GENERAL I ARTICLE

Antecedent Rivers
Ganga Is Older Than Himalaya

I( S Valdiya

It seems like a case of the daughter being older than her

father! For, the Puranas describe Ganga as the darling K S Valdiya
is at Jawaharlal Nehru
daughter of Himavant, the 'Nagadhiraja' or the king of Centre for Advanced
mountains! (Figure 1). It so happens that the majority of Scientific Research,
Ganga's sisters - the rivers of the northern mountain realm - Bangalore.

are older than the Himalaya in whose lap they were born.

The Sindhu, Satluj, Ganga, Karnali, Kosi, Arun, and

Brahmaputra rivers, among the scores of mountain rivers, had
established their drainage networks well before the Himalaya
came into existence as a mountain barrier. These rivers were
past their youthful stage when the mountain ranges began
rising across their paths.

What is the basis of the statement that these rivers are older
than the mountains they cross?

Sources Beyond Highest Mountain Barrier

Practically all major rivers of the Himalayan province spring

from sources lying beyond the highest mountain barrier - the

Figure 1 Snout of the

Milam glacier - from which
emerges the Gori, a
tributary of the Kali
(Ghaghara). It lies north of
the NandaDevi (7,817 m) of
the Himadri domain (the
'Daughter' and the
'Father?

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 GENERAL I ARTICLE

Himodri (Great Himalaya)

Outer Lesser Himlilaya

with Siw~lik

Figure 2 Himalayan rivers Himadri or Great Himalaya (Figure 2). The Himadri ranges
spring from sources lo- rise to an elevation of 5,000 to 8,000 m or more while the river
cated north of the highest sources are located in the belt only 4,000 to 4,500 m above sea
mountain rampart (5,000- level. The waterdivide is thus at a level lower than the terrain
8,000 m or more) in the through which the rivers have made their channels (Figure 3).
belt not higher than
4,500m. The rivers originating from the Kailas-Mansarovar region in
southwestern Tibet (Figure 4) bear eloquent testimony. At the

Himodri
\
®
LesserH~
Figure 3 Majority of K os i in Nepal

Himalayan rivers ori-

ginate either on the
northern flank of the Gongo in Garhwal
Himadri (Great Himalaya) Him~dri

or the southern slope of LH

the Indo-Tibetan border SiWQ.~li;;k~\~~;;.!:::::':::2:~___
ranges. Notice the steep
Satlujin
gradient in the uplifted Sindhu in Pakistan
Himalayan terrain.

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 GENERAL I ARTICLE

foot of Mount Kailas (6,714 m) is Lake Mansarovar (4,557 m),

far north of the high NandaDevi (7,817 m) - Api Nampa
(7,132 m) range of the Himadri. The Sindhu flows
northwestwards, the Satluj goes west, the Karnali takes the
southerly course and the Tsangpo flows east. These rivers flow
through their pristine channels, carved out at the very outset
Figure 4 Sindhu, Satluj,
about 50 to 55 m.y (million years) ago. The Matsya Purana
Karnali and Brahmaputra
describes the descent of'Divya Ganga' near Bindusar Sarovar
have their sources in one
(lake) nestling between the Kailas, Mainak, Hiranyashringa
region embracing Mount
mountains, and taking three different paths as Tripathaga -
Kai/as and Mansarovar
the tripath gamini Ganga. The 'Tripathaga' had established
lake. The tDivya Ganga'
the drainage well before the mountain barriers were raised
of Matsya Purana took
successively as a result of tectonic movements.
three paths as 'Tri-
pathaga' - eastward as
A significant feature of these rivers originating north of the
Brahmaputra (Tsangpo),
lofty Himadri is that their beds are not more than 900 to 1,200
southwards as Karnali
m above sea level at the points where they rush through the
and westwards as Satluj
6,000 to 8,000 m high mountain barrier (Figure 5). For and Sindhu.
example, southeast of Gilgit in northwestern Kashmir, the
Sindhu flows on a bed 1,100 m above sea level, as the Nanga
Parbat (8,126 m) looks down across a sheer wall more than
6,000 m high! Similarly, the Tsangpo in the east flows in the
5,000 m deep canyon cut through the 7,750 m high wall of the
Namcha Barwa (Figure 3).

