Brahmaputra Basin

Salient features

• Area of Brahmaputra basin is 580,000 sq.km. which covers China (50.5%), India (33.6%), Bangladesh (8.1%) and Bhutan (7.8%). Length in India is 916km
• Brahmaputra basin spans states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya, Nagaland and the whole of Sikkim in India.
• The basin is of irregular shape: the maximum east-west length is 1,540 km and the maximum north-south width is 682 km. The basin lies between 23°N to 32° N latitude and 82°E to 97°50’ E longitude. The part of the Tibetan plateau falling under the basin has an elevation varying from 3,000 to 5,000m and is dotted with numerous glaciers.
• Brahmaputra catchment is the heaviest rainfall region in the world.
• Brahmaputra basin, particularly the portions in Assam, is  prone to annual floods and river bank erosions.
• Parts of the Himalayan Mountains region of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh falling in Brahmaputra basin experience snow cover.
• As per India WRIS data, Brahmaputra basin represents the greenest part of India, accounting for the maximum 55.48% (107854.26 sq.km.) of country's forest cover.
• In the middle reach of Brahmaputra River is "Majuli", the river island in Assam which is marked as the largest mid river delta system in the world by UNESCO.
• The hydroelectric potential of the Brahmaputra basin has been assessed 66065 MW.

Brahmaputra river

• The river Brahmaputra is one of the largest rivers of the worldwith a specific yield of 85 ha m / sq km, which is next only to Amazon (87 ha m /sq km).
• Brahmaputra River originates in the great glacier mass north of Kailash ranges of Himalayas (elevation 5,150m) & to just south of lake called 'Konggyu Tsho'.
• Brahmaputra traverses a distance of 2,900km through four countries - Tibet (China), Bhutan, India and Bangladesh before entering the Bay of Bengal.
• The source of this river lies in the Kanglung Kang Glacier near the Kailash range of Himalayas located in the south-western part of the Tibetan plateau at an elevation of 5,300m (82°10° E and 30°30’ N) near Konggyu Tso Lake. Here the river is called Tamchok Khambab Kangri. Many snowfed streams join the river from the passes at about 60 km southeast of Mansarovar Lake.
• It has a catchment area of 580,000 sq. km, an average annual discharge of 19,820 cumec, an average annual sediment load of 735 million metric tonnes, and a specific flood discharge of 0.149 cumec/ sq. km.
• The catchment area of the river falls in four countries. Although the main river does not flow through the Kingdom of Bhutan, 96% of Bhutan’s area falls under this basin.
• Important tributaries of Brahmaputra in Indian territory are Subansiri, Kameng (Jiabharali), Dhansiri, Buri-Dihing, Kopili, Manas, Sankosh,Jaldhaka, Torsa and Teesta.

Major projects

To get the list of projects managed by the Brahmaputra Board, click here

Source: : Hydrology and Water Resources Information System for India