independently of upstream control by India.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?ID=s0003769 |title=Tarabela Dam |publisher=structurae.the cat in the hat |access-date=9 July 2007 |archive-date=29 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629115912/http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?id=s0003769 |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
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==People== | ==People== | ||
[[File:Mohana Community of indus river.jpg|thumb|Houseboat of a [[Mohana (community)|Mohana]] family near [[Kot Addu]]; people of the Mohana tribe live on the Indus | [[File:Mohana Community of indus river.jpg|thumb|Houseboat of a [[Mohana (community)|Mohana]] family near [[Kot Addu]]; people of the Mohana tribe live on the Indus River and related waterbodies in Sindh and southern Punjab.<ref>{{cite web |last=Caron |first=Sarah |url=https://www.visapourlimage.com/en/festival/exhibitions/les-derniers-des-mohana |work=Le Figaro Magazine |title=The Last Mohana People |access-date=19 April 2023 |archive-date=19 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419014108/https://www.visapourlimage.com/en/festival/exhibitions/les-derniers-des-mohana |url-status=live }}</ref>]] | ||
The Indus River is sacred to Hindus.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kapoor |first=Subodh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=__uUoaurFisC&pg=PA2945 |title=The Indian Encyclopaedia: Hinayana-India (Central India) |date=2002 |publisher=Cosmo Publications |isbn=978-81-7755-267-6 |language=en |access-date=26 October 2020 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817090252/https://books.google.com/books?id=__uUoaurFisC&pg=PA2945 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Basu |first=Baman Das |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1fok0UPbkZsC&pg=PA9 |title=The Sacred books of the Hindus |date=2007 |publisher=Cosmo Publications |isbn=978-81-307-0533-0 |language=en |access-date=26 October 2020 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817090125/https://books.google.com/books?id=1fok0UPbkZsC&pg=PA9 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Sindhu Darshan Festival]] is held on every [[Guru Purnima]] on the banks of the Indus.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Corona effect: Only Sindhis allowed for Sindhu Darshan Fest |language=en |url=https://www.freepressjournal.in/indore/corona-effect-only-sindhis-allowed-for-sindhu-darshan-fest |access-date=24 October 2020 |archive-date=24 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024093711/https://www.freepressjournal.in/indore/corona-effect-only-sindhis-allowed-for-sindhu-darshan-fest |url-status=live }}</ref> | The Indus River is sacred to Hindus.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kapoor |first=Subodh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=__uUoaurFisC&pg=PA2945 |title=The Indian Encyclopaedia: Hinayana-India (Central India) |date=2002 |publisher=Cosmo Publications |isbn=978-81-7755-267-6 |language=en |access-date=26 October 2020 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817090252/https://books.google.com/books?id=__uUoaurFisC&pg=PA2945 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Basu |first=Baman Das |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1fok0UPbkZsC&pg=PA9 |title=The Sacred books of the Hindus |date=2007 |publisher=Cosmo Publications |isbn=978-81-307-0533-0 |language=en |access-date=26 October 2020 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817090125/https://books.google.com/books?id=1fok0UPbkZsC&pg=PA9 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Sindhu Darshan Festival]] is held on every [[Guru Purnima]] on the banks of the Indus.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Corona effect: Only Sindhis allowed for Sindhu Darshan Fest |language=en |url=https://www.freepressjournal.in/indore/corona-effect-only-sindhis-allowed-for-sindhu-darshan-fest |access-date=24 October 2020 |archive-date=24 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024093711/https://www.freepressjournal.in/indore/corona-effect-only-sindhis-allowed-for-sindhu-darshan-fest |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
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===Indus delta=== | ===Indus delta=== | ||
{{Main|Indus River Delta}} | {{Main|Indus River Delta}} | ||
Originally, the delta used to receive almost all of the water from the Indus River, which has an annual flow of approximately {{convert|180|e9m3|e9yd3}}, and is accompanied by {{convert|400|e6tonnes|e6LT}} of silt.<ref>{{cite news |title=Indus Delta, Pakistan: economic costs of reduction in freshwater flow |url=http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/casestudy05indus.pdf |publisher=[[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] |date=May 2003 |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111116084702/http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/casestudy05indus.pdf |archive-date=16 November 2011 }}</ref> Since the 1940s, dams, barrages and irrigation works have been constructed on the river. The Indus Basin Irrigation System is the "largest contiguous irrigation system developed over the past 140 years" anywhere in the world.<ref>{{cite web |author=Sarfraz Khan Quresh |title=Water, Growth and Poverty in Pakistan |url=http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2010/02/01/000333037_20100201014523/Rendered/PDF/529140WP0Box341University0Press2006.pdf |publisher=[[World Bank]] |date=March 2005 |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224449/http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2010/02/01/000333037_20100201014523/Rendered/PDF/529140WP0Box341University0Press2006.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> This has reduced the flow of water and by 2018, the average annual flow of water below the [[Kotri barrage]] was {{convert|33|e9m3|e9yd3}},<ref>{{cite news |title=Pakistan's water economy: getting the balance right |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/1767800/6-pakistans-water-economy-getting-balance-right/ |date=July 2018 |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-date=28 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728190855/https://tribune.com.pk/story/1767800/6-pakistans-water-economy-getting-balance-right/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and annual amount of silt discharged was estimated at {{convert|100|e6tonnes|e6LT}}.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} As a result, the [[2010 Pakistan floods]] were considered "good news" for the ecosystem and population of the river delta as they brought much-needed fresh water.<ref>{{cite news |first=Declan |last=Walsh |title=Pakistan floods: The Indus delta |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2010/oct/11/pakistan-floods-indus-river-delta-video |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 October 2010 |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817090053/https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2010/oct/11/pakistan-floods-indus-river-delta-video |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Declan |last=Walsh |title=Pakistan's floodwaters welcomed along Indus delta |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/05/pakistan-flood-waters-indus-delta |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=5 October 2010 |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817091105/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/05/pakistan-flood-waters-indus-delta |url-status=live }}</ref> Any further utilization of the river basin water is not economically feasible.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237403006 |title=River basin development phases and implications of closure |last1=Keller |first1=Jack |last2=Keller |first2=Andrew |last3=Davids |first3=Grant |date=January 1998 |access-date=25 September 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Publications/IWMI_Research_Reports/PDF/pub003/REPORT03.PDF |title=Integrated Water Resource Systems: Theory and Policy Implications |access-date=22 June 2018 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233639/http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Publications/IWMI_Research_Reports/PDF/pub003/REPORT03.PDF |url-status=live }}</ref> | Originally, the delta used to receive almost all of the water from the Indus River, which has an annual flow of approximately {{convert|180|e9m3|e9yd3}}, and is accompanied by {{convert|400|e6tonnes|e6LT}} of silt.