Gangotri Glacier
Also called: Gaumukh · Topic: Drainage System of India: Rivers, Basins and Patterns · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 1 "Geographical Diversity of India"; Class 11, Ch 3 "Drainage System"; Class 11, Ch 6 "Landforms and their Evolution"
Meaning
The Gangotri glacier is a large valley glacier in Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand. A valley glacier is a river of ice that moves slowly down a mountain valley. Its snout, the lowest tip where the ice melts, is called Gaumukh (about 3,900 m). The meltwater from Gaumukh is the start of the Bhagirathi, the source stream of the Ganga. The glacier is retreating, which means its snout is moving back up the valley year after year.
Example
Pilgrims and trekkers walk from Gangotri town up to Gaumukh in Uttarakhand to see the ice cave where the Bhagirathi comes out of the glacier.
Don't confuse with
- Gaumukh: the snout of the glacier, not the whole glacier.
- Satopanth glacier: the source of the Alaknanda, the Ganga's other headstream, above Badrinath.
Related concepts
- Ganga river
- Bhagirathi river
- Alaknanda river
- Panch Prayag
- Confluence
- Ganga basin
- Padma river
- Sagar Island