deposits consisting of sands, silt, clay, boulders and conglomerates support this viewpoint. It is opined that in due course of time Indo– Brahma river was dismembered into three main drainage systems: (i) the Indus and its five tributaries in the western part; (ii) the Ganga and its Himalayan tributaries in the central part; and (iii) the stretch of the Brahmaputra in Assam and its Himalayan tributaries in the eastern part. The dismemberment was probably due to the Pleistocene upheaval in the western Himalayas, including the uplift of the Potwar Plateau (Delhi Ridge), which acted as the water divide between the Indus and Ganga drainage systems. Likewise, the down- thrusting of the Malda gap area between the Rajmahal hills and the Meghalaya plateau during the mid-pleistocene period, diverted the Ganga and the Brahmaputra systems to flow towards the Bay of Bengal.
T HE R IVER S YSTEMS OF THE H IMALAYAN D RAINAGE The Himalayan drainage consists of several river systems but the following are the major river systems: The Indus System It is one of the largest river basins of the world, covering an area of , , sq. km (in India it is , sq. km and a total length of , km (in India , km). The Indus also known as the Sindhu, is the westernmost of the Himalayan rivers in India.
It originates from a glacier near Bokhar Chu ( ° ' N latitude and ° ' E longitude) in the Tibetan region at an altitude of , m in the Kailash Mountain range. In Tibet, it is known as ‘Singi Khamban ; or Lion’s mouth. After flowing in the northwest direction between the Ladakh and Zaskar ranges, it passes through Ladakh and Baltistan. It cuts across the Ladakh range, forming a spectacular gorge near Gilgit in Jammu and Kashmir.
It enters into Pakistan near Chillar in the Dardistan region. Find out the area known as Dardistan. The Indus receives a number of Himalayan tributaries such as the Shyok, the Gilgit, the Zaskar, the Hunza, the Nubra, the Shigar, the Gasting and the Dras. It finally emerges out of the