<ref>{{cite news |title=Indus Delta, Pakistan: economic costs of reduction in freshwater flow |url=http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/casestudy05indus.pdf |publisher=[[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] |date=May 2003 |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111116084702/http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/casestudy05indus.pdf |archive-date=16 November 2011 }}</ref> Since the 1940s, dams, barrages and irrigation works have been constructed on the river. The Indus Basin Irrigation System is the "largest contiguous irrigation system developed over the past 140 years" anywhere in the world.<ref>{{cite web |author=Sarfraz Khan Quresh |title=Water, Growth and Poverty in Pakistan |url=http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2010/02/01/000333037_20100201014523/Rendered/PDF/529140WP0Box341University0Press2006.pdf |publisher=[[World Bank]] |date=March 2005 |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224449/http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2010/02/01/000333037_20100201014523/Rendered/PDF/529140WP0Box341University0Press2006.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> This has reduced the flow of water and by 2018, the average annual flow of water below the [[Kotri barrage]] was {{convert|33|e9m3|e9yd3}},<ref>{{cite news |title=Pakistan's water economy: getting the balance right |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/1767800/6-pakistans-water-economy-getting-balance-right/ |date=July 2018 |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-date=28 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728190855/https://tribune.com.pk/story/1767800/6-pakistans-water-economy-getting-balance-right/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and annual amount of silt discharged was estimated at {{convert|100|e6tonnes|e6LT}}.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} As a result, the [[2010 Pakistan floods]] were considered "good news" for the ecosystem and population of the river delta as they brought much-needed fresh water.<ref>{{cite news |first=Declan |last=Walsh |title=Pakistan floods: The Indus delta |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2010/oct/11/pakistan-floods-indus-river-delta-video |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 October 2010 |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817090053/https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2010/oct/11/pakistan-floods-indus-river-delta-video |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Declan |last=Walsh |title=Pakistan's floodwaters welcomed along Indus delta |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/05/pakistan-flood-waters-indus-delta |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=5 October 2010 |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817091105/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/05/pakistan-flood-waters-indus-delta |url-status=live }}</ref> Any further utilization of the river basin water is not economically feasible.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237403006 |title=River basin development phases and implications of closure |last1=Keller |first1=Jack |last2=Keller |first2=Andrew |last3=Davids |first3=Grant |date=January 1998 |access-date=25 September 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Publications/IWMI_Research_Reports/PDF/pub003/REPORT03.PDF |title=Integrated Water Resource Systems: Theory and Policy Implications |access-date=22 June 2018 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233639/http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Publications/IWMI_Research_Reports/PDF/pub003/REPORT03.PDF |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
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===Pollution=== | ===Pollution=== | ||
Over the years factories on the banks of the Indus River have increased levels of water pollution in the river and the atmosphere around it. High levels of pollutants in the river have led to the deaths of endangered Indus | Over the years factories on the banks of the Indus River have increased levels of water pollution in the river and the atmosphere around it. High levels of pollutants in the river have led to the deaths of endangered Indus River dolphin. The [[Sindh Environmental Protection Agency]] has ordered polluting factories around the river to shut down under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997.<ref>{{cite news |title=SEPA orders polluting factory to stop production |url=http://archives.dawn.com/2008/12/03/local8.htm |access-date=28 June 2012 |newspaper=Dawn |date=3 December 2008 |archive-date=1 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101112712/http://archives.dawn.com/2008/12/03/local8.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Death of the [[Indus river dolphin]] has also been attributed to fishermen using poison to kill fish and scooping them up.<ref>{{cite news |title=Fishing poison killing Indus dolphins, PA told |url=http://www.dawn.com/news/701129/fishing-poison-killing-indus-dolphins-pa-told |access-date=27 April 2016 |newspaper=Dawn |date=8 March 2012 |archive-date=9 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509170544/http://www.dawn.com/news/701129/fishing-poison-killing-indus-dolphins-pa-told |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=18 dolphins died from poisoning in Jan |url=http://dawn.com/2012/05/01/18-dolphins-died-from-poisoning-in-jan/ |access-date=28 June 2012 |newspaper=Dawn |date=1 May 2012 |archive-date=7 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707164235/http://dawn.com/2012/05/01/18-dolphins-died-from-poisoning-in-jan/ |url-status=live }}</ref> As a result, the government banned fishing from [[Guddu Barrage]] to [[Sukkur]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Threat to dolphin: Govt bans fishing between Guddu and Sukkur |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/347500/threat-to-dolphin-govt-bans-fishing-between-guddu-and-sukkur/ |access-date=28 June 2012 |newspaper=The Express Tribune |date=9 March 2012 |archive-date=21 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521005236/http://tribune.com.pk/story/347500/threat-to-dolphin-govt-bans-fishing-between-guddu-and-sukkur/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
The Indus is second among a group of ten rivers responsible for about 90% of all the [[plastic pollution|plastic]] that reaches the oceans. The [[Yangtze]] is the only river contributing more plastic.<ref>{{cite web |title=Almost all plastic in the ocean comes from just 10 rivers – 30.11.2017 |website=DW.COM |url=https://www.dw.com/en/almost-all-plastic-in-the-ocean-comes-from-just-10-rivers/a-41581484 |ref={{sfnref | DW.COM}} |access-date=22 August 2018 |quote=about 90 per cent of all the plastic that reaches the world's oceans gets flushed through just 10 rivers: The Yangtze, the Indus, Yellow River, Hai River, the Nile, the Ganges, Pearl River, Amur River, the Niger, and the Mekong (in that order). |archive-date=22 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180822181401/https://www.dw.com/en/almost-all-plastic-in-the-ocean-comes-from-just-10-rivers/a-41581484 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schmidt |first1=Christian |last2=Krauth |first2=Tobias |last3=Wagner |first3=Stephan |title=Export of Plastic Debris by Rivers into the Sea |journal=Environmental Science & Technology |publisher=American Chemical Society (ACS) |volume=51 |issue=21 |date=11 October 2017 |issn=0013-936X |doi=10.1021/acs.est.7b02368 |pmid=29019247 |pages=12246–12253 |bibcode=2017EnST...5112246S |url=http://oceanrep.geomar.de/43169/4/es7b02368_si_001.pdf |access-date=25 August 2020 |archive-date=14 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914225406/http://oceanrep.geomar.de/43169/4/es7b02368_si_001.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> | The Indus is second among a group of ten rivers responsible for about 90% of all the [[plastic pollution|plastic]] that reaches the oceans. The [[Yangtze]] is the only river contributing more plastic.