Alaknanda River

About Alaknanda River

• The Alaknanda is a Himalayan river of Uttarakhand and the major river of Northern India.
• Origin and course of river: It originates from the snouts of the Satopanth and Bhagirathi Kharak glaciers, descending from the Chaukhamba massif  in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.
  • From there it flows for about 195 km through Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Pauri Garhwal, and Tehri Garhwal districts in Uttarakhand.
  • It meets the Bhagirathi River at Devprayag (Tehri Garhwal district), from whence the river is known as ‘Ganga’.
• Basin area: Alaknanda River basin spans an area of about 10,882 km.
  • The basin falls under the Trans-Himalaya, Himalaya and Gangetic Plain biogeographic zones.
• Protected area along the basin: Valley of Flowers National Park and Nanda Devi National Park, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites situated in the Alaknanda River basin.
• Tributaries: Its major tributariesare the Dhauliganga, Nandakini, Pindar, Mandakini and Saraswati. 
• Tributary of: It is a tributary of the Ganga River.
• Religious significance: According to Hindu mythology, it is considered one of the sacred streams that formed when the celestial Ganga descended to Earth, and was divided by Lord Shiva’s (one of the three supreme Hindu deities) matted locks.
  • ‘Panch Prayag’ are the five sacred confluences along the Alaknanda River, where it is joined by its major tributaries.
    • In chronological order, these are Vishnuprayag (with the Dhauliganga), Nandaprayag (with the Nandakini), Karnaprayag (with the Pindar), Rudraprayag (with the Mandakini), and Devprayag (with the Bhagirathi, after which the river is known as the Ganga).
  • Dham situated on river: Badrinath Dham, situated along the Alaknanda River, is one of the Char Dham pilgrimage sites established by Adi Shankaracharya.
• Dams on the river: There are many operational dam and Hydro Electric projects in the Alaknanda basin namely  Tapovan, Tharali, Vishnuprayag, Srinagar etc.