Description of Ganges

Ganga and its tributaries drain a 1,000,000-square-kilometre (390,000 sq mi) fertile basin that supports one of the world's highest density of humans. The average depth of the river is 52 feet (16 m), and the maximum depth is 100 feet (30 m).The water shed is approximately 907,000 km².The Ganges has numerous tributaries, including the Yamuna (Jumna), Ghaghara, Gandak, and Son. In Bangladesh, the Ganges divides into a number of branches, or distributaries, which join with those of the Brahmaputra (called the Jamuna in this area). Many distributaries carry the combined waters through the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta into the Bay of Bengat hrough innumerable channels.The largest channel is known as Meghna estuary. The main branch is the Padma River on the east side of the delta. It becomes the Meghna River near the coast. The Hooghly River, on which Kolkata (Calcutta) is located, is the main distributary on the west side of the delta. The volume of water in the Ganges increases due to heavy rainfall and the number of tributaries. The Ganges produces the third greatest average discharge of water in the world.