<ref>{{cite web |title=Almost all plastic in the ocean comes from just 10 rivers – 30.11.2017 |website=DW.COM |url=https://www.dw.com/en/almost-all-plastic-in-the-ocean-comes-from-just-10-rivers/a-41581484 |ref={{sfnref | DW.COM}} |access-date=22 August 2018 |quote=about 90 per cent of all the plastic that reaches the world's oceans gets flushed through just 10 rivers: The Yangtze, the Indus, Yellow River, Hai River, the Nile, the Ganges, Pearl River, Amur River, the Niger, and the Mekong (in that order). |archive-date=22 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180822181401/https://www.dw.com/en/almost-all-plastic-in-the-ocean-comes-from-just-10-rivers/a-41581484 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schmidt |first1=Christian |last2=Krauth |first2=Tobias |last3=Wagner |first3=Stephan |title=Export of Plastic Debris by Rivers into the Sea |journal=Environmental Science & Technology |publisher=American Chemical Society (ACS) |volume=51 |issue=21 |date=11 October 2017 |issn=0013-936X |doi=10.1021/acs.est.7b02368 |pmid=29019247 |pages=12246–12253 |bibcode=2017EnST...5112246S |url=http://oceanrep.geomar.de/43169/4/es7b02368_si_001.pdf |access-date=25 August 2020 |archive-date=14 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914225406/http://oceanrep.geomar.de/43169/4/es7b02368_si_001.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
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[[File:Indus flooding 2010 en.svg|upright=1.25|thumb|right|Affected areas as of 26 August 2010]] | [[File:Indus flooding 2010 en.svg|upright=1.25|thumb|right|Affected areas as of 26 August 2010]] | ||
{{Main|2010 Pakistan floods}} | {{Main|2010 Pakistan floods}} | ||
Frequently, Indus River is prone to moderate to severe flooding.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/30431/indus-basin-floods.pdf |title=Indus Basin Floods |publisher=Asian Development Bank |date=2013 |access-date=20 November 2018 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817092132/https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/30431/indus-basin-floods.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> In July 2010, following abnormally heavy [[monsoon]] rains, the Indus River rose above its banks and started flooding. The rain continued for the next two months, devastating large areas of Pakistan. In [[Sindh]], the Indus burst its banks near [[Sukkur]] on 8 August, submerging the village of Mor Khan Jatoi.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bodeen |first=Christopher |title=Asia flooding plunges millions into misery |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jLQ5AssQ1MzPfWcFQRV8ZeJhjctQD9HFBA400 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20100904101109/http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jLQ5AssQ1MzPfWcFQRV8ZeJhjctQD9HFBA400 |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 September 2010 |access-date=8 August 2010 |agency=Associated Press |date=8 August 2010 }}</ref> In early August, the heaviest flooding moved southward along the Indus River from severely affected northern regions toward western [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], where at least {{cvt|1400000|acres|ha}} of cropland was destroyed, and the southern province of Sindh.<ref>{{cite news |last=Guerin |first=Orla |title=Pakistan issues flooding 'red alert' for Sindh province |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10900947 |access-date=7 August 2010 |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |date=7 August 2010 |archive-date=7 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100807205010/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10900947 |url-status=live }}</ref> {{As of|September 2010}}, over two thousand people had died and over a million homes had been destroyed since the flooding began.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10994989 |title=BBC News – Pakistan floods: World Bank to lend $900m for recovery |work=bbc.co.uk |date=17 August 2010 |access-date=24 August 2010 |archive-date=25 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100825043604/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10994989 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10984477 |title=BBC News – Millions of Pakistan children at risk of flood diseases |work=bbc.co.uk |date=16 August 2010 |access-date=24 August 2010 |archive-date=16 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100816190021/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10984477 |url-status=live }}</ref> | Frequently, Indus River is prone to moderate to severe flooding.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/30431/indus-basin-floods.pdf |title=Indus Basin Floods |publisher=Asian Development Bank |date=2013 |access-date=20 November 2018 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817092132/https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/30431/indus-basin-floods.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> In July 2010, following abnormally heavy [[monsoon]] rains, the Indus River rose above its banks and started flooding. The rain continued for the next two months, devastating large areas of Pakistan. In [[Sindh]], the Indus burst its banks near [[Sukkur]] on 8 August, submerging the village of Mor Khan Jatoi.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bodeen |first=Christopher |title=Asia flooding plunges millions into misery |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jLQ5AssQ1MzPfWcFQRV8ZeJhjctQD9HFBA400 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20100904101109/http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jLQ5AssQ1MzPfWcFQRV8ZeJhjctQD9HFBA400 |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 September 2010 |access-date=8 August 2010 |agency=Associated Press |date=8 August 2010 }}</ref> In early August, the heaviest flooding moved southward along the Indus River from severely affected northern regions toward western [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], where at least {{cvt|1400000|acres|ha}} of cropland was destroyed, and the southern province of Sindh.<ref>{{cite news |last=Guerin |first=Orla |title=Pakistan issues flooding 'red alert' for Sindh province |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10900947 |access-date=7 August 2010 |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |date=7 August 2010 |archive-date=7 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100807205010/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10900947 |url-status=live }}</ref> {{As of|September 2010}}, over two thousand people had died and over a million homes had been destroyed since the flooding began.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10994989 |title=BBC News – Pakistan floods: World Bank to lend $900m for recovery |work=bbc.co.uk |date=17 August 2010 |access-date=24 August 2010 |archive-date=25 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100825043604/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10994989 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10984477 |title=BBC News – Millions of Pakistan children at risk of flood diseases |work=bbc.co.uk |date=16 August 2010 |access-date=24 August 2010 |archive-date=16 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100816190021/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10984477 |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
===2011 floods=== | ===2011 floods=== | ||
{{Main|2011 Sindh floods}} | {{Main|2011 Sindh floods}} | ||
