Rivers & Glaciers of Jammu & Kashmir

Study Notes

Nature has richly endowed Jammu & Kashmir with freshwater resources, particularly snowmelt from glaciers.
A well-developed river system exists, with notable rivers including the Chenab, Tawi, Jhelum.
The Jammu region is drained primarily by the Chenab and Tawi rivers.
The Kashmir Valley is drained by the Jhelum river and its tributaries.
All these rivers are fed by snow and glacier meltwater from the upper Himalayan region.

Originates at Verinag.
Flows through Indian-administered Jammu & Kashmir and Pakistani-administered Azad Kashmir.
Enters the Pakistani province of Punjab.
The westernmost of the five rivers of the Punjab Region.
A tributary of the Chenab River.
Approximately 725 kilometers long.

Flows through Jammu city.
Principal left-bank tributary of the Chenab River.
Considered sacred and holy, like many rivers in India.
Originates from the Kailash Kund Spring in Bhaderwah.
Flows through Chenani and Udhampur, then Jammu, and finally joins the Chenab near Ranbir Singh Pura, before entering Pakistan.
Chenani hydroelectric power project, with a capacity of 23 MW.

A major river flowing through both India and Pakistan.
One of the five major rivers of the Punjab region.
Formed by the confluence of the Chandra and Bhaga rivers, originating in the upper Himalayas in Himachal Pradesh, India.
Flows through the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, India, into the plains of Punjab, Pakistan, before flowing into the Indus River.

Jammu & Kashmir has numerous glaciers, including notable ones like Machoi, Shafat, Siachen, Batura, Khurdopin, Hispar, Biafo, Baltoro, Diamir, and Chomolungma.
Kolahoi Glacier is the largest glacier in Jammu & Kashmir, located in the north-western Himalayan range. It is a valley glacier at approximately 4700 meters, and is a major source of water for the Lidder River, a tributary of the Jhelum.
Baltoro Glacier, located in the Baltistan area in the Southern slopes of the Karakoram range, is the second-largest in the Himalayan region at approximately 62 km in length. It feeds water to the Shigar River, a tributary of the Indus River.
Biafo Glacier is another significant glacier in the Baltistan area, approximately 60 km in length and feeding the Shigar River.
Nubra Glacier, located in the Ladakh region on the Southern slopes of the Karakoram range, feeds water to the Shyok River.
Siachen Glacier is the largest glacier in the world outside the Polar region, approximately 72 km in length, and feeds the Muztagh or Shaksgam river.