The Meghna () is one of the major

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

s in Bangladesh, one of the three that form the

Ganges Delta The Ganges Delta (also known the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, the Sundarbans Delta or the Bengal Delta) is a river delta predominantly covering the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, consisting of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Be ...

, the largest delta on earth, which fans out to the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

. A part of the Surma-Meghna River System, the Meghna is formed inside Bangladesh in

Kishoreganj District Kishoreganj District () is a district in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh. Earlier it was a ''mahakuma'' (sub-division) under Mymensingh District, Mymensingh district. 2495.07 km2 of land was taken from Mymensingh District, Mymensingh district to fo ...

above the town of Bhairab Bazar by the joining of the Surma and the Kushiyara, both of which originate in the hilly regions of eastern India as the

Barak River The Barak River or Barbakro or Agu flows through the states of Manipur, Mizoram and Assam in India. It flows into Bangladesh where it bifurcates into the Surma river and the Kushiyara river which converge again to become the Meghna river before ...

. The Meghna meets its major tributary, the Padma, in Chandpur District. Other major tributaries of the Meghna include the Dhaleshwari, the Gumti, and the Feni. The Meghna empties into the Bay of Bengal in

Bhola District Bhola District () is an administrative district of Barisal Division in south-central Bangladesh, which includes Bhola Island, the largest island of Bangladesh. It has an area of 3,403.48 km2. It is bounded by Lakshmipur and Barisal Distri ...

via four principal mouths, named Tetulia (Ilsha), Shahbazpur, Hatia, and Bamni. Boat in meghna river

Upper Meghna

Course

The Meghna is formed by the confluence of the Surma and Kushiyara rivers originating from the hilly regions of eastern India. Down to Chandpur, Meghna is hydrographically referred to as the Upper Meghna. After the Padma joins, it is referred to as the Lower Meghna. Near Muladhuli in

Barisal Barisal ( or ; , ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal District and Barisal Divi ...

district, the Safipur River is an offshoot of the Surma that creates one of the main rivers in South Bengal. 1.5 km wide, this river is one of the widest in the country as well. At Chatalpar of

Brahmanbaria District Brahmanbaria District () is a district in eastern Bangladesh located in the Chittagong Division. Geographically, it is mostly farmland and is topographically part of the Gangetic Plain. It is bounded by the districts of Kishoreganj District, Kish ...

, the river Titas emerges from Meghna and after circling two large bends by a distance of about , falls into the Meghna again near Nabinagar Upazila. The Titas forms as a single stream but braids into two distinct streams that remain separate before re-joining the Meghna. In Daudkandi, ( Comilla District), the Meghna is joined by the Gumti River, which increases the Meghna water flow considerably. The pair of bridges over the Meghna and Gumti are two of the country's largest bridges. The Meghna is reinforced by the Dhaleshwari before Chandpur. Further down, the

Padma River The Padma () is a major river in Bangladesh. It is the eastern and main distributary of the Ganges, flowing generally southeast for to its confluence with the Meghna River, near the Bay of Bengal. The city of Rajshahi is situated on the banks ...

- the largest distributary of the Ganges in Bangladesh, along with the

Jamuna River The Jamuna River () is one of the three main rivers of Bangladesh. The two other major rivers in Bangladesh are the Padma and the Meghna. The Jamuna is the lower stream of the Brahmaputra River, which originates in Tibet as Yarlung Tsangpo, ...

- the largest distributary of the Brahmaputra, join with the Meghna in Chandpur District, resulting in the Lower Meghna. After Chandpur, the combined flow of the Padma, Jamuna, and Meghna moves down to the

in an almost straight line, braiding occasionally into a number of riverines including the Pagli, Katalia, Dhonagoda, Matlab, and Udhamodi. All of these rivers rejoin the Meghna at different points downstream. Near

Bhola Bhola may refer to: *Bhola District, Barisal Division, Bangladesh **Bhola Sadar Upazila, sub-division of the district **Bhola Island, largest island of Bangladesh covering the district **Bhola (town), on the island *''Bholaa'', 2023 Indian action f ...

, just before flowing into the ''Bay of Bengal'', the river again divides into two main streams in the Ganges delta and separates an island from both sides of the mainland. The western stream is called Ilsha while the eastern one is called Bamni. They form the largest delta in the world named the Ganges Delta.

References

{{coord, 22, 38, 35, N, 90, 48, 57, E, type:waterbody_region:BD_dim:300km, display=title Rivers of Bangladesh Bay of Bengal Distributaries of the Ganges Ganges basin Rivers of Chittagong Division

Upper Meghna

Course

See also

References