The 2011 [[Sindh]] floods began during the Pakistani monsoon season in mid-August 2011, resulting from heavy monsoon rains in Sindh, eastern Balochistan, and southern Punjab.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14923154 |title=Pakistan floods: Oxfam launches emergency aid response |access-date=15 September 2011 |newspaper=BBC World News South Asia |date=14 September 2011 |archive-date=15 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110915182610/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14923154 |url-status=live }}</ref> The floods caused considerable damage; an estimated 434 civilians were killed, with 5.3 million people and 1,524,773 homes affected.<ref name="The Express Tribune-2011">{{cite news |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/251425/floods-worsen-270-killed-officials/ |title=Floods worsen, 270 killed: officials |work=The Express Tribune |date=13 September 2011 |access-date=13 September 2011 |archive-date=15 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515045633/https://tribune.com.pk/story/251425/floods-worsen-270-killed-officials |url-status=live }}</ref> Sindh is a fertile region and often called the "breadbasket" of the country; the damage and toll of the floods on the local agrarian economy was said to be extensive. At least {{convert|1.7|e6acre|ha sqmi|sigfig=2}} of arable land were inundated. The flooding followed the previous year's floods, which devastated a large part of the country.<ref name="The Express Tribune-2011"/> Unprecedented torrential monsoon rains caused severe flooding in 16 districts of Sindh.<ref>[http://www.pakmet.com.pk/Latest-News/Latest-News.html Government of Pakistan Pakmet.com.pk Retrieved on 19 September 2011] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424194621/http://www.pakmet.com.pk/Latest-News/Latest-News.html |date=24 April 2012 }}</ref> | The 2011 [[Sindh]] floods began during the Pakistani monsoon season in mid-August 2011, resulting from heavy monsoon rains in Sindh, eastern Balochistan, and southern Punjab.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14923154 |title=Pakistan floods: Oxfam launches emergency aid response |access-date=15 September 2011 |newspaper=BBC World News South Asia |date=14 September 2011 |archive-date=15 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110915182610/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14923154 |url-status=live }}</ref> The floods caused considerable damage; an estimated 434 civilians were killed, with 5.3 million people and 1,524,773 homes affected.<ref name="The Express Tribune-2011">{{cite news |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/251425/floods-worsen-270-killed-officials/ |title=Floods worsen, 270 killed: officials |work=The Express Tribune |date=13 September 2011 |access-date=13 September 2011 |archive-date=15 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515045633/https://tribune.com.pk/story/251425/floods-worsen-270-killed-officials |url-status=live }}</ref> Sindh is a fertile region and often called the "breadbasket" of the country; the damage and toll of the floods on the local agrarian economy was said to be extensive. At least {{convert|1.7|e6acre|ha sqmi|sigfig=2}} of arable land were inundated. The flooding followed the previous year's floods, which devastated a large part of the country.<ref name="The Express Tribune-2011"/> Unprecedented torrential monsoon rains caused severe flooding in 16 districts of Sindh.<ref>[http://www.pakmet.com.pk/Latest-News/Latest-News.html Government of Pakistan Pakmet.com.pk Retrieved on 19 September 2011] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424194621/http://www.pakmet.com.pk/Latest-News/Latest-News.html |date=24 April 2012 }}</ref> | ||
==Barrages, bridges, levees and dams== | ==Barrages, bridges, levees and dams== | ||
{{Main|List of barrages and headworks in Pakistan|List of dams and reservoirs in Pakistan}} | {{Main|List of barrages and headworks in Pakistan|List of dams and reservoirs in Pakistan}} | ||
The entire left bank of Indus | In Pakistan currently there are six [[barrage (dam)|barrages]] on the Indus: [[Guddu Barrage]], [[Sukkur Barrage]], [[Kotri Barrage]] (also called Ghulam Muhammad barrage), [[Taunsa Barrage]], [[Chashma Barrage]] and [[Jinnah Barrage]]. Another new barrage called "[[Sindh Barrage]]" is planned as a terminal barrage on the Indus River.<ref>{{cite news |title=PM okays Indus river barrage to mitigate water woes |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1498684/pm-okays-indus-river-barrage-to-mitigate-water-woes |access-date=8 August 2019 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817092150/https://www.dawn.com/news/1498684/pm-okays-indus-river-barrage-to-mitigate-water-woes |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Center announces Rs125bn Sindh barrage project |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1501344 |access-date=24 August 2019 |archive-date=24 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190824040713/https://www.dawn.com/news/1501344 |url-status=live }}</ref> There are some bridges on River Indus, such as Dadu Moro Bridge, Larkana Khairpur Indus River Bridge, Thatta-Sujawal bridge, [[Sir Aga Khan Bridge|Jhirk-Mula Katiar bridge]] and recently planned Kandhkot-Ghotki bridge.<ref>{{cite news |title=Government to launch Kandhkot-Ghotki bridge over River Indus next month: Sindh CM |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/1133677/government-launch-kandhkot-ghotki-bridge-river-indus-next-month-cm/ |access-date=1 August 2016 |agency=[[The Express Tribune]] }}</ref> | ||
The entire left bank of the Indus River in Sind province is protected from river flooding by constructing around 600 km long [[levees]]. The right bank side is also leveed from [[Guddu barrage]] to [[Lake Manchar]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/2019/07/12/restore-pakistans-rivers-handle-floods-droughts-and-climate-change/ |title=Restore Pakistan's rivers, handle floods, droughts and climate change |date=23 August 2016 |access-date=29 July 2019 }}</ref> In response to the levees construction, the river has been [[Aggradation|aggrading]] rapidly over the last 20 years leading to breaches upstream of barrages and inundation of large areas.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/251191548275645649/pdf/133964-WP-PUBLIC-ADD-SERIES-22-1-2019-18-56-25-W.pdf |title=Pakistan: Getting More from Water (see Page 50) |publisher=World Bank |access-date=29 March 2019 |archive-date=30 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330181855/http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/251191548275645649/pdf/133964-WP-PUBLIC-ADD-SERIES-22-1-2019-18-56-25-W.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
[[Tarbela Dam]] in Pakistan is constructed on the Indus River, while the controversial [[Kalabagh Dam|Kalabagh dam]] is also being constructed on Indus | [[Tarbela Dam]] in Pakistan is constructed on the Indus River, while the controversial [[Kalabagh Dam|Kalabagh dam]] is also being constructed on Indus River. Pakistan is also building [[Munda Dam]]. | ||
===Gallery=== | ===Gallery=== | ||
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* [[Sindhology]] | * [[Sindhology]] | ||
* [[Hindush]] | * [[Hindush]] | ||
{{div col end}} | * [[Ganges]] | ||
* [[Sutlej]]{{div col end}} | |||
== Explanatory notes == | == Explanatory notes == | ||
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[[Category:Induan]] | [[Category:Induan]] | ||
[[Category:Water pollution in Pakistan]] | [[Category:Water pollution in Pakistan]] | ||
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]] | |||
Latest revision as of 17:30, 30 December 2025
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "For". Template:Redirect-multi Template:Pp-pc Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
The Indus (Template:IPAc-en Script error: No such module "Respell".) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia.[1] The Template:Cvt[2] river rises in western China where it is known as Sengge Zangbo, flows northwest through the disputed[3] Kashmir region,[4] first through the Indian-administered Ladakh, and then the Pakistani-administered Gilgit-Baltistan,Template:Efn[5] bends sharply to the left after the Nanga Parbat massif, and flows south-by-southwest through Pakistan, before bifurcating and emptying into the Arabian Sea, its main stem located near the port city of Karachi.[6][7]
The Indus River has a total drainage area of circa Template:Cvt.[2] Its estimated annual flow is around Template:Cvt, making it one of the 50 largest rivers in the world in terms of average annual flow.[8] Its left-bank tributary in Ladakh is the Zanskar River, and its left-bank tributary in the plains is the Panjnad River which is formed by the successive confluences of the five Punjab rivers, namely the Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej rivers. Its principal right-bank tributaries are the Shyok, Gilgit, Kabul, Kurram, and Gomal rivers. Beginning in a mountain spring and fed with glaciers and rivers in the Himalayan, Karakoram, and Hindu Kush ranges, the river supports the ecosystems of temperate forests, plains, and arid countryside.
