Indus River Basin / Surface Water Resources

Surface Water Resources

Indus River System 

The Indus system consists of the main Indus River and six principal tributaries: the Kabul, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej.

The Indus rises near Lake Manasarovar (about 14,000 feet elevation) in Tibetan plateau close to Mount Kailash (22,000 feet), flowing roughly 2,000 miles before entering the Arabian Sea. The western tributaries Kabul, Jhelum, and Chenab carry the bulk of the water derived both from snowmelt and rainfall, while the eastern rivers Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej are more rainfall dependent.

These rivers progressively merge, with the Chenab acting as a major collector before the waters ultimately join the Indus near Punjnad in southern Punjab and then onward flows in single stream unto the formation of its deltaic fan stretched along the Arabia Sea in Sind.