Swat River

The Swat River (Urdu: دریائے سوات, Pashto: سوات سیند) is a perennial river in the northern region of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. The river's source is in the high glacial valleys of the Hindu Kush mountains, where it then flows into the Kalam Valley before forming the spine of the wider Swat Valley.

Swat River سوات
Course of the Swat (interactive map)
Location
Country	Pakistan
Province	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
District	Swat
Physical characteristics
Source	Hindu Kush Mountains
Source confluence	Usho and Gabral rivers
• location	Kalam
Mouth	Kabul River
• location	Charsadda
Length	240 km (150 mi)
Basin size	13,000 km2 (5,000 sq mi)
Discharge
• location	Munda
• average	280 cubic m/s
Basin features
Tributaries
• left	Ushu Khwar, Bashigram Khwar
• right	Daral Khwar, Gabral Khwar

Name

The word Swat comes from the Sanskrit name Suvāstu which may^[ambiguous] mean "clear blue water."^[1] Another theory derives the word Swat from the Sanskrit word shveta (lit. 'white'), also used to describe the clear water of the Swat River.^[2] To the ancient Greeks, the river was known as the Soastus.^[3][4][5][2] The Chinese pilgrim Faxian referred to Swat as the Su-ho-to.^[6]

Course

The Swat's source lies in the Hindu Kush mountains, from where it is fed by glacial waters throughout the year. From the high valleys of Swat Kohistan, the river begins at the confluence of the Usho, and Gabral rivers (also known as the Utrar River) at Kalam. From the confluence, the Swat river flows through the narrow gorges of the Kalam Valley until the city of Madyan. From there, the river courses gently for 160 km (99 mi) through the plain areas of the lower Swat Valley until Chakdara. In the extreme southern end of the Swat valley, the river enters a narrow gorge and joins the Panjkora River, at Qalangi before entering the Peshawar Valley. It finally terminates in Kabul River, near Charsadda.

Discharge

The average discharge at Munda is 280 cubic metres (9,900 cu ft) per second.^[7]

Economic impact

Swat River plays an important role in the economy of the valley. Lower reaches of the Swat and Malakand Valley are irrigated by a series of canals regulated by the Amandara Headworks - built by the British in 1903.^[8]

The Upper Swat Canal flows under the Malakand Pass through Benton Tunnel, completed in 1914. Below Dargai, the Munda Headworks, built by the British in 1921,^[9] feed canals that supply numerous smaller canals in the districts of Charsadda, Swabi and Mardan in the Peshawar Valley. The river also recharges water wells and springs through seepage.

Hydropower

Swat's waters are used for hydropower generation at the Jabban Hydropower Plant (completed in 1938), and Dargai Hydropower Plant (completed in 1952). The Mohmand Dam, at the lower end of the Swat River's course before it enters into the Peshawar valley, has an installed generation capacity of 740 MW and is under construction.^[10] Proposed hydropower projects along the river's course are Asrit Kedam HPP,^[11] Gabral HPP^[12] and Matiltan HPP.^[13]

Gallery

• 
  Upper reaches of the Swat River in the Kalam Valley
• 
  The town of Bahrain, built along the river
• 
  Lower reaches of the Swat River valley
• 
  The Amluk-Dara stupa, one of many ancient Buddhist sites scattered throughout the river's valley

See also

• Rigvedic rivers
• Swat, Pakistan
• Barikot