Editing Ganges (section)

== Course ==
[[File:HeadwatersGanges1.jpg|thumb|305px|The Himalayan headwaters of the Ganges River in the [[Garhwal division|Garhwal]] region of Uttarakhand, India.]]
[[File:Bhagirathi River at Gangotri.JPG|thumb|Bhagirathi River at [[Gangotri]].]]
[[File:Devprayag - Confluence of Bhagirathi and Alaknanda.JPG|thumb|Devprayag, confluence of Alaknanda (right) and Bhagirathi (left), and beginning of the Ganges.]]
[[File:Boat Sailing up Padma River Bangladesh.jpg|thumb|right|A sailboat on the main distributary of the Ganges in Bangladesh, the [[Padma river]].]]
[[File:Ganges Delta ESA22274217.jpeg|thumb|right|The [[Ganges delta]] in a 2020 satellite image.]]
[[File:Ganga at Sultanganj.jpg|thumb|right|The Ganges at [[Sultanganj]].]]

The upper phase of the river Ganges begins at the [[confluence]] of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers in the town of Devprayag in the Garhwal division of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The Bhagirathi is considered to be the [[Source (river or stream)|source]] in Hindu culture and mythology, although the Alaknanda is longer, and therefore, hydrologically the source stream.<ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2011 |title=Ganges |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |edition=Online Library |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Ganges-River |access-date=23 April 2011 |archive-date=7 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200507172054/https://www.britannica.com/place/Ganges-River |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Penn2001">{{cite book |last=Penn |first=James R. |title=Rivers of the world: a social, geographical, and environmental sourcebook |url=https://archive.org/details/riversofworldsoc00penn |url-access=registration |access-date=23 April 2011 |year=2001 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1576070420 |page=[https://archive.org/details/riversofworldsoc00penn/page/n117 88]}}</ref> The headwaters of the Alakananda are formed by snow melt from peaks such as [[Nanda Devi]], [[Trisul]], and [[Kamet]]. The Bhagirathi rises at the foot of [[Gangotri Glacier]] at [[Gomukh]], at an elevation of {{convert|4356|m|ft|abbr=on}} and was mythologically referred to as residing in the matted locks of [[Shiva]]; symbolically Tapovan, which is a meadow of ethereal beauty at the feet of Mount Shivling, just {{convert|5|km|mi|abbr=on}} away.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gangotri-tapovan-trek.com/|title=Gangotri Tapovan Trek, Gangotri Gaumukh Trek, Gangotri Tapovan Trekking|website=www.gangotri-tapovan-trek.com|access-date=13 November 2019|archive-date=13 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191113002243/https://www.gangotri-tapovan-trek.com/|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Krishna Murti|1991|p=19}}

Although many small streams comprise the headwaters of the Ganges, the six longest and their five confluences are considered sacred. The six headstreams are the Alaknanda, [[Dhauliganga River|Dhauliganga]], [[Nandakini]], [[Pindar River|Pindar]], [[Mandakini River|Mandakini]] and Bhagirathi. Their confluences, known as the [[Panch Prayag]], are all along the Alaknanda. They are, in downstream order, [[Vishnuprayag]], where the Dhauliganga joins the Alaknanda; [[Nandprayag]], where the Nandakini joins; [[Karnaprayag]], where the Pindar joins; [[Rudraprayag]], where the Mandakini joins; and finally, Devprayag, where the Bhagirathi joins the Alaknanda to form the Ganges.<ref name="Britannica"/>

After flowing for {{convert|256.90|km|mi|abbr=on}}{{sfn|Krishna Murti|1991|p=19}} through its narrow Himalayan valley, the Ganges emerges from the mountains at [[Rishikesh]], then [[debouch]]es onto the Gangetic Plain at the pilgrimage town of [[Haridwar]].<ref name="Britannica"/> At Haridwar, a<!---Please do not remove the "a." It can be used with "headworks," which is not really plural usage--> [[headworks]] diverts<!---please do not change to "divert." "headworks" is not plural in usage.--> some of its water into the [[Ganges Canal]], which irrigates the ''[[Doab]]'' region of [[Uttar Pradesh]],<ref name=stone-head-works>{{harvnb|Stone|2002|pp=35–36}}: "Nowhere is this more in evidence than in the construction of the canal headwork's and particularly the Ganges canal head at Hardwar. The advantage of choosing this site for the headworks was that it took off at a high point (where the river emerges from the hills) and thus avoided the problem of constructing a dam on the sandy bed of the river (the bed was still rocky at Hardwar) and of 'lifting', via embankments, the canal out of the '' khadir'' several miles wide through which the Ganges river flowed at a lower level than the [[Doab]] plains."</ref> whereas the river, whose course has been roughly southwest until this point, now begins to flow southeast through the plains of northern India.