Geologically, the headwaters of the Indus and to their east those of the Yarlung Tsangpo (later in its course, the Brahmaputra) flow along the Indus-Yarlung suture zone, which defines the boundary along which the Indian plate collided with the Eurasian plate in the Early Eocene (approximately 50 Million years ago).Template:Sfn These two Eurasian rivers, whose courses were continually diverted by the rising Himalayas, define the western and eastern limits, respectively, of the mountain range.Template:Sfn After the Indus debouches from its narrow Himalayan valley, it forms, along with its tributaries, the Punjab region of South Asia. The lower course of the river ends in a large delta in the Sindh province of Pakistan.
Historically, the Indus was important to many cultures. The 3rd millennium BC saw the rise of Indus Valley Civilisation, a major urban civilization of the Bronze Age. During the 2nd millennium BC, the Punjab region was mentioned in the Rigveda hymns as Sapta Sindhu and in the Avesta religious texts as Hapta Həndu (both terms meaning "seven rivers"). Early historical kingdoms that arose in the Indus Valley include Gandhāra and Sindhu-Sauvīra. The Indus River came into the knowledge of the Western world early in the classical period, when King Darius of Persia sent his Greek subject Scylax of Caryanda to explore the river, c. Template:TrimScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"..[9]
Etymology and names
The English language word "Indus" comes from Late Latin Indus (1598), specifically a use of classical Latin Indus (inhabitant of India, Indian) from ancient Greek Ἰνδός "inhabitant of India, Indian, the River Indus" from Achaemenian Old Persian "hindu," denoting an eastern province of the Achaemenid Empire (Persian language hind India), and Avestan hiṇdu, həṇdu "river," (natural) frontier; with same Proto Indo-Iranian language-root as Sanskrit sindhu (river), specifically the River Indus; hence also the region of the Indus, the province Sindh (which also developed into Hellenistic Greek Σίνθος ("the River Indus").[10][11] This river's traditional name in Sanskrit and Tibetan is "sindhu". In Sanskrit, its range of meanings includes: stream, river; Indus; flood; sea or ocean; region or country in the vicinity of the Indus, Sindh, people of Sindh."[12][13]
The modern name in Urdu is Sindh (Template:Langx) or Daryā-i-Sindh (Template:Langx), contrasting to the Province of Sindh (Template:Langx). The Ladakhis and Tibetans call the river Senge Tsangpo (སེང་གེ་གཙང་པོ།), Baltis call it Gemtsuh and Tsuh-Fo, Pashtuns call it Nilab, Sher Darya and Abbasin, while Sindhis call it Sindhu, Mehran, Purali and Samundar.[6][14]
Description
The Indus River provides key water resources for Pakistan's economy – especially the breadbasket of Punjab province, which accounts for most of the nation's agricultural production. The word Punjab means "land of five rivers" and the five rivers are Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, all of which finally flow into the Indus. The Indus also supports many heavy industries and provides the main supply of potable water in Pakistan.
The total length of the river varies in different sources. The length used in this article is Template:Cvt, taken from the Himalayan Climate and Water Atlas (2015).[2] Historically, the 1909 The Imperial Gazetteer of India gave it as "just over 1,800 miles".[15] A shorter figure of Template:Cvt has been widely used in modern sources, as has the one of Template:Cvt. The modern Encyclopedia Britannica was originally published in 1999 with the shorter measurement, but was updated in 2015 to use the longer measurement.[6] Both lengths are commonly found in modern publications; in some cases, both measurements can be found within the same work.[16] An extended figure of circa Template:Cvt was announced by a Chinese research group in 2011, based on a comprehensive remeasurement from satellite imagery, and a ground expedition to identify an alternative source point, but detailed analysis has not yet been published.[17]
The ultimate source of the Indus is in Tibet, but there is some debate about the exact source. The traditional source of the river is the Sênggê Kanbab (Sênggê Zangbo) or "Lion's Mouth", a perennial spring not far from the sacred Mount Kailash, marked by a long low line of Tibetan chortens. There are several other tributaries nearby, which may form a longer stream than Sênggê Kanbab, but unlike the Sênggê Kanbab, are all dependent on snowmelt. The Zanskar River, which flows into the Indus in Ladakh, has a greater volume of water than the Indus itself before that point.[18] An alternative reckoning begins the river around 300 km further upstream, at the confluence of the Sênggê Zangbo and Gar Tsangpo rivers, which drain the Nganglong Kangri and Gangdise Shan (Gang Rinpoche, Mt. Kailash) mountain ranges. The 2011 remeasurement suggested the source was a small lake northeast of Mount Kailash, rather than either of the two points previously used.[17]
The Indus then flows northwest through Ladakh (Indian-administered Kashmir) and Baltistan and Gilgit (Pakistan-administered Kashmir), just south of the Karakoram range. The Shyok, Shigar and Gilgit rivers carry glacial waters into the main river. It gradually bends to the south and descends into the Punjab plains at Kalabagh, Pakistan. The Indus passes gigantic gorges Script error: No such module "convert". deep near the Nanga Parbat massif. It flows swiftly across Hazara and is dammed at the Tarbela Reservoir. The Kabul River joins it near Attock. The remainder of its route to the sea is in the plains of the Punjab[19] and Sindh, where the flow of the river becomes slow and highly braided. It is joined by the Panjnad at Mithankot. Beyond this confluence, the river, at one time, was named the Satnad River (sat = "seven", nadī = "river"), as the river now carried the waters of the Kabul River, the Indus River and the five Punjab rivers. When the river passes Jamshoro, it ends in a large delta to the South of Thatta in the Sindh province of Pakistan.
The Indus is one of the few rivers in the world to exhibit a tidal bore. The Indus system is largely fed by the snow and glaciers of the Himalayas, Karakoram and the Hindu Kush ranges. The flow of the river is also determined by the seasons – it diminishes greatly in the winter while flooding its banks in the monsoon months from July to September. There is also evidence of a steady shift in the course of the river since prehistoric times – it deviated westwards from flowing into the Rann of Kutch and adjoining Banni grasslands after the 1816 earthquake.[20][21] since 2011[update]Template:Dated maintenance category (articles)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., Indus water flows in to the Rann of Kutch during its floods breaching flood banks.[22]
History
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The major cities of the Indus Valley Civilisation, such as Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, date back to around 3300 BC, and represent some of the largest human habitations of the ancient world. The Indus Valley Civilisation extended from across northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest India,[23] with an upward reach from east of the Jhelum River to Ropar on the upper Sutlej. The coastal settlements extended from Sutkagan Dor at the Pakistan-Iran border to Kutch in modern Gujarat, India. There is an Indus site on the Amu Darya at Shortughai in northern Afghanistan, and the Indus site Alamgirpur at the Hindon River is located only Template:Cvt from Delhi. To date, over 1,052 cities and settlements have been found, mainly in the general region of the Ghaggar-Hakra River and its tributaries. Among the settlements were the major urban centres of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, as well as Lothal, Dholavira, Ganeriwala, and Rakhigarhi. Only 40 Indus Valley sites have been discovered on the Indus and its tributaries.[24] However, it is notable that majority of the Indus script seals and inscribed objects discovered were found at sites along the Indus river.Template:Efn[25][26]
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The Rigveda describes several rivers, including one named "Sindhu". The Rigvedic "Sindhu" is thought to be the present-day Indus River. It is attested 176 times in its text, 94 times in the plural, and most often used in the generic sense of "river". In the Rigveda, notably in the later hymns, the meaning of the word is narrowed to refer to the Indus River in particular; for example, in the list of rivers mentioned in the hymn of Nadistuti sukta. The Rigvedic hymns apply a feminine gender to all the rivers mentioned therein, except for the Brahmaputra.
