The Indravati River ( ne,
इन्द्रावती नदी) in
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
is a tributary of the
Sun Koshi River.
[Sharma, U. P. (1996). ''Ecology of the Koshi river in Nepal-India (north Bihar): a typical river ecosystem''. In: Jha, P. K., Ghimire, G. P. S., Karmacharya, S. B., Baral, S. R., Lacoul, P. (eds.) ''Environment and biodiversity in the context of South Asia''. Proceedings of the Regional Conference on Environment and Biodiversity, March 7–9, 1994, Kathmandu. Ecological Society, Kathmandu. Pp 92–99.] It used to be called "Melamchi" or
"Melamchu" until the 19th century.
Course
The source of the Indravati River is located in the south-facing slopes of the
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 ...
. Its upper course is characterized by a steep gradient, precipitous slopes, huge boulders and rocks in the river valley, and large
rapids. It flows through alpine, sub-alpine and temperate forests. Settlements occur along its lower course. The Indravati's catchment area includes the eastern slopes of the
Kathmandu
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, subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...
basin and extends to the Indravati – Sun Koshi water divide.
The Indravati meets the Sun Koshi at Dolalghat, located on the
Arniko Highway that links Kathmandu with the Nepal-
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, Taman ...
border.
Koshi River system
The Koshi River drains eastern Nepal. It is also known as Saptkoshi River because of the seven rivers joining in east-central Nepal to form this river. The main rivers forming the Koshi River system are Sun Koshi, Indravati, Tamma Koshi(or Tama Koshi),
Bhote Koshi,
Dudh Kosi
Dudh Koshi (दुधकोशी नदी, ''Milk-Koshi River'') is a river in eastern Nepal. It is the highest river in terms of elevation.
Koshi river system
The Kosi River, or Sapt Koshi, drains eastern up. It is known as Sapta Koshi because ...
,
Arun and
Tamur River
The Tamor River is a major river in eastern Nepal, which begins around Kanchenjunga. The Tamor and the Arun join the Sun Koshi at Tribenighat to form the giant Saptakoshi which flows through Mahabharat Range on to the Gangetic plain
Koshi rive ...
s. The Saptkoshi River flows through the
Chatra Gorge
The Chatra Gorge is a canyon cut by the Kosi River across the Mahabharat Range in Nepal.
Kosi river system
The Kosi, or Sapt Kosi, drains eastern Nepal. It is known as Sapt Koshi because of the seven rivers which join together in east-central Nep ...
in a southerly direction into northern
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...
and joins 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 ...
.
[
]
Quake
The April 2015 Nepal earthquake
The April 2015 Nepal earthquake (also known as the Gorkha earthquake) killed 8,964 people and injured 21,952 more. It occurred at on Saturday, 25 April 2015, with a magnitude of 7.8 Mw or 8.1 Ms and a maximum Mercalli Intensity of X (''Extreme ...
rupture began 80 km to the northwest of Kathmandu, and propagated eastward for about 130 km, rupturing the area directly located under the capital city of Nepal. The rupture ends in the general zone of the western fringes of the Indravati river.[http://earthquake-report.com/2015/04/25/massive-earthquake-nepal-on-april-25-2015/ subsection ''May 9 Update 10:52 UTC'']
References
{{Kosi basin
Rivers of Bagmati Province