The Ganges river follows a {{convert|900|km|mi|abbr=on|adj=on}} arching course passing through the cities of [[Bijnor]], Kannauj, [[Farukhabad]], and [[Kanpur]]. Along the way it is joined by the [[Ramganga]], which contributes an average annual flow of about {{convert|495|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}} to the river.{{sfn|Jain|Agarwal|Singh|2007|p=341}} The Ganges joins the {{convert|1444|km|mi|abbr=on}} long River [[Yamuna River|Yamuna]] at the [[Triveni Sangam]] at [[Prayagraj]] (previously Allahabad), a confluence considered holy in Hinduism. At their confluence the Yamuna is larger than the Ganges contributing about 58.5% of the combined flow,{{sfn|Gupta|2007|page=347}} with an average flow of {{convert|2948|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Jain|Agarwal|Singh|2007|p=341}}

Now flowing east, the river meets the {{convert|400|km|mi|abbr=on}} long [[Tamsa River]] (also called ''Tons''), which flows north from the [[Kaimur Range]] and contributes an average flow of about {{convert|187|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}. After the Tamsa, the {{convert|625|km|mi|abbr=on}} long [[Gomti River]] joins, flowing south from the Himalayas. The Gomti contributes an average annual flow of about {{convert|234|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}. Then the {{convert|1156|km|mi|abbr=on}} long [[Ghaghara River]] (Karnali River), also flowing south from the Himalayas of Tibet through Nepal joins. The Ghaghara (Karnali), with its average annual flow of about {{convert|2991|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}, is the largest tributary of the Ganges by discharge. After the Ghaghara confluence, the Ganges is joined from the south by the {{convert|784|km|mi|abbr=on}} long [[Son River]], which contributes about {{convert|1008|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}. The {{convert|814|km|mi|abbr=on}} long [[Gandaki River]], then the {{convert|729|km|mi|abbr=on}} long [[Kosi River]], join from the north flowing from Nepal, contributing about {{convert|1654|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}} and {{convert|2166|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}, respectively. The Kosi is the third largest tributary of the Ganges by discharge, after Ghaghara (Karnali) and Yamuna.{{sfn|Jain|Agarwal|Singh|2007|p=341}} The Kosi merges into the Ganges near Kursela in [[Bihar]].

Along the way between Prayagraj and [[Malda, West Bengal|Malda]], [[West Bengal]], the Ganges river passes the towns of [[Chunar]], [[Mirzapur]], [[Varanasi]], [[Ghazipur]], [[Arrah|Ara]], [[Patna]], [[Chhapra|Chapra]], [[Hajipur]], [[Mokama]], [[Begusarai]], [[Munger]], [[Sahibganj]], [[Rajmahal]], [[Bhagalpur]], [[Ballia]], [[Buxar]], [[Simaria]], [[Sultanganj]], and [[Farakka]]. At Bhagalpur, the river begins to flow south-southeast and at Farakka, it begins its attrition with the branching away of its first [[distributary]], the {{convert|408|km|mi|abbr=on}} long [[Hooghly River|Bhāgirathi-Hooghly]], which goes on to become the [[Hooghly River]]. Just before the border with Bangladesh the [[Farakka Barrage]] controls the flow of Ganges, diverting some of the water into a feeder canal linked to the Hooghly for the purpose of keeping it relatively silt-free. The Hooghly River is formed by the confluence of the Bhagirathi River and [[Ajay River]] at [[Katwa]], and Hooghly has a number of tributaries of its own. The largest is the [[Damodar River]], which is {{convert|625|km|mi|abbr=on}} long, with a drainage basin of {{convert|25820|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Dhungel|Pun|2009|p=215}} The Hooghly River empties into the Bay of Bengal near [[Sagar Island]].{{sfn|Chakrabarti|2001| pp=126–27}} Between Malda and the Bay of Bengal, the Hooghly river passes the towns and cities of [[Murshidabad]], [[Nabadwip]], Kolkata and [[Howrah]].

After entering Bangladesh, the main branch of the Ganges river is known as the [[Padma River|Padma]]. The Padma is joined by the [[Jamuna River (Bangladesh)|Jamuna River]], the largest distributary of the [[Brahmaputra]]. Further downstream, the Padma joins the [[Meghna River]], the converged flow of [[Surma-Meghna River System]] taking on the Meghna's name as it enters the Meghna Estuary, which empties into the Bay of Bengal. Here it forms the {{convert|1430|by|3000|km|mi|abbr=on}} [[Bengal Fan]], the world's largest [[submarine fan]],<ref>{{cite journal | author=Shanmugam, G. | title=Submarine fans: A critical retrospective (1950–2015) | year=2016 | journal= Journal of Palaeogeography | volume=5 | issue=2 | pages=110–184 | doi=10.1016/j.jop.2015.08.011 | bibcode=2016JPalG...5..110S | doi-access=free  | issn = 2095-3836 }}</ref> which alone accounts for 10–20% of the global burial of [[organic carbon]].<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Galy, V. |author2=O. Beyssac |author3=C. France-Lanord |author4=T. Eglinton  | title=Recycling of graphite during erosion: A geological stabilization of carbon in the crust | year=2008 | journal=Science | volume=322 | issue=5903 | pages=943–945 | doi=10.1126/science.1161408  | pmid=18988852 | bibcode=2008Sci...322..943G |s2cid=5426352 }}</ref>

The [[Ganges Delta]], formed mainly by the large, sediment-laden flows of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, is the world's largest delta, at about {{convert|64000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Parua|2009}} It stretches {{convert|400|km|mi|abbr=on}} along the [[Bay of Bengal]].{{sfn|Arnold|2000}}

Only the [[Amazon River|Amazon]] and [[Congo River|Congo]] rivers have a greater average discharge than the combined flow of the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, and the Surma-Meghna river system.{{sfn|Arnold|2000}} In full flood only the Amazon is larger.{{sfn|Elhance|1999| pp=156–58}}