The word "India" is derived from the Indus River. In ancient times, "India" initially referred to those regions immediately along the east bank of the Indus, where are Punjab and Sindh now but by 300 BC, Greek writers including Herodotus and Megasthenes were applying the term to the entire subcontinent that extends much farther eastward.[27][28]
The lower basin of the Indus forms a natural boundary between the Iranian Plateau and the Indian subcontinent; this region embraces all or parts of the Pakistani provinces Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh and the countries Afghanistan and India. The first West Eurasian empire to annex the Indus Valley was the Persian Empire, during the reign of Darius the Great. During his reign, the Greek explorer Scylax of Caryanda was commissioned to explore the course of the Indus. It was crossed by the invading armies of Alexander. Still, after his Macedonians conquered the west bank—joining it to the Hellenic world, they elected to retreat along the southern course of the river, ending Alexander's Asian campaign. Alexander's admiral Nearchus set out from the Indus Delta to explore the Persian Gulf, until reaching the Tigris. The Indus Valley was later dominated by the Mauryan and Kushan Empires, Indo-Greek Kingdoms, Indo-Scythians and Hepthalites. Over several centuries Muslim armies of Muhammad ibn al-Qasim, Mahmud of Ghazni, Muhammad of Ghor, Timur and Babur crossed the river to invade Sindh and Punjab, providing a gateway to the Indian subcontinent.
Geology
The Indus River is an antecedent river, meaning that it existed before the Himalayas and entrenched itself while they were rising.
The Indus River feeds the Indus submarine fan, which is the second largest sediment body on Earth.[29] It consists of around 5 million cubic kilometers of material eroded from the mountains. Studies of the sediment in the modern river indicate that the Karakoram Mountains in northern Pakistan and India are the single most important source of material, with the Himalayas providing the next largest contribution, mostly via the large rivers of the Punjab (Jhelum, Ravi, Chenab, Beas and Sutlej). Analysis of sediments from the Arabian Sea has demonstrated that five million years ago the Indus was not connected to these Punjab rivers which instead flowed east into the Ganga and were captured after that time.[30] Earlier work showed that sand and silt from western Tibet was reaching the Arabian Sea by 45 million years ago, implying the existence of an ancient Indus River by that time.[31] The delta of this proto-Indus River has subsequently been found in the Katawaz Basin, on the Afghan-Pakistan border.
In the Nanga Parbat region, the massive amounts of erosion due to the Indus River following the capture and rerouting through that area are thought to bring middle and lower crustal rocks to the surface.[32]
In November 2011, satellite images showed that the Indus River had re-entered India and was feeding the Great Rann of Kutch, Little Rann of Kutch and a lake near Ahmedabad known as Nal Sarovar.[22] Heavy rains had left the river basin along with the Lake Manchar, Lake Hemal and Kalri Lake (all in modern-day Pakistan) inundated. This happened two centuries after the Indus River shifted its course westwards following the 1819 Rann of Kutch earthquake.
The Induan Age at the start of the Triassic Period of geological time is named for the Indus region.
Tributaries
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Wildlife
Accounts of the Indus Valley from the times of Alexander's campaign indicate a healthy forest cover in the region. The Mughal Emperor Babur writes of encountering rhinoceroses along its bank in his memoirs (the Baburnama). Extensive deforestation and human interference in the ecology of the Shivalik Hills has led to a marked deterioration in vegetation and growing conditions. The Indus Valley regions are arid with poor vegetation. Agriculture is sustained largely due to irrigation works. The Indus River and its watershed have a rich biodiversity. It is home to around 25 amphibian species.[33]
Mammals
The Indus River dolphin (Platanista indicus minor) is found only in the Indus River. It is a subspecies of the South Asian river dolphin. The Indus River dolphin formerly also occurred in the tributaries of the Indus River. According to the World Wildlife Fund it is one of the most threatened cetaceans with only about 1,816 still existing.[34] It is threatened by habitat degradation from the construction of dams and canals, entanglement in fishing gear, and industrial water pollution.[35]
There are two otter species in the Indus River basin: the Eurasian otter in the northeastern highland sections and the smooth-coated otter elsewhere in the river basin. The smooth-coated otters in the Indus River represent a subspecies found nowhere else, the Sindh otter (Lutrogale perspicillata sindica).[36]
Fish
The Indus River basin has high diversity, being the home of more than 180 freshwater fish species,[37] including 22 which are found nowhere else.[33] Fish also played a major role in earlier cultures of the region, including the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation where depictions of fish were frequent. The Indus script has a commonly used fish sign, which in its various forms may simply have meant "fish", or referred to stars or gods.[38]
In the uppermost, highest part of the Indus River basin there are relatively few genera and species: Diptychus, Ptychobarbus, Schizopyge, Schizopygopsis and Schizothorax snowtrout, Triplophysa loaches, and the catfish Glyptosternon reticulatum.[37] Going downstream these are soon joined by the golden mahseer Tor putitora (alternatively T. macrolepis, although it often is regarded as a synonym of T. putitora) and Schistura loaches. Downriver from around Thakot, Tarbela, the Kabul–Indus river confluence, Attock Khurd and Peshawar the diversity rises strongly, including many cyprinids (Amblypharyngodon, Aspidoparia, Barilius, Chela, Cirrhinus, Crossocheilus, Cyprinion, Danio, Devario, Esomus, Garra, Labeo, Naziritor, Osteobrama, Pethia, Puntius, Rasbora, Salmophasia, Securicula and Systomus), true loaches (Botia and Lepidocephalus), stone loaches (Acanthocobitis and Nemacheilus), ailiid catfish (Clupisoma), bagridae catfish (Batasio, Mystus, Rita and Sperata), airsac catfish (Heteropneustes), schilbid catfish (Eutropiichthys), silurid catfish (Ompok and Wallago), sisorid catfish (Bagarius, Gagata, Glyptothorax and Sisor), gouramis (Trichogaster), nandid leaffish (Nandus), snakeheads (Channa), spiny eel (Macrognathus and Mastacembelus), knifefish (Notopterus), glassfish (Chanda and Parambassis), clupeids (Gudusia), needlefish (Xenentodon) and gobies (Glossogobius), as well as a few introduced species.[37] As the altitude further declines the Indus basin becomes overall quite slow-flowing as it passes through the Punjab Plain. Major carp become common, and chameleonfish (Badis), mullet (Sicamugil) and swamp eel (Monopterus) appear.[37] In some upland lakes and tributaries of the Punjab region snow trout and mahseer are still common, but once the Indus basin reaches its lower plain the former group is absent and the latter are rare.[37] Many of the species of the middle sections of the Indus basin are also present in the lower. Notable examples of genera that are present in the lower plain but generally not elsewhere in the Indus River basin are the Aphanius pupfish, Aplocheilus killifish, palla fish (Tenualosa ilisha), catla (Labeo catla), rohu (Labeo rohita) and Cirrhinus mrigala.[37] The lowermost part of the river and its delta are home to freshwater fish, but also several brackish and marine species.[37] This includes pomfret and prawns. The large delta has been recognized by conservationists as an important ecological region. Here, the river turns into many marshes, streams and creeks and meets the sea at shallow levels.
