The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...
in northern
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
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...
of the
Indus River. The
Bhakra Dam is built around the river Sutlej to provide irrigation and other facilities to the states of Punjab,
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern ...
and
Haryana
Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ...
.
The waters of the Sutlej are allocated to India under the
Indus Waters Treaty
The Indus Water Treaty (IWT) is a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan, arranged and negotiated by the World Bank, to use the water available in the Indus River and its tributaries. It was signed in Karachi on 19 September 1960 b ...
between India and Pakistan, and are mostly diverted to irrigation canals in India like the
Sirhind Canal
The Sirhind Canal is a large irrigation canal that carries water from the Sutlej River in Punjab state, India. It is one of the oldest and biggest irrigation works in the Indus river system, and was inaugurated in 1882 CE. The canal begins at R ...
, Bhakra Main Line and the
Rajasthan canal
The Indira Gandhi Canal (originally, Rajasthan Canal) is the longest canal in India. It starts at the Harike Barrage near Harike, a few kilometers downriver from the confluence of the Satluj and Beas rivers in Punjab state, and ends in irri ...
. The mean annual flow is 14 million acre feet (MAF) upstream of
Ropar barrage, downstream of the Bhakra dam. It has several major hydroelectric points, including the 1,325
MW Bhakra Dam, the 1,000 MW
Karcham Wangtoo Hydroelectric Plant
The Karcham Wangtoo Hydroelectric Plant is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric power station on the Sutlej River in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh state of India.
Etymology
The dam and power station are located between the villages o ...
, and the 1,500 MW
Nathpa Jhakri Dam
The Nathpa Jhakri Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Sutlej river in Himachal Pradesh, India. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power production and it supplies a underground power station with water. Before reaching the powe ...
. The
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, ...
in India includes the states and union territories of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Ladakh and Haryana.
Course
The source of the Sutlej is west of the
catchment area
In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...
of
Lake Rakshastal
Lake Rakshastal (;Sanskrit: राक्षसताल; ) is a saltwater lake in Tibet Autonomous Region, China, lying just west of Lake Manasarovar and south of Mount Kailash. The Sutlej River (also known by the Tibetan name Langqen ...
in
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
, as springs in an
ephemeral
Ephemerality (from the Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences, f ...
stream. Lake Rakshastal used to be part of the Sutlej river basin long ago and separated from the Sutlej due to tectonic activity. The nascent river flows at first west-northwest for about under the Tibetan name ''
Langqên Zangbo
The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the Ind ...
'' (''Elephant River'' or ''Elephant Spring'') to the
Shipki La pass, entering India in
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several pea ...
state. It then has its main
knee heading west-southwest for about to meet the
Beas River near
Harike,
Tarn Taran district,
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...
state.
Ropar Wetland
Ropar Wetland, also named Ropar Lake, is a man-made freshwater riverine and lacustrine wetland. The area has at least 9 mammal, 154 bird (migratory and local), 35 fish, 9 arthropod, 11 rotifer, 9 crustacean and 10 protozoan species, making ...
in
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...
state is located on the Sutlej river basin. Evidence suggests
Indus Valley civilisation
The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900& ...
also flourished here. Ungti Chu and Pare Chu rivers which drain southeastern part of
Ladakh
Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu a ...
are tributaries of Sutlej river.
Continuing west-southwest, the Sutlej enters Pakistan about east of
Bhedian Kalan,
Kasur District,
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...
province, continuing southwest to water the ancient and historical former
Bahawalpur princely state. Few centuries ago, Sutlej river was merging with the
Ghaggar river
The Ghaggar-Hakra River is an intermittent river in India and Pakistan that flows only during the monsoon season. The river is known as Ghaggar in India, before the Ottu barrage, and as the Hakra in Pakistan, downstream of the barrage, endin ...
to discharge in to the Arabian sea. In approx. 1797 BC, the course of the Sutlej river moved towards north to join the
Beas river.
About north of
Uch Sharif, the Sutlej unites with the
Chenab River, forming the
Panjnad River, which finally flows into the Indus river about west of the city of
Bahawalpur. The area to the southeast on the Pakistani side of the Indian border is called the
Cholistan Desert and, on the Indian side, the
Thar Desert
The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is an arid region in the north-western part of the Subcontinent that covers an area of and forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan. It is the world's 20th-largest desert, ...
.
