Bhote Koshi in Nepal and Poiqu in Tibet (both names roughly mean "Tibetan river") is the name given to the upper course (main tributary) of the Sun Kosi river.[2][3] It is part of the Koshi River system in Nepal.[1]
| Bhote Koshi / Poiqu | |
|---|---|
 Bhote Koshi near the Tibetan border during dry season | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Zhangzangbo Glacier, Tibet Autonomous Region |
| • elevation | 8,012 m (26,286 ft) |
| Mouth | |
• location | Sun Kosi near Balephi, Sindhupalchowk, Nepal |
• coordinates | 27°43′58″N 85°46′47″E |
• elevation | 640 m (2,100 ft)[1] |
| Basin features | |
| River system | Koshi River |
| Poiqu | |||||||||
| Tibetan name | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tibetan | བོད་ཆུ | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | river of Tibet | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 波曲 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Matsang Tsangpo | |||||||||
| Tibetan name | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tibetan | མ་གཙང་གཙང་པོ། | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 麻章藏布 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Bhote Kosi | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 波特科西 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 波特科西 | ||||||
| |||||||
| Nepali name | |||||||
| Nepali | भोटे कोशी | ||||||
Names and etymology
Bhote koshi is the Nepalese name (Nepali: भोटे कोशी, romanized: Bhōṭē kōśī). In Nepali language, the word "bhoṭe" or "bhoṭiyā" means Tibetan;[4] and the word "kosi" means river.[5] As such, the name is not unique, the western tributary of the upper Dudh Koshi is also called Bhote Koshi.[6]
It was called Po Chu (Tibetan: བོད་ཆུ, ZYPY: Bod chu) by early 1990s Everest expeditions,[7] which name means the "river of Tibet."[8] It is spelt Poiqu or Boqu (Chinese: 波曲) in Chinese sources.[9][10][11]
The Tibetan name of the river is Matsang Tsangpo (Tibetan: མ་གཙང་གཙང་པོ།).[9][10]
River course
The headwaters of the Poiqu and Bhote-Sun Koshi River are located at the Zhangzangbo Glacier in Tibet.[12] The river flows out of the Lumi Chimi lake. When entering Nepal, it is called the Bhote Koshi. Further downstream, from the village of Bahrabise onwards, it is called the Sun Koshi.[1]
Hazards
In July 1981, a sudden ice avalanche caused a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood in the moraine-dammed Zhangzangbu-Cho Lake in the headwaters of the Bhote Koshi. The ensuing debris flow destroyed bridges, and sections of both the Arniko and the Nepal–China highways.[13]
Tourism and sports
The Bhote Kosi is used for both rafting and kayaking. It is the steepest river rafted in Nepal, with a gradient of 15 m per km. Bungee jumping or swinging over the Bhote Kosi has been described as the ‘ultimate experience’.[14]
The river carves a steep and direct drop at the top that gradually eases to more placid streams and calmer pools with a 46-km run at the Lamosunga dam. The rapids are class IV-V at high flow, and III at lower levels. The river is steep and continuous with one rapid leading into another.
References
External links
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