Palla fish (Tenualosa ilisha) of the river is a delicacy for people living along the river. The population of fish in the river is moderately high, with Sukkur, Thatta, and Kotri being the major fishing centres – all in the lower Sindh course. As a result, damming and irrigation have made fish farming an important economic activity.
Economy
The Indus is the most important supplier of water resources to the Punjab and Sindh plains – it forms the backbone of agriculture and food production in Pakistan. The river is especially critical since rainfall is meagre in the lower Indus valley. Irrigation canals were first built by the people of the Indus Valley Civilisation, and later by the engineers of the Kushan Empire and the Mughal Empire. Modern irrigation was introduced by the British East India Company in 1850 – the construction of modern canals accompanied with the restoration of old canals. The British supervised the construction of one of the most complex irrigation networks in the world. The Guddu Barrage is Template:Cvt long – irrigating Sukkur, Jacobabad, Larkana and Kalat. The Sukkur Barrage serves over Template:Cvt.
After Pakistan came into existence, a water control treaty signed between India and Pakistan in 1960 guaranteed that Pakistan would receive water from the Indus River and its two tributaries the Jhelum River and the Chenab River independently of upstream control by India.[39]
The Indus Basin Project consisted primarily of the construction of two main dams, the Mangla Dam built on the Jhelum River and the Tarbela Dam constructed on the Indus River, together with their subsidiary dams.[40] The Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority undertook the construction of the Chashma-Jhelum link canal – linking the waters of the Indus and Jhelum rivers – extending water supplies to the regions of Bahawalpur and Multan. Pakistan constructed the Tarbela Dam near Rawalpindi – standing Script error: No such module "convert". long and Script error: No such module "convert". high, with an Script error: No such module "convert". long reservoir. It supports the Chashma Barrage near Dera Ismail Khan for irrigation use and flood control and the Taunsa Barrage near Dera Ghazi Khan which also produces 100,000 kilowatts of electricity. The Kotri Barrage near Hyderabad is Script error: No such module "convert". long and provides additional water supplies for Karachi. The extensive linking of tributaries with the Indus has helped spread water resources to the valley of Peshawar, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The extensive irrigation and dam projects provide the basis for Pakistan's large production of crops such as cotton, sugarcane and wheat. The dams also generate electricity for heavy industries and urban centres.
People
The Indus River is sacred to Hindus.[42][43] The Sindhu Darshan Festival is held on every Guru Purnima on the banks of the Indus.[44]
The ethnicities of the Indus Valley (Pakistan and Northwest India) have a greater amount of ANI (or West Eurasian) admixture than other South Asians, including inputs from Western Steppe Herders, with evidence of more sustained and multi-layered migrations from the west.[45]
Modern issues
Indus delta
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Originally, the delta used to receive almost all of the water from the Indus River, which has an annual flow of approximately Script error: No such module "convert"., and is accompanied by Script error: No such module "convert". of silt.[46] Since the 1940s, dams, barrages and irrigation works have been constructed on the river. The Indus Basin Irrigation System is the "largest contiguous irrigation system developed over the past 140 years" anywhere in the world.[47] This has reduced the flow of water and by 2018, the average annual flow of water below the Kotri barrage was Script error: No such module "convert".,[48] and annual amount of silt discharged was estimated at Script error: No such module "convert"..Script error: No such module "Unsubst". As a result, the 2010 Pakistan floods were considered "good news" for the ecosystem and population of the river delta as they brought much-needed fresh water.[49][50] Any further utilization of the river basin water is not economically feasible.[51][52]
Vegetation and wildlife of the Indus delta are threatened by the reduced inflow of fresh water, along with extensive deforestation, industrial pollution and global warming. Damming has also isolated the delta population of Indus River dolphins from those further upstream.[53]
Large-scale diversion of the river's water for irrigation has raised far-reaching issues. Sediment clogging from poor maintenance of canals has affected agricultural production and vegetation on numerous occasions. Irrigation itself is increasing soil salinization, reducing crop yields and in some cases rendering farmland useless for cultivation.[54]
Effects of climate change on the river
The Tibetan Plateau contains the world's third-largest store of ice. Qin Dahe, the former head of the China Meteorological Administration, said the recent fast pace of melting and warmer temperatures will be good for agriculture and tourism in the short term, but issued a strong warning:
Temperatures are rising four times faster than elsewhere in China, and the Tibetan glaciers are retreating at a higher speed than in any other part of the world... In the short term, this will cause lakes to expand and bring floods and mudflows... In the long run, the glaciers are vital lifelines of the Indus River. Once they vanish, water supplies in Pakistan will be in peril.[55]
"There is insufficient data to say what will happen to the Indus," says David Grey, the World Bank's senior water advisor in South Asia. "But we all have very nasty fears that the flows of the Indus could be severely, severely affected by glacier melt as a consequence of climate change," and reduced by perhaps as much as 50 per cent. "Now what does that mean to a population that lives in a desert [where], without the river, there would be no life? I don't know the answer to that question," he says. "But we need to be concerned about that. Deeply, deeply concerned."
U.S. diplomat Richard Holbrooke said, shortly before he died in 2010, that he believed that falling water levels in the Indus River "could very well precipitate World War III."[56]
Pollution
Over the years factories on the banks of the Indus River have increased levels of water pollution in the river and the atmosphere around it. High levels of pollutants in the river have led to the deaths of endangered Indus River dolphin. The Sindh Environmental Protection Agency has ordered polluting factories around the river to shut down under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997.[57] Death of the Indus river dolphin has also been attributed to fishermen using poison to kill fish and scooping them up.[58][59] As a result, the government banned fishing from Guddu Barrage to Sukkur.[60]
The Indus is second among a group of ten rivers responsible for about 90% of all the plastic that reaches the oceans. The Yangtze is the only river contributing more plastic.[61][62]
2010 floods
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Frequently, Indus River is prone to moderate to severe flooding.[63] In July 2010, following abnormally heavy monsoon rains, the Indus River rose above its banks and started flooding. The rain continued for the next two months, devastating large areas of Pakistan. In Sindh, the Indus burst its banks near Sukkur on 8 August, submerging the village of Mor Khan Jatoi.[64] In early August, the heaviest flooding moved southward along the Indus River from severely affected northern regions toward western Punjab, where at least Template:Cvt of cropland was destroyed, and the southern province of Sindh.[65] since September 2010[update]Template:Dated maintenance category (articles)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., over two thousand people had died and over a million homes had been destroyed since the flooding began.[66][67]
2011 floods
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The 2011 Sindh floods began during the Pakistani monsoon season in mid-August 2011, resulting from heavy monsoon rains in Sindh, eastern Balochistan, and southern Punjab.[68] The floods caused considerable damage; an estimated 434 civilians were killed, with 5.3 million people and 1,524,773 homes affected.[69] Sindh is a fertile region and often called the "breadbasket" of the country; the damage and toll of the floods on the local agrarian economy was said to be extensive. At least Script error: No such module "convert". of arable land were inundated. The flooding followed the previous year's floods, which devastated a large part of the country.[69] Unprecedented torrential monsoon rains caused severe flooding in 16 districts of Sindh.[70]
Barrages, bridges, levees and dams
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In Pakistan currently there are six barrages on the Indus: Guddu Barrage, Sukkur Barrage, Kotri Barrage (also called Ghulam Muhammad barrage), Taunsa Barrage, Chashma Barrage and Jinnah Barrage. Another new barrage called "Sindh Barrage" is planned as a terminal barrage on the Indus River.[71][72] There are some bridges on River Indus, such as Dadu Moro Bridge, Larkana Khairpur Indus River Bridge, Thatta-Sujawal bridge, Jhirk-Mula Katiar bridge and recently planned Kandhkot-Ghotki bridge.[73]
The entire left bank of the Indus River in Sind province is protected from river flooding by constructing around 600 km long levees. The right bank side is also leveed from Guddu barrage to Lake Manchar.[74] In response to the levees construction, the river has been aggrading rapidly over the last 20 years leading to breaches upstream of barrages and inundation of large areas.[75]
Tarbela Dam in Pakistan is constructed on the Indus River, while the controversial Kalabagh dam is also being constructed on Indus River. Pakistan is also building Munda Dam.
Gallery
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Video of River Indus at Kotri Barrage, Sindh, Pakistan.
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Lansdowne Bridge and Ayub Bridge connecting the cities of Rohri and Sukkur in Sindh, Pakistan.
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Frozen Indus, Near Nyoma
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Indus at Skardu
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Indus near Dera Ismail Khan
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The Indus near Leh
Tourism
Many Buddhist monasteries in Ladakh, Indus-Sarasvati Valley Civilisation sites along the banks of Indus and Sarasvati River (Ghaggar-Hakra River) and in Indus Sagar Doab, Indus River Delta, various dams such as Baglihar Dam, Sindhu Darshan Festival held every year at Leh,[76] Sindhu Pushkaram festival held every 12 years at confluence of Indus and Zanskar River at Nimoo once every 12 years for 12 days starting from when Jupiter enter into Kumbha rasi (Aquarius),[77] etc. are tourism opportunities.
See also
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Explanatory notes
Citations
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- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent. It is bounded by the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang to the northeast and the Tibet Autonomous Region to the east (both parts of China), by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south, by Pakistan to the west, and by Afghanistan to the northwest. The northern and western portions are administered by Pakistan and comprise three areas: Azad Kashmir, Gilgit, and Baltistan, ... The southern and southeastern portions constitute the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian- and Pakistani-administered portions are divided by a "line of control" agreed to in 1972, although neither country recognizes it as an international boundary. In addition, China became active in the eastern area of Kashmir in the 1950s and since 1962 has controlled the northeastern part of Ladakh (the easternmost portion of the region)."
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- ↑ For example, Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Papers in this edited collection generally use the shorter measurement, but at least two use the longer one.
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Albinia (2008), p. 307.
- ↑ Template:Cite EB1911
- ↑ 70% of cattle-breeders desert Banni Template:Webarchive; by Narandas Thacker, TNN, 14 February 2002; The Times of India
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- ↑ Iravatham Mahadevan, 1977, The Indus Script: Text, Concordance and Tables, pp. 6–7
- ↑ Upinder Singh, 2008, A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India From the Stone Age to the 12th Century Template:Webarchive, p. 169
- ↑ Henry Yule: India, Indies Template:Webarchive. In Hobson-Jobson: A glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological, historical, geographical and discursive. New ed. edited by William Crooke, B.A. London: J. Murray, 1903
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- ↑ Sindhu Pushkaram festival Template:Webarchive, accessed 27 July 2023.
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General and cited references
- Albinia, Alice. (2008) Empires of the Indus: The Story of a River. First American Edition (20101) W. W. Norton & Company, New York. Template:ISBN.
- Alexander Burnes, A voyage on the Indus, London, 1973
- Philippe Fabry, Wandering with the Indus, with Yusuf Shahid (text) Lahore, 1995
- Jean Fairley, The Lion River: The Indus, London, 1975
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- D. Murphy, Where the Indus is Young, London, 1977
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- Samina Quraeshi, Legacy of the Indus, New York, 1974
- Schomberg, Between Oxus and Indus, London, 1935
- Francine Tissot, Les Arts anciens du Pakistan et de l'Afghanistan, Paris, 1987
- Sir M. Wheeler, Civilisations of the Indus Valley and Beyond, London, 1966
- World Atlas, Millennium Edition, p. 265.
External links
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- The origins of Indus:
- Northern Areas Development Gateway
- Script error: No such module "URL".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – covered parts of the Indus River
- Indus River watershed map (World Resources Institute) Template:Webarchive
- Template:Webarchive
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Script error: No such module "navboxes". Template:Waters of Pakistan Script error: No such module "Navbox". Template:Indus Valley Civilisation Script error: No such module "Navbox". Template:PunjabGeography Template:Hydrography of Jammu and Kashmir Script error: No such module "Navbox".Script error: No such module "navboxes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Template:India Rivers Template:China Rivers Script error: No such module "Navbox". Template:Authority control
- Pages with script errors
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- Indus River
- Indus basin
- History of Sindh
- Indus Valley Civilisation
- International rivers of Asia
- Rigvedic rivers
- Rivers of China
- Rivers of Gilgit-Baltistan
- Rivers of Ladakh
- Rivers of Pakistan
- Rivers of Sindh
- Rivers of Tibet
- Sacred rivers
- Rivers in Buddhism
- Rivers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Rivers of Punjab, Pakistan
- Induan
- Water pollution in Pakistan