The Indus then flows through a
gorge near
Sukkur and the fertile plains region of
Sindh, forming a large delta region between the border of
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
, India and Pakistan, finally terminating in the
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channe ...
near the
port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...
city of
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
, Pakistan. During floods, Indus river water flows in to Indian part of
Great Rann of Kutch. Thus Gujarat state of India is also a riparian state of Indus river as
Rann of Kutch area lying west of
Kori Creek in the state is part of the
Indus River Delta.
Puranic Mention and Etymology
In the Chaitra-Ratha Parva of
Adi Parva The ''Adi Parva'' or ''The Book of the Beginning'' is the first of eighteen books of the Mahabharata. "Adi" ( आदि, Ādi) is a Sanskrit word that means "first".
Adi Parva traditionally has 19 parts and 236 adhyayas (chapters). The critical edi ...
of
Mahābhārata, when sage
Vasishṭha wants to commit suicide he sees the river named Haimāvata (whose source is Himavat), flooded and full of crocodiles and other aquatic monsters. So he jumps into the river. The river thinking that Vasishṭha is a mass of unquenchable fire dilated itself and flew in a hundred different directions. Henceforth the river was named śatadra (or śatadru) which means the river of a hundred courses. So, Vasishṭha landed on dry land and was unharmed.
Langqên Zangbo
''Langqên Zangbo'' (; ) is a river in
Ngari,
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
. The name ''Langqên'', Tibetan for "elephant", is because of a valley that resembles an elephant trunk. This river is the main source of the Sutlej, a tributary of
Indus River. It enters
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 ...
at
Shipki La pass. The source is south of
Gangdise Range, in Ngari Prefecture. Its course is mainly in the
Zanda County. The river drains an area of 22,760 km
2, and covers a length of 309 km. The drop in height is 3,256 m. Historically, the river was the centre of the
Zhangzhung Kingdom until its fall in the 8th century AD.
Geology
Sutlej is an
antecedent river, which existed before the Himalayas and
entrenched itself while they were rising. The Sutlej, along with all of the Punjab rivers, is thought to have drained east into the
Ganges
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
prior to 5
mya.
There is substantial geologic evidence to indicate that prior to 1700 BC, and perhaps much earlier, the Sutlej was an important tributary of the
Ghaggar-Hakra River (thought to be the legendary
Sarasvati River
The Sarasvati River () is a deified river first mentioned in the Rigveda and later in Vedic and post-Vedic texts. It played an important role in the Vedic religion, appearing in all but the fourth book of the Rigveda.
As a physical river, ...
) rather than the Indus, with various authors putting the redirection from 2500 to 2000 BC, from 5000 to 3000 BC, or before 8000 BC. Geologists believe that
tectonic activity created elevation changes which redirected the flow of Sutlej from the southeast to the southwest. If the diversion of the river occurred recently (about 4000 years ago), it may have been responsible for the Ghaggar-Hakra (Saraswati) drying up, causing desertification of
Cholistan and the eastern part of the modern state of
Sindh, and the abandonment of
Harappan settlements along the Ghaggar. However, the Sutlej may have already been
captured by the Indus thousands of years earlier.
There is some evidence that the high rate of erosion caused by the modern Sutlej River has influenced the local faulting and rapidly exhumed rocks above
Rampur. This would be similar to, but on a much smaller scale than, the exhumation of rocks by the Indus River in
Nanga Parbat, Pakistan. The Sutlej River also exposes a doubled inverted
metamorphic gradient.
Sutlej-Yamuna Link
There has been a proposal to build a long heavy freight and irrigation canal, to be known as the
Sutlej-Yamuna Link
Satluj Yamuna Link Canal or SYL as it is popularly known, is an under-construction long canal in India to connect the Sutlej and Yamuna rivers. (SYL) to connect the Sutlej and
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 ...
rivers. The project is intended to connect the Ganges, which flows to the east coast of the subcontinent, with points west, via Pakistan. When completed, the SYL would enable inland shipping from India's east coast to its west coast (on the Arabian sea) without having to round the southern tip of India by sea, vastly shortening shipping distances, alleviating pressures on seaports, avoiding sea hazards, creating business opportunities along the route, raising real estate values, raising tax revenue, and establishing important commercial links and providing jobs for north-central India's large population. However, the proposal has met with obstacles and has been referred to the
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...
. To augment nearly 100
tmcft water availability for the needs of this link canal,
Tso Moriri lake/Lingdi Nadi (a tributary of Tso Moriri lake) waters can be diverted to the Sutlej basin by digging a 10 km long gravity canal to connect to the Ungti Chu river.
History
The Upper Sutlej Valley, called
Langqên Zangbo
The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the Ind ...
in
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
, was once known as the
Garuda
Garuda ( Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garu ...
Valley by the
Zhangzhung, the ancient civilization of western
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
. The Garuda Valley was the centre of their empire, which stretched many miles into the nearby
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
. The Zhangzhung built a towering palace in the Upper Sutlej Valley called
Kyunglung, the ruins of which still exist today near the village of
Moincêr, southwest of
Mount Kailash (Mount Ti-se). Eventually, the Zhangzhung were conquered by the
Tibetan Empire. Sutlej river also formed the eastern boundary of the
Sikh Empire under Maharajah
Ranjit Singh.
Today, the Sutlej Valley is inhabited by nomadic descendants of the Zhangzhung, who live in tiny villages of
yak herders.
The Sutlej was the main medium of transportation for the kings of that time. In the early 18th century, it was used to transport
devdar woods for
Bilaspur district,
Hamirpur district, and other places along the Sutlej's banks.
Of four rivers (
Indus, Sutlej,
Brahmaputra
The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. It ...
and
Karnali/
Ganges
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
) mythically flowing out of holy
Lake Manasarovar
Lake Manasarovar (Sanskrit: मानसरोवर), also called Mapam Yutso (;) locally, is a high altitude freshwater lake fed by the Kailash Glaciers near Mount Kailash in Burang County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. ...
, the Sutlej is actually connected by channels that are dry most of the time. Earlier the river was also called as Shutudri or Zaradros river.
Gallery
Image:Sutlej Valley from Rampur ca. 1857.jpg, Sutlej Valley from Rampur c. 1857
File:Crossing the Sutlej near Simla upon inflated animal skins.jpeg, Using inflated animal skins to cross the Sutlej River, c. 1905
File:Kinnaur 392.jpg, Sutlej River in Kinnaur
Kinnaur is one of the twelve administrative districts of the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India. The district is divided into three administrative areas (Kalpa, Nichar (Bhabanagar), and Pooh) and has six tehsils. The administrative ...
Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India
File:Satluj P012.JPG, Cattle grazing on the banks of the river in Rupnagar
Rupnagar (; formerly known as Ropar is a city and a municipal council in Rupnagar district in the Indian state of Punjab. Rupnagar is a newly created fifth Divisional Headquarters of Punjab comprising Rupnagar, Mohali, and its adjoining di ...
, Punjab, India
File:Satluj river.JPG, Satluj River near Shahkot, Punjab, India
File:"Hungarung Pass in the Himalayas" (nowadays called Shipki La, where the Sutlej River enters India from Tibet), from the Illustrated London News, 1856.jpg, Sutlej entering India from Tibet near Shipki La, c. 1856
See also
*
List of rivers of India
This is a list of rivers of India, starting in the west and moving along the Indian coast southward, then northward. Tributary rivers are listed hierarchically in upstream order: the lower in the list, the more upstream.
The overall discharge of r ...
*
List of rivers of Pakistan
This is a list of rivers wholly or partly in Pakistan, organised geographically by river basin, from west to east. Tributaries are listed from the mouth to the source. The longest and the largest river in Pakistan is the Indus River. Around two-t ...
*
Cis-Sutlej states
The Cis-Sutlej states were a group of states in the modern Punjab and Haryana states of northwestern India during the 19th century, lying between the Sutlej River on the north, the Himalayas on the east, the Yamuna River and Delhi District on the ...
*
Sulemanki Headworks
Sulemanki Headworks is a headworks on the River Sutlej near Okara, in the Punjab province of Pakistan.
Sulemanki Headworks is used for irrigation and flood control.
Sulemanki Headworks is part of the Sutlej Valley Project completed between 1922 ...
*
Geology of the Himalaya
References
External links
Sutlej basinmarked on OpenStreetMap.
Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal is So Controversial?Wissurge,26 August 2020
{{Authority control
Tributaries of the Indus River
Indus basin
Rivers of Tibet
Rivers of Sindh
International rivers of Asia
Rivers of Himachal Pradesh
Rivers of Punjab, India
Rigvedic rivers
India–Pakistan border
Border rivers
Rivers of India
Rivers of Punjab (Pakistan)
Rivers in Buddhism
Rivers of Pakistan