Sankosh (also Mo Chu, and Svarnakosha) is a river that rises in northern

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...

and empties into the

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 ...

in the state of

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

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 ...

. In Bhutan, it is known as the Puna Tsang Chu below the confluences of several tributaries near the town of

Wangdue Phodrang Wangdue Phodrang (, Dzongkha 'Wangdi Phodr'a) is a town and capital (dzongkhag thromde) of Wangdue Phodrang District in central Bhutan. It is located in Thedtsho Gewog. History The town shares its name with the Wangdue Phodrang Dzong built in 1 ...

The two largest tributaries are the Mo Chhu and Pho Chhu, which flow together at

Punakha Punakha ( dz, སྤུ་ན་ཁ་) is the administrative centre of Punakha dzongkhag, one of the 20 districts of Bhutan. Punakha was the capital of Bhutan and the seat of government until 1955, when the capital was moved to Thimphu. It is abo ...

. The Punakha

dzong Dzong architecture is used for dzongs, a distinctive type of fortified monastery ( dz, རྫོང, , ) architecture found mainly in Bhutan and Tibet. The architecture is massive in style with towering exterior walls surrounding a complex of cou ...

, which is situated immediately above the confluence of the two rivers, is one of the most beautiful dzongs in Bhutan and the winter residence of the

Dratshang Lhentshog The Dratshang Lhentshog (Dzongkha: ; Wylie: ''grwa-tshang lhan-tshogs'') is the Commission for the Monastic Affairs of Bhutan. Under the 2008 Constitution, it is the bureaucracy that oversees the Drukpa Kagyu sect of Buddhism, which is the stat ...

. The upper reaches of the Pho Chhu are susceptible to ice blockages, and the dzong has been damaged on several occasions by

glacial lake outburst flood A glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) is a type of outburst flood caused by the failure of a dam containing a glacial lake. An event similar to a GLOF, where a body of water contained by a glacier melts or overflows the glacier, is called a j� ...

s. After it enters in India, it flows on the border of Assam and West Bengal. At Wangdue Phodrang, elevation , the river is joined by the west flowing

Tang Chuu The Tang Chuu is a tributary of the Mo Chhu in western Bhutan. Course It originates in the Himalayas near Thowadra Gompa. It receives numerous hill streams, including the Yenyer Chhu. It joins the Mo Chhu, which later takes on the name of Sank ...

and it enters a precipitous gorge. The highway running south from Wangdue Phodrang to Dagana follows the river for much of its course. Near the town of Takshay is the confluence with the west flowing

Hara Chhu Hara may refer to: Art and entertainment * Hara (band), a Romanian pop-band * ''Hara'' (film), a 2014 Kannada-language drama film * ''Hara'' (sculpture), a 1989 artwork by Deborah Butterfield * Goo Hara Goo Hara (; January 3, 1991 – N ...

. The last major Bhutanese tributary is the

Daga Chhu Daga may refer to: People * Daga (wrestler), Mexican professional wrestler *Dagmara Wozniak, American Olympic saber fencer Geography * Daga District, Bhutan * Daga, Bhutan, capital of Daba District * Daga Hundred, a geographic division in Sweden ...

References

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External links

River System of Bhutan
from "Survey of the Waters of Bhutan Physiography and Fisheries Potential", Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1978 Rivers of Bhutan Rivers of Assam International rivers of Asia Rivers of India {{India-river-stub