About the
Middle course
of Ganga
By Adhvik, Gourish, Arjun, Mahadev,
& Mohneesh
What landforms are formed in the
Middle course?
The landforms
which are form
are:
Meanders
Oxbow Lakes
Tributaries
About Meanders?
The word “meanders” is derived
from the name of small winding
river’s meanders in Turkey.
Meanders does the longitudinal
bends of river courses.
Every bend of the river course has
two slopes.
A concave slope where the river
strikes valley sides directly. This
side is stepper and is referred to
as the cliff slope side.
A convex side receives the
deposition of sand and gravel.
This site is characterized by a
gentle slope and is referred to as
a slip-off side. Thus, Meanders
are a result of both erosion and
deposition.
The shape of the meander is
semi-circular through it may be
circular.
In a river, meanders are almost in
every terrain. However, the
magnitude varies according to the
slope of the terrain. It’s the most
pronounced in an even and
gentle slope.
In India, The Gomti River is a
typical example of a highly
meandering stream.
About Oxbow Lakes?
They are also referred as cut-outs or buyouts in the Mississippi basin.
Oxbow lakes are formed in the lower course of the river when a meander becomes more pronounced. The concave
side of the meander is rapidly eroded and results in a complete circle. The curvature becomes so sharp due to lateral
erosion that the rivers break through the meander and form a loop. This is known as Oxbow lakes.
Like meanders, oxbow lakes owe their origin to both erosion and deposition.
In addition to Meander River of Turkey, the Mississippi of the USA, the Ganga of India, and the Po of Italy are famous
for Oxbow lakes.
A tributary is a small river or stream that
flows into a larger river.
About
tributaries?
It increases the amount of water in the
main river.
Tributaries join the main river at the point
called a Confluence.
They help drain water from the
surrounding land.
About the main
topic:
• The middle course of the Ganga runs through the
fertile Indo-Gangetic plains of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar,
from where it debouches from the Himalayas at
Haridwar to the Rajmahal Hills in Jharkhand. In this
section, the river's gradient is low, causing it to slow
down, widen, and meander.
Key Features of the Middle Course:
Geography and Flow: The river
transitions from the steep, narrow
gorges of the Himalayas to the vast,
flat Indo-Gangetic Plain. The low
gradient in this section leads to
lateral erosion and the formation of
extensive floodplains, natural
levees, and river cliffs.
Tributaries: The middle course is
where the Ganga is joined by its
major tributaries, which
significantly increase its volume and
sediment load.
Left-bank tributaries (from the
north/Himalayas): Ramganga,
Gomti, Ghaghara, Gandak, Kosi, and
Mahananda.
Significance: This region is the
heartland of the densely populated
Gangetic plain, supporting
extensive agricultural activity due
to its extremely fertile alluvial soil.
It is also a region of immense
cultural and religious importance,
with numerous ancient and major
Right-bank tributaries (from the
south/Peninsular Plateau): Yamuna
(the largest tributary by length and
discharge, joining at Prayagraj),
Tons, and Son.
Major Cities Along the Middle
Course:
Several key urban centers are situated along this stretch of the river:
Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh)
Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad) (Uttar Pradesh), site of the Triveni Sangam where the Yamuna joins the
Ganga
Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities and a major spiritual hub
Patna (Bihar), an ancient capital city
Bhagalpur (Bihar)
Sahibganj (Jharkhand)
Human activities
near the Ganga
River:
• Human activities near the Ganga River
include agricultural irrigation, industrial and
municipal waste discharge, and religious practices
like bathing and cremations, which significantly
impact the river's ecosystem and water quality.
Other activities include building dams and
barrages, fishing, and urban development, all
contributing to pollution and altering the river's
flow and morphology.
Ganga’s pollution
issues and
challenges:
• The Ganges River faces severe pollution
from sewage, industrial waste, and
agricultural runoff, exacerbated by
religious and cultural practices. Major
challenges include inadequate sewage
treatment infrastructure, over-extraction
of water, and the difficulty of balancing
religious rituals with environmental
protection. These issues have resulted in
high levels of contamination, impacting
public health and the river’s ecosystem.
The Reference of the formation of oxbow lakes: