Chenab River

2021-07-03T23:12:01Z

103.152.101.114:

{{Short description|Major river in India and Pakistan}}
{{redirect|Chenab|the village in Iran|Chenab, Iran|other article titles containing "Chenab"|Chenab (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Acesines|the river of that name in Sicily|Alcantara (river)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2017}}
{{Infobox river
| name = Chenab
| name_native =
| name_native_lang =
| name_other = {{lang|hi|चिनाब}} / {{lang|pa|ਚਨਾਬ}} / {{lang|ur|{{nq|چناب}}}}
| name_etymology =

| image =
| image_size =
| image_caption =
| map = Chenab.png
| map_size =
| map_caption = Location of the Chenab [http://u.osmfr.org/m/375004/]
| pushpin_map =
| pushpin_map_size =
| pushpin_map_caption=

| subdivision_type1 = Country
| subdivision_name1 = [[India]], [[Pakistan]]
| subdivision_type2 = Flows through (areas in India)
| subdivision_name2 = [[Lahaul]]-[[Chamba district|Chamba]]-[[Kishtwar district|Kishtwar]]-[[Thathri]]-[[Doda district|Doda]]-[[Ramban_(Jammu_and_Kashmir)|Ramban]]-[[Akhnoor]]
| subdivision_type3 = Flows through (areas in Pakistan)
| subdivision_name3 = [[Punjab,_Pakistan|Punjab]]-[[Uch]]
| subdivision_type4 =
| subdivision_name4 =
| subdivision_type5 =
| subdivision_name5 =

| length = {{convert|960|km|mi|abbr=on}}approx.
| width_min =
| width_avg =
| width_max =
| depth_min =
| depth_avg =
| depth_max =
| discharge1_location= [[Marala Headworks]]<ref>ftp://daac.ornl.gov/data/rivdis/STATIONS.HTM{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ORNL, Retrieved 8 Dec 2016</ref>
| discharge1_min = {{convert|310.53|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}
| discharge1_avg = {{convert|977.3|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}
| discharge1_max = {{convert|31148.53|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}

| source1 = [[Bara-lacha la|Baralacha La]] pass
| source1_location = [[Lahul and Spiti district]], [[Himachal Pradesh]], [[India]]
| source1_coordinates= {{coord|32|38|09|N|77|28|51|E|display=inline}}
| source1_elevation =
| mouth = Confluence with [[Sutlej]] to form the [[Panjnad River]]
| mouth_location = [[Bahawalpur district]], [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], [[Pakistan]]
| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|29|20|57|N|71|1|41|E|display=inline,title}}
| mouth_elevation =
| progression =
| river_system = [[Indus River]]
| basin_size =
| tributaries_left = [[Tawi River]]
| tributaries_right = [[Marusadar River]]<ref>{{cite news|title=Construction of power projects over Chenab|url=http://epaper.brecorder.com/story2pdf.php?id=372759&ed=2013-08-26|access-date=16 March 2017|work=Business Recorder|date=26 August 2013|language=en}}</ref>
| custom_label =
| custom_data =
| extra =
}}
The '''Chenab River''' ({{lang-hi|चिनाब}} {{IAST|cināb}}; {{lang-pa|ਚਨਾਬ}} {{IAST|cenāb}}; {{lang-ur|{{nq|چناب}}}} ''čanāb'') is a major river that flows in [[India]] and [[Pakistan]], and is one of the 5 major rivers of the [[Punjab]] region. It is formed by the union of two headwaters, Chandra and Bhaga, which rise in the upper [[Himalayas]] in the [[Lahaul and Spiti district]] of [[Himachal Pradesh]] state, India. Chenab flows through the [[Jammu Division|Jammu region]] of Jammu and Kashmir, [[India]] into the plains of [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], [[Pakistan]], before flowing into the [[Indus River]] near the city of [[Uch Sharif]].

The waters of the Chenab were allocated to Pakistan under the terms of the [[Indus Waters Treaty]]. India is allowed non-consumptive uses such as power generation. The Chenab River is extensively used in Pakistan for irrigation. Its waters are also transferred to the channel of the [[Ravi River]] via numerous link canals.<ref name=Naqvi/><ref>
{{cite web
|title=River Chenab
|url=http://waterinfo.net.pk/pdf/riverchenab.PDF
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927024646/http://waterinfo.net.pk/pdf/riverchenab.PDF
|archive-date=27 September 2007
|df=dmy-all}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/0,,contentMDK:20320047~pagePK:146736~piPK:583444~theSitePK:223547,00.html
|title=Indus Waters Treaty
|publisher=The World Bank
|access-date=8 Dec 2016
}}
</ref>
[[File:View from Gandhola Monastery down the Chenab river. Lahaul.jpg|thumb|View from [[Gandhola Monastery]] down the Chenab river in [[Lahaul]]]]

== Name ==
The Chenab river was called ''{{IAST2|Asikni}}'' ({{lang-sa|असिक्नी}}) in the [[Rigveda]] (VIII.20.25, X.75.5). The name meant that it was seen to have dark-coloured waters.<ref name=Kapoor>{{citation |last=Kapoor |first=Subodh |title=Encyclopaedia of Ancient Indian Geography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JggZAQAAIAAJ |year=2002 |publisher=Cosmo Publications |isbn=978-81-7755-298-0 |page=80}}</ref>{{sfn|Kaul, Antiquities of the Chenāb Valley in Jammu|2001|p=1}} The term Krishana is also found in the [[Atharvaveda]].{{sfn|Kaul, Antiquities of the Chenāb Valley in Jammu|2001|p=2}} A later form of Askikni was ''{{lang|grc-Latn|Iskamati}}'' ({{lang-sa|इस्कामति}}){{citation needed|date=July 2018}} and the Greek form was {{lang-grc|Ἀκεσίνης}} - ''Akesínes''; Latinized to ''Acesines''.<ref name=DGRG>{{Cite DGRG|title=Acesines}}</ref><ref name=Kapoor/>{{sfn|Kaul, Antiquities of the Chenāb Valley in Jammu|2001|p=1}}

In the [[Mahabharata]], the common name of the river was '''Chandrabhaga''' ({{lang-sa|चन्द्रभागा}}) because the river is formed from the confluence of the Chandra and the Bhaga rivers.{{sfn|Kaul, Antiquities of the Chenāb Valley in Jammu|2001|p=2}}<ref name="HandaHāṇḍā1994">{{citation|last1=Handa|first1=O. C.|author2=Omacanda Hāṇḍā|title=Buddhist Art & Antiquities of Himachal Pradesh, Upto 8th Century A.D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6Cqgb9pL3L4C&pg=PA126|year=1994|publisher=Indus Publishing|isbn=978-81-85182-99-5|pages=126–}}</ref> This name was also known to the Ancient Greeks, who Hellenised it in various forms such as ''Sandrophagos'', ''Sandabaga'' and ''Cantabra''.{{sfn|Kaul, Antiquities of the Chenāb Valley in Jammu|2001|p=1}}

The simplification of Chandrabhaga to 'Chenab', with evident Persianate influence, probably occurred in early medieval times and is witnessed in [[Alberuni]].<ref>{{citation |last=Kazmi |first=Hasan Askari |title=The makers of medieval Muslim geography: Alberuni |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ggOAAAAAMAAJ |year=1995 |publisher=Renaissance |page=124|isbn=9788185199610 }}</ref>

== Course ==
{{expand section|date=April 2021}}
The river is formed by the confluence of two rivers, Chandra and Bhaga, at Tandi, 8 km southwest of [[Keylong]], in the [[Lahaul and Spiti district]] in the [[India]]n state of [[Himachal Pradesh]].<ref name=Naqvi/>

The Bhaga river originates from [[Surya taal]] lake, which is situated a few kilometers west of the [[Bara-lacha la]] pass in Himachal Pradesh. The Chandra river originates from glaciers east of the same pass (near [[Chandra Taal]]).<ref name=Naqvi>
{{citation |last=Naqvi |first=Saiyid Ali |title=Indus Waters and Social Change: The Evolution and Transition of Agrarian Society in Pakistan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=45bcAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA13 |date=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press Pakistan |isbn=978-0-19-906396-3 |p=13}}
</ref><ref name="Gosal">
{{cite journal |last=Gosal |first=G.S. |year=2004 |title=Physical Geography of the Punjab |publisher=Center for Sikh and Punjab Studies, University of California |journal=Journal of Punjab Studies |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=31 |issn=0971-5223 |url=http://www.global.ucsb.edu/punjab/journal_11_1/3_gosal.pdf |access-date=2009-08-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120608214642/http://www.global.ucsb.edu/punjab/journal_11_1/3_gosal.pdf |archive-date=8 June 2012 |url-status=dead }}
</ref> This pass also acts as a water-divide between these two rivers.<ref name="Pant">
{{cite journal |author=R. K. Pant |author2=N. R. Phadtare |author3=L. S. Chamyal |author4=Navin Juyal |name-list-style=amp |date=June 2005 |title=Quaternary deposits in Ladakh and Karakoram Himalaya: A treasure trove of the palaeoclimate records |journal=[[Current Science]] |volume=88|issue=11|pages=1789–1798 |url=http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/jun102005/1789.pdf |access-date=2009-08-06 }}
</ref> The Chandra river transverses {{convert|115|km|mi|abbr=on}} before the confluence. The Bhaga river transverses through narrow gorges a distance of {{convert|60|km|mi|abbr=on|}} before the confluence at Tandi.<ref>
{{Cite web |url=http://www.hill-stations-india.com/lahaul-spiti.html |title=Lahaul & Spiti |access-date=7 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416151413/http://www.hill-stations-india.com/lahaul-spiti.html |archive-date=16 April 2019 |url-status=dead }}
</ref>

