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Ghaggar-Hakra River
Intermittent river in India and Pakistan / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ghaggar-Hakra River is an intermittent river in India and Pakistan that flows only during the monsoon season. The river is known as Ghaggar before the Ottu barrage at 29.4875°N 74.8925°E / 29.4875; 74.8925, and as Hakra downstream of the barrage in the Thar Desert.[3][4] In pre-Harappan times the Ghaggar was a tributary of the Sutlej. It is still connected to this paleochannel of the Sutlej, and possibly the Yamuna, which ended in the Nara River, presently a delta channel of the Indus River joining the sea via Sir Creek.[3][5][6]
Ghaggar-Hakra River | |
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![]() Aerial view of Ghaggar river near Chandigarh | |
![]() Present-day Gagghar-Hakra river-course, with (pre-)Harappan paleochannel as proposed by Clift et al. (2012).[1] 1 = ancient river | |
Location | |
Country | India, Pakistan |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | Shivalik Hills, Himachal Pradesh, India |
Mouth | |
• location | Ottu, Haryana, India |
• coordinates | 29°17′23″N 74°08′11″E |
Discharge | |
• location | [2] |
Basin features | |
Tributaries | |
• left | Kaushalya river |
• right | Markanda river, Sarswati river, Tangri river, Chautang |
Waterbodies | Kaushalya Dam, Ottu barrage |
The Sutlej changed its course about 8,000-10,000 years ago, leaving the Ghaggar-Hakra as a system of monsoon-fed rivers terminating in the Thar Desert.[3][5] The Indus Valley Civilisation prospered when the monsoons that fed the rivers diminished around 5,000 years ago, and a large number of sites from the Mature Indus Valley Civilisation (2600-1900 BCE) are found along the middle course of the (dried-up) Hakra in Pakistan.[note 1] Around 4,000 years ago, the Indus Valley Civilisation declined when the monsoons further diminished, and the Ghaggar-Hakra dried up, becoming a small seasonal river.[7][8][note 2]
Nineteenth and early 20th century scholars, but also some more recent authors, have suggested that the Ghaggar-Hakra might be the defunct remains of the Sarasvati River mentioned in the Rig Veda, fed by Himalayan-fed rivers, despite the fact that the Ghaggar-Hakra had dried up by that time.[9]