The Ken River is one of the major
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...
s in the
Bundelkhand
Bundelkhand (, ) is a geographical and cultural region and a proposed state and also a mountain range in central & North India. The hilly region is now divided between the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with the larger portion l ...
region of central
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
and flows through the states of
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the second ...
and
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 195 ...
. It is a tributary of the
Yamuna
The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of B ...
.
Course
The Ken River originates near the village Ahirgawan on the north-west slopes of
Barner Range in
Katni district and travels a distance of 427 km, before merging with the Yamuna at Chilla village, district Banda in Uttar Pradesh at
Ken has an overall
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
of 28,058 km
2, out of which 12,620 km
2 belong to
Sonar River
The River Sunar (also called Sonar) is a rain-fed river in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
Geography
The Sunar flows in the Bundelkhand region in Damoh district. Its overall length is more than 250 kilometres. It flows south to north like al ...
its largest tributary, whose entire basin lies in Madhya Pradesh; and along its course it receives water from its own tributaries such as Bawas, Dewar, Kaith and Baink on the left bank, and Kopra and Bearma of the right. Out of its total length of it flows for in Madhya Pradesh, in Uttar Pradesh, and forms the boundary between the two states.
Crossing the
Bijawar-Panna hills, the Ken River cuts a 60 km long, and 150–180 m deep gorge. Several streams join the Ken in this gorge making waterfalls. The Ken valley separates the
Rewa Plateau from the Satna Plateau.
Tourist attraction
The
Raneh Falls
The Raneh Falls is a natural waterfall on the Ken River, located in Khajuraho in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
The falls
The Ken River forms a long, and deep canyon made of pure crystalline granite in varying shades of colours ranging ...
on the Ken river and Ken Ghariyal Sanctuary are tourist attractions. The rocks formed here present different hues and are made of Granite, Dolomite and Quartz.
Gangau Dam has been constructed at the confluence of the Ken and Simri rivers. The Ken River passes through
Panna National Park.
The banks of the Ken River have quite a few castles which were used by the
Rajputs
Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...
of this region. Nowadays, some of these castles are occupied by dacoits and are a cause for worry for the local police. These castles are in such a state of ruin that the walls are difficult to see from below the hill they are built on and ruins of only key buildings still exist. Some of these castles make for a good trek.
It is famous for the rare semi-precious stone known as ''Shahjar'' or ''Shazar'' , a transparent form of the mineral
Agate
Agate () is a common rock formation, consisting of chalcedony and quartz as its primary components, with a wide variety of colors. Agates are primarily formed within volcanic and metamorphic rocks. The ornamental use of agate was common in Anci ...
containing
dendrites
Dendrites (from Greek δένδρον ''déndron'', "tree"), also dendrons, are branched protoplasmic extensions of a nerve cell that propagate the electrochemical stimulation received from other neural cells to the cell body, or soma, of the ...
.
Banda
Banda may refer to:
People
* Banda (surname)
* Banda Prakash (born 1954), Indian politician
* Banda Kanakalingeshwara Rao (1907–1968), Indian actor
* Banda Karthika Reddy (born 1977), Indian politician
*Banda Singh Bahadur (1670–1716), Sikh ...
city is located on banks of river Ken.
References
{{Authority control
Rivers of Madhya Pradesh
Rivers of Uttar Pradesh
Tributaries of the Yamuna River
Rivers of India