The Lidder or Liddar (

Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to: * People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir * Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley * Kashmiri language, the language of the Kashmiris ethnic group People with the nam ...

: لیٔدٕر,

IPA IPA commonly refers to: * International Phonetic Alphabet, a system of phonetic notation ** International Phonetic Association, the organization behind the alphabet * India pale ale, a style of beer * Isopropyl alcohol, a chemical compound IPA ...

: /lʲədɨr/, ) is a river situated in the

Kashmir Valley The Kashmir Valley, also known as the Vale of Kashmir, is an intermontane valley in northern Jammu and Kashmir, a region in Indian-administered Kashmir.(a) (subscription required) Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcont ...

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It originates from the Kolahoi Glacier and feeds the

Jhelum River The Jhelum River is a major river in South Asia, flowing through India and Pakistan, and is the westernmost of the five major rivers of the Punjab region. It originates at Verinag and flows through the Indian-administered territory of Jammu ...

in Mirgund Khanabal, at an altitude of .

Etymology

''Lidder'' is a corruption of the local

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

name ''Lambodari'' (लम्बोदरी) meaning 'long bellied goddess'.

Geography

Natural view of Jammu and Kashmir at Betaab Valley

The river originates from

Kolhoi Glacier Kolahoi Peak (locally called 'Gashe-braed' meaning Illuminated Cat) is a mountain with peak elevation of located in Lidder Valley, Jammu and Kashmir. Kolahoi Peak is easily accessible through Aru Pahalgam. The mountain is the highest mountain ...

near

Sonamarg Sonamarg or Sonmarg (), known as Sonamarag (; ) in Kashmiri, is a hill station located in the Ganderbal District of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located about 62 kilometers from Ganderbal Town and northeast of the capital city, Srinaga ...

and gives rise to

Lidder Valley The Lidder Valley or Liddar ValleyKaul, Manmohan N., ''Glacial and Fluvial Geomorphology of Western Himalaya,'' South Asia Books, 1990, p. 23, is a Himalayan sub-valley that forms the southeastern corner of Anantnag district in Indian-administ ...

. It runs southwards through the alpine meadows of ''Lidderwat'' in the region of Aru, from which it got its name. It covers before reaching

Pahalgam Pahalgam () or Pahalgom () is a town in Anantnag district of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located on the banks of Lidder River at an altitude of in the Vale of Kashmir. Pahalgam is the headquarters of the Pahalga ...

where it joins the major tributary of the East Lidder from

Sheshnag Lake Sheshnag Lake ( ; ) is an alpine high elevation oligotrophic lake located in Amarnath in the Anantnag district of Kashmir Valley in Jammu and Kashmir, India at an elevation of 3590 meters. It is situated on the track leading to the Amarnath ...

. It then runs westwards until it meets the

Jehlum River The Jhelum River is a major river in South Asia, flowing through India and Pakistan, and is the westernmost of the five major rivers of the Punjab region. It originates at Verinag and flows through the Indian-administered territory of Jammu ...

at Mirgund Khanabal near

Anantnag Anantnag ( ; ), also called Islamabad ( ; ), is the administrative headquarters of Anantnag district of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "admi ...

. It has crystal blue-coloured water and Pahalgam is situated in the center of Lidder Valley.

Economy

The waters of the river are mainly used for

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

purposes through different canals and as drinking water processed by water treatment plants. There are many different varieties of fish present in the river and a fisheries plant has been built on the banks of the river. The major types of fish found in the river are the

river trout ''Salmo trutta fario'', sometimes called the river trout, is a river-dwelling freshwater predatory fish from the genus ''Salmo'' of the family Salmonidae. It is one of the three main subspecies of the brown trout (''Salmo trutta''), besides sea ...

(''Salmo trutta fario'') and

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributary, tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead (sometimes called steelhead trout) is an Fish migration#Classification, ...

(''Oncorhynchus mykiss'').

References

External links

* {{Hydrography of Jammu and Kashmir Kashmir Rivers of Jammu and Kashmir Indus basin