Ganges River

:Ganges is also the name of a commune in the Hérault département in France.

Related Topics:
Ganges - Commune - Hérault - Département - France

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The Ganges River (Ganga in Indian languages) (Devanagiri गंगा) is a major river in northern India and Bangladesh. It originates as the Bhagirathi from the Gangotri Glacier in the Uttaranchal Himalaya and joins the Alaknanda near Deoprayag to form the Ganga. Then on, the Ganga flows across the large plains of North India (called the Gangetic Plains) and empties into the Bay of Bengal after dividing up into many distributaries. One of them is the Hoogli River near Kolkata, another major distributary being the Padma River that enters Bangladesh and merges with Jamuna River, a branch of the Brahmaputra River.

Related Topics:
Devanagiri - River - India - Bangladesh - Bhagirathi - Gangotri Glacier - Uttaranchal - Himalaya - Alaknanda - Gangetic Plains - Bay of Bengal - Distributaries - Hoogli River - Kolkata - Padma River - Jamuna River - Brahmaputra River

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The total length of the river is about 2,510km (1,558 mi). One of the densest human population belts on earth is built around the Ganges.

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The region encompassing the delta near the Bay of Bengal coast is known as The Sundarbans (Beautiful Forests) – a region of thick mangrove forests, and one of the major habitats of the Royal Bengal tiger.

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Delta - Coast - The Sundarbans - Mangrove - Forest - Habitats - Royal Bengal tiger

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The Ganges Basin is incredibly fertile and, at present, about one in every 12 people in the world (8%) live in its catchment area. However, due to this incredible concentration of population, pollution and destruction of habitats is increasing at an alarming rate in the region.

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The Yamuna River — a major river in its own right, and nearly as sacred — is a tributary of the Ganga, and their confluence is near what is the site of the traditional holy Hindu city of Prayag, now known as Allahabad.

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Yamuna River - Tributary - Hindu - Prayag - Allahabad

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Two species of dolphin can be found in the Ganges, the Ganges River Dolphin and the Irrawaddy Dolphin. The Ganges is also notable in that it contains a rare species of freshwater shark, Glyphis gangeticus about which little is known.

Related Topics:
Species - Dolphin - Ganges River Dolphin - Irrawaddy Dolphin - Freshwater shark - Glyphis gangeticus

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