== History ==
The river was known to Indians in the Vedic period<ref>{{cite book |last1 = Yule |first1=Henry |first2=Arthur Coke |last2=Burnell |first3=William |last3=Crooke | title = Hobson-Jobson: A glossary of Anglo-Indian colloquial words & phrases and of kindred terms |year = 1903 |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_6Z5iAAAAMAAJ/page/n788 741] |publisher =Murray|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_6Z5iAAAAMAAJ|quote = chenab ancient name. }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Chenab |title=River, Chenab River on Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date= 8 Dec 2016}}</ref><ref>[[:wikisource:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Chenab|Encyclopædia Britannica article on the Chenab]]</ref> In 325 BC, [[Alexander the Great]] allegedly founded the town of [[Alexandria on the Indus]] (present day Uch Sharif or Mithankot or Chacharan in Pakistan) at the confluence of the Indus and the combined stream of Punjab rivers (currently known as the [[Panjnad River]]).<ref>[https://www.livius.org/a/pakistan/uch/alexandria.html Alexandria (Uch)]</ref>

==Dams==
The river has rich power generation potential in India.
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[Salal Hydroelectric Power Station|Salal Dam]] - 690 MW hydroelectric power project near [[Reasi]]
* [[Dul Hasti Hydroelectric Plant]] - 390 MW type power project in [[Kishtwar District]]
* [[Pakal Dul Dam]] - a proposed dam on a tributary Marusadar River in [[Kishtwar District]]
* [[Ratle Hydroelectric Plant]] - an under-construction power station near Drabshalla in [[Kishtwar District]]
* Kiru Hydroelectric Power Project (624 MW proposed) located in [[Kishtwar district]]
* Kwar Hydroelectric Power Project (540 MW proposed) located in [[Kishtwar district]]
}}
[[File:Old Bridge over river Chenab at Ramban.jpg|thumb|Old bridge over Chenab river at [[Ramban district|Ramban]], [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]], [[India]]]]

All of these are "[[Run-of-the-river hydroelectricity|run-of-the-river]]" projects as per the [[Indus Water Treaty]] of 1960. The Treaty allocates the Chenab River to Pakistan
. India can use its water for domestic and agricultural uses or for "non-consumptive" uses such as hydro power. India is entitled to store up to {{Convert|1.2|e6acre-ft|e9m3|lk=on|sigfig=2|abbr=off}} of water in its projects. The three projects completed {{as of|2011|lc=y}} (Salal, Baglihar and Dul Hasti) have a combined storage capacity of {{Convert|260|e3acre-ft|e6m3|sigfig=2|abbr=off}}.<ref>{{citation |first1=Gitanjali |last1=Bakshi |first2=Sahiba |last2=Trivedi |title=The Indus Equation |publisher=Strategic Foresight Group |url=http://www.strategicforesight.com/publication_pdf/10345110617.pdf |date=2011 |access-date=28 October 2014 |page=29}}</ref>

Pakistan has four headworks on the Chenab:
* [[Marala Headworks]] - located near [[Sialkot]]
* [[Khanki Headworks]] - located in [[Gujranwala District]]
* [[Qadirabad Headworks]] - located in [[Mandi Bahauddin District]]
* [[Trimmu Barrage]] - located in [[Jhang District]]

==See also==
{{columns-list|colwidth=22em|
*[[Rivers of Jammu and Kashmir]]
*[[Beas River]]
*[[Indus River]]
*[[Jhelum River]]
*[[Ravi River]]
*[[Satluj River]]
}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{Wikisource1911Enc|Chenab}}
{{commons category}}
* {{citation |last=Kaul |first=P. K. |title=Antiquities of the Chenāb Valley in Jammu: Inscriptions-copper Plates, Sanads, Grants, Firmāns & Letters in Brāhmi-Shārdā-Tākri-Persian & Devnāgri Scripts |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ZFuAAAAMAAJ |year=2001 |publisher=Eastern Book Linkers |isbn=9788178540061 |ref={{sfnref|Kaul, Antiquities of the Chenāb Valley in Jammu|2001}}}}

{{Waters of India}}
{{Waters of Pakistan}}
{{Five rivers of the Punjab}}
{{Geo HP}}
{{PunjabGeography}}
{{Hydrography of Jammu and Kashmir}}
{{Waters of South Asia}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Rivers of Himachal Pradesh]]
[[Category:Rigvedic rivers]]
[[Category:Rivers of Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Indus basin]]
[[Category:International rivers of Asia]]
[[Category:Rivers of Punjab (Pakistan)]]
[[Category:Rivers of India]]
[[Category:Rivers in Buddhism]]
[[Category:Rivers of Pakistan]]

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Chenab River