These rivers seem to have maintained their levels,

while the mountain barriers rose higher and
higher.

Figure 5 Canyon course of a tributary of the Ganga in Ku-

maun Himalaya. The more than 6,000 m high peak looks
down on the bed of river flowing at 2,600 m level.

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RESONANCE I August 1996 V VVV v 57 v
 GENERAL I ARTICLE

Figure 6 Steep gradient of

the river in the Himadri do-
main characterized by
rapids, cascades and wa-
terfalls. Rivers Kali and
Gori in Kumaun.

River Gradient

Wherever the Flowing between the Sagarmatha or Everest (8,848 m) an ____ _

mountain ranges are Kanchanjangha (8,529 m) in northeastern Nepal, the Arun
rising at a rate faster drops to 1,200 m from 4,333 m, through a fearsome gorge
than the rivers are characterized by rapids and cascades. The antecedent rivers
able to cut down have low gradients of the order of a few metres per kilometre
their channels, in their upper as well as lower reaches, where they flow
waters plummet sluggishly in their wide valleys in the trans-Himalayan belt in
down as waterfalls the north and the Indo-Gangetic plains in the south.
and cascades or However, as these rivers cross the Great Himalayan belt, the
rush down furiously descent is of the order of 700 to 900 m for every 1,000 m of
as foaming-roaring flow! In the Lesser Himalaya the gradient varies between 20
torrents.
and 40 m per kilometre. The pronounced steepening of the

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 GENERAL I ARTICLE

Figure 7 A The angle be-

tween the two slopes of
the V-shaped valley is very
acute. Locally the valley
slope is convex. River Gori
in Kumaun.

gradient of the rivers crossing the Great Himalayan barrier

(Figure 6) means two things: The uplift of the mountain Figure 7B Diagrammatic
rampart has been accentuated and/or the uplift is a recent and sketch of an incised valley.
continuing phenomenon. Wherever the mountain ranges are The incision or deep
rising at a rate faster than the rivers are able to cut down their cutting is due to uplift of
channels, waters plummet down as waterfalls and cascades or the terrain.
rush down furiously as foaming-roaring torrents.

Steep Valley Slopes

The slopes of valleys In the stretches through the Great

Himalaya (Himadri) and the outer (southern) front of the
Lesser Himalaya are very steep, practically vertical in some
sectors (Figure 7). It may be mentioned that as the rivers grow

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 GENERAL I ARTICLE

Figure 8 Imagine a log of

wood raised slowly as
the saw cuts through a
constant level or axis.
The result Is a vertical
groove with two parallel
sides. In a similar manner
the river cuts a deep can-
yon with practically Uplifting Timber "
Log
vertical walls (valley
slopes).

t
Rising
Mountain

older and become mature (geomorphically), their valleys

These rivers become wider with gentler slopes. The angle between the two
established their slopes becomes increasingly obtuse with advancing age.
drainage not However, this angle in the Himadri and PirPanjal -
consequent on the Mahabharat belts (in the outer Lesser Himalaya) is very
province's physical acute. In some places, the valley slopes make nearly parallel
features as we see vertical walls, despite the rivers being 50-55 m.y old. Locally
today, but following the walls are convex. Obviously, in spite of the great age the
the relief and slope rivers are still in their (geomorphically) youthful stage,
of the land that furiously at work, cutting channel beds, eroding slopes, and
existed before the denuding watersheds. This ever-youthfulness of the
mountain was Himalayan rivers is an inherent character due to the
formed. Such rivers
continuing uplift of the terrains through which the rivers flow
as the Sindhu, Satluj,
(Figure 7).
Karnali, Arun and
Brahmaputra are Understandably, as the Himalayan terrain rose progressively,
therefore called the
the rivers kept en tting their courses deeper and deeper. Over
antecedet't rivers.
the long period of millions of years, deep gorges or canyons

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 GENERAL I ARTICLE

Figure 9A A river estab-

TIBET
Emerging Range lishes its drainage on the
recently emerged land that
sloped gently southwards.

