The Kameng River (previously named Bharali River, now called Kameng in
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares int ...
and Jiabharali (Jia Bharali) in
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
) in the eastern
Himalayan mountains
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
, originates in
Tawang district
Tawang district (Pron:/tɑ:ˈwæŋ or təˈwæŋ/) is the smallest of the 26 administrative districts of Arunachal Pradesh state in northeastern India. With a population of 49,977, it is the eighth least populous district in the country (out of ...
from the
glacial lake
A glacial lake is a body of water with origins from glacier activity. They are formed when a glacier erodes the land and then melts, filling the depression created by the glacier.
Formation
Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,0 ...
below snow-capped
Gori Chen mountain , elevation , on the
India-Tibet border and flows through
Bhalukpong
Bhalukpung is a small town located along the southern reaches of the Himalayas in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh in India. The town is located at 213m above sea level, 100 km from Bomdila, 52 km from Tezpur and 5 km ...
circle of
West Kameng District
West Kameng (pronounced ) is a district of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India. It accounts for 8.86% of the total area of the state. The name is derived from the Kameng river, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, that flows through the district ...
, Arunachal Pradesh and
Sonitpur District
Sonitpur district ron: ˌsə(ʊ)nɪtˈpʊə or ˌʃə(ʊ)nɪtˈpʊəis an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. The district headquarters is located at Tezpur.
Etymology
The name of the is derived from a mythological story f ...
of Assam,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. It becomes a
braided river
A braided river, or braided channel, consists of a network of river channels separated by small, often temporary, islands called braid bars or, in English usage, ''aits'' or ''eyots''.
Braided streams tend to occur in rivers with high sediment l ...
in its lower reaches
and is one of the major tributaries of the
Brahmaputra River
The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. It ...
, joining it at
Tezpur
Tezpur () is a city and urban agglomeration in Sonitpur district, Assam state, India. Tezpur is located on the banks of the river Brahmaputra, northeast of Guwahati, and is the largest of the north bank cities with a population exceeding 100, ...
, just east of the
Kolia Bhomora Setu
Kolia Bhomora Setu, an existing bridge completed in 1987, is a 3.015 km long pre-stressed concrete road bridge on NH-715 over the Brahmaputra River in Tezpur Assam state of India, which connects Tezpur in Sonitpur district on northern ban ...
bridge.
The Kameng River is about long. Its
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...
is about large.
The Kameng forms the boundary between
East Kamemg District and
West Kameng District
West Kameng (pronounced ) is a district of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India. It accounts for 8.86% of the total area of the state. The name is derived from the Kameng river, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, that flows through the district ...
s and is also the boundary between the
Sessa and Eaglenest sanctuaries to its west and the
Pakke tiger reserve
Pakke Tiger Reserve, also known as Pakhui Tiger Reserve, is a Project Tiger reserve in the East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast India. The reserve is protected by the Department of Environment and Forest of Arunachal Pradesh. ...
to the east. The
Dafla Hills
Daphla (or ''Dafla'') Hills is a tract of hilly country on the border of western Arunachal and Assam occupied by an independent tribe called Daphla. It lies to the north of the Tezpur and North Lakhimpur subdivisions, and is bounded on the west ...
are east and the
Aka Hills
Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares int ...
(home of
Aka tribe) are west of the Kameng River. The entire stretch of forest along the Bhalukpong–
Bomdila
Bomdila is the headquarters of West Kameng district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in India. Bomdila is one of the 60 constituencies of the state of Arunachal Pradesh.
Geography and Climate
Bomdila is located at . It has an average elevati ...
highway on the west bank of the river in West Kameng has vanished in the last few years though the forest across the river continues to be in a healthy state.
History
The Kameng river had an important historical significance. During the medieval period i.e. between 13th to early 16th century, it marked the borders between the
Chutiya kingdom
The Chutia Kingdom (also Sadiya) was a Medieval India#Late medieval era, late medieval state that developed around Sadiya in present Assam and adjoining areas in Arunachal Pradesh."(T)he Chutiyas seem to have assumed political power in Sad ...
and the
Kamata kingdom
The Kamata Kingdom (pron: ˈkʌmətɑ) emerged in western Kamarupa probably when Sandhya, a ruler of Kamarupanagara, moved his capital west to Kamatapur sometime after 1257 CE. Since it originated in the old seat of the Kamarupa kingdom, a ...
. Later, in the 16th century, after the annexation of the Chutiya kingdom by the Ahoms and the downfall of Kamata kingdom, it acted as the border between the
Ahom kingdom and
Baro-Bhuyan
The Baro-Bhuyans (or ''Baro-Bhuyan Raj''; also ''Baro-Bhuians'' and Baro-Bhuiyans) refers to the confederacies of soldier-landowners in Assam and Bengal in the late Middle Ages and the early modern period. The confederacies consisted of loose ...
rule.
Tributaries
The eastern half of
Eaglenest-Sessa Wildlife sanctuaries is drained by the Tippi Naala (Tippi River) which joins Kameng River at the village of Tippi on the Bhalukpong-Bomdila Highway. The other major rivers flowing through West Kameng District, the Tenga, Bichom and Dirang Chu, are tributaries of the Kameng.
[Nandy S.N. District Profile]
West Kameng District
G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development, Kosi-Katarmal, Almora 263643, India
Maps
File:Kameng River, source to mouth.jpg
See also
*
Nyegyi Kansang
Nyegyi Kangtsang (also known as ''Katoie Gyang'' by Puroik people and ''Kra-Daadi'' by Nyishi people) is a mountain of the Eastern Himalayas located in East Kameng district, East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh state of India on the borde ...
Notes
External links
*
Kameng River on Wikimapia{{Hydrography of North-east India
Rivers of Arunachal Pradesh
Rivers of Assam
Rivers of India