Sone River 

About Sone River 

• Sone River is a perennial river.
• It is also called “Hiranyavaha” because of its golden coloured sand.
  • It was believed that the river carried gold dust in its flow.  
• Origin: It originates in the Amarkantak hills of the Maikal Range in Madhya Pradesh.
• Course of river: It flows in a north-northwest direction till Bansagar reservoir, after which it changes its course sharply eastwards, flowing parallel to Kaimur Range, and joins Ganga River 30 km upstream of Patna in Bihar.  
  • It flows through the Deccan Peninsula and Gangetic Plains biogeographic zones. 
  • The upper stretch of the Son River passes through the tiger landscape of Central India. 
• Valley: The Sone River valley is geologically regarded as a continuation of the Narmada River valley towards the southwest.
  • The valley is bordered by the Kaimur Range in the north and the Chota Nagpur Plateau in the south.
• Total length: Its total length is 784 km.
• States through which it flows: It flows through Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar. 
• Tributary of: It is a tributary of the river Ganga.
• Tributaries: Its tributaries are Banas, Gopad, Rihand, Kanhar and North Koel. 
• Species associated: It supports populations of key indicator species such as gharial and mugger. 
  • Seven species of turtles, Red-crowned roofed turtle, three-striped roofed turtle, crowned river turtle, Indian tent turtle, Indian narrow-headed softshell turtle, Ganges softshell turtle, and Indian flapshell turtle have been reported from the River. 
• Dams constructed on river: The Bansagar Dam (Madhya Pradesh), Rihand Dam (Uttar Pradesh), and Indrapuri Barrage (Bihar) are the major dams and water infrastructure projects built on the Sone River.