9B Much later, the moun-

(0) tain barriers rose slowly,
and the river kept its chan-
nel open by cutting down
its course deeper and
deeper. This is an antece-
dent river.
(b)

wi th nearly vertical walls developed in the stretches of

impediments (Figure 7B). Where the mountain barrier rose at
a much faster rate and the rivers failed to keep pace, they
dropped in waterfalls and cascades.

Why is the Himalayan terrain rising?

Tectonic Development: Birth of Mountain Ranges

The northward moving India collided with Asia nearly 65

m.y. ago, and the process of welding of the two continen ts was
completed by the Lower Eocene epoch nearly 55 m.y. back. As
the Indian landmass pushed northwards, the junction of the
two continents buckled and ridged up. The elevated upwarp
became the waterdivide of the rivers and streams that came
into existence during that period in the pre-monsoon climate.
The radial drainage of the soil of the Sindhu, Satluj, Karnali
and Brahmaputra rivers was established (Figure 4) on that
newly emerged land. These rivers established their drainage
not consequent on the province's physical features as we see
today, but following the relief and slope of the land that
existed before the mountain was formed. Such rivers as the
Sindhu, Satluj, Karnali, Arun and Brahmaputra are therefore

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 GENERAL I ARTICLE

Figure 10 This is what Em!!rging Ridge

(Junction of India and Tibet)
the Himalayan country
must have looked like be-
fore and after the main
tectonic upheaval that
gave birth to the Hima-
laya mountain.

Indo-Tibetan Emerging Himodrl

called the antecedent rivers. They were flowing through their

winding or even tortuous channels in the land that sloped
southwards very gently (Figures 9 and 10). They continued to
flow in the same directions through their old channels even
when mountain barriers formed across their paths. The
Himalaya rose, but slowly.

Then came the climactic, the dramatic phase of the tectonic

revolution which threw the whole of northern India into
convulsions of deformation. The rock piles were severely
Subsequent to the compressed and broken. Folds after folds were formed, then
emergence of the faulted along their axial planes and dislocated or uprooted
Himalaya there was tens of kilometres. Repeated deformation of rocks was
a resurgence of accompanied by their differential melting in zones of severe
severe tectonic and deep-seated deformation; and widespread granitic
movements. There activities (25 to 15 m.y. ago) strengthened the structural
was a very severe framework of the Himalaya, particularly in the Himadri
revival of the domain. In this way the stupendous mountain ranges
mountain-building
developed through the middle of the province. In this way,
activity about
about 25 to 20 m.y. ago emerged the Himalayan mountain in
1.7-1.6 m.y ago.
its grandeur and uniqueness. The rivers continued to flow in

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 GENERAL I ARTICLE

the courses they had carved out at the outset, but deepened
their channels progressively (Figure 9).

Subsequent to the emergence of the Himalaya there was a

resurgence of severe tectonic movements. There was a very
severe revival of the mountain-building activity about 1.7-1.6
m.y ago. The outer southern front of the Lesser Himalaya was
lifted up into the lofty rampart comprising PirPanjal-
Dhauladhar-Naina-Mahabharat Ranges, and the Siwalik
ranges came into existence. The rivers made still deeper
incisions, kept open their channels, and retained their
youthfulness. But their gradients became steeper, their valleys
deeper and narrower in their lower part, and they rushed
through their gorgeous courses characterized by rapids.

These phenomena are seen in all the mountain belts which Address for Correspondence
have risen and gained height in geologically recent times. The KSValdiya
Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for
Kaveri river, for example, exhibits many of the characteristics
Advanced Scientific Research
of the antecedent drainage in the Biligirirangan Ranges which Jakkur, Bangalore 560 064
the Ganga shows in the Himalaya.

~RII Fungus of Good Fortune? ...

A small culture of Penicillium notatum, mounted in a glass slide,

recently fetched £23,000 as a collector's item and must surely rank,
on a weight-for-weight basis, as one of the most expensive
commodities ever to change hands! It is one of only two or three such
preparations by (Sir) Alexander Fleming, dating from about 1948 and
bearing as a hand-written inscription 'The mould that makes penicillin',
with his name. The international company Pfizer, which assisted
Fleming in the development of his discovery, were the buyers.
Mycologist

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RESONANCE I August 1996 v V VVV v 63