Shyok river
Topic: Drainage System of India: Rivers, Basins and Patterns · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 3 "Drainage System"
Meaning
The Shyok is a right-bank tributary of the Indus, which means it joins from the right side when you face downstream. It rises from the Rimo glacier near the Karakoram range in Ladakh. It flows through high, cold, dry mountain country. The Nubra river joins it, and it meets the Indus in Baltistan. Its valleys matter for defence because they lie close to the border with China.
Example
The Galwan river is a tributary of the Shyok in eastern Ladakh. The Nubra valley, where the Nubra joins the Shyok, is a well-known cold-desert valley north of Leh.
Don't confuse with
- The five Punjab rivers (Panjnad): the Shyok is not one of them. It joins the Indus high in the mountains, while the Panjnad rivers join it on the plains near Mithankot.