Alaknanda river

Topic: Drainage System of India: Rivers, Basins and Patterns · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 3 "Drainage System"

Meaning

The Alaknanda river is one of the two headstreams of the Ganga. A headstream is a stream that forms the start of a bigger river. It rises in the Satopanth glacier above Badrinath in Uttarakhand. On its way down, other streams join it at five confluences (meeting points of rivers) called the Panch Prayag. It meets the Bhagirathi at Devprayag, and from there the joined river is called the Ganga.

Example

Here are the Panch Prayag on the Alaknanda, going downstream:

1. Vishnuprayag, where the Dhauliganga joins, at Joshimath
2. Nandprayag, where the Nandakini joins
3. Karnaprayag, where the Pindar joins
4. Rudraprayag, where the Mandakini joins
5. Devprayag, where the Bhagirathi joins and the Ganga begins

Don't confuse with

• Bhagirathi river: the other headstream. It rises at Gaumukh, the snout of the Gangotri glacier, not in the Satopanth glacier. The Tehri dam is on the Bhagirathi.

Related concepts

• Ganga river
• Bhagirathi river
• Gangotri Glacier
• Panch Prayag
• Confluence
• Ganga basin
• Padma river
• Sagar Island

Read more

• The Ganga system: headwaters, main stem and delta