The Chatra Gorge is a
canyon
A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...
cut by the
Kosi River across the
Mahabharat Range
The Lower Himalayan Range ( ne, पर्वत शृङ्खला parbat shrinkhalā) – also called the Middle Himalayas or Lesser Himalayas or Himachal – is a major east–west mountain range with elevations 3,700 to 4,500 m (12,000 to ...
in
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
.
Kosi river system
The Kosi, or Sapt Kosi, drains eastern Nepal. It is known as Sapt Koshi because of the seven rivers which join together in east-central Nepal to form this river. The main rivers forming the Kosi system are – the
Sun Kosi
The Sunkoshi, also spelt Sunkosi, is a river of Nepal that is part of the Koshi or Saptkoshi River system in Nepal. Sunkoshi has two source streams, one that arises within Nepal in Choukati, and the other more significant stream that flows in fr ...
, the
Indravati River
Indravati River is a tributary of the Godavari River, in central India.
The Indravati River
is a stream of the river Godavari. Its starting point, found to be the Ghats of Dandakaranya, range from a hilltop village Mardiguda of Thuamula R ...
, the
Bhote Koshi
Bhote Koshi in Nepal and Poiqu in Tibet, both names roughly mean "Tibetan river," is the name given to the upper course (main tributary) of the Sun Kosi river. It is part of the Koshi River system in Nepal.Shrestha, A. B., Eriksson, M., Mool, ...
, the
Dudh Kosi
Dudh Koshi (दुधकोशी नदी, ''Milk-Koshi River'') is a river in eastern Nepal. It is the highest river in terms of elevation.
Koshi river system
The Kosi River, or Sapt Koshi, drains eastern up. It is known as Sapta Koshi because ...
, the
Arun River
The River Arun () is a river in the English county of West Sussex. At long, it is the longest river entirely in Sussex and one of the longest starting in Sussex after the River Medway, River Wey and River Mole. From the series of small stream ...
,
Barun River
The Barun River ( ne, बरुण नदी) is a tributary of the Arun River and is part of the Kosi river system in Nepal.
Koshi River System
The Koshi or Sapta Koshi drains eastern Nepal. It is known as Sapta Koshi because of the seven rivers ...
, and
Tamur River
The Tamor River is a major river in eastern Nepal, which begins around Kanchenjunga. The Tamor and the Arun River, Tibet-Nepal, Arun join the Sun Kosi, Sun Koshi at Triveni, Nepal, Tribenighat to form the giant Koshi River, Saptakoshi which flows ...
. The combined river flows through the Chatra gorge in a southerly direction to emerge from the hills.
The Sun Kosi contributes 44 per cent of the total water in the Sapta Koshi, the Arun 37 per cent and the Tamur 19 per cent.
Of the rivers that form the Sapta Kosi, the three main tributaries, Sun Kosi, Arun and Tamur converge
at
Tribeni and enter Chatra Gorge.
The Gorge
The Chatra Gorge is about 10 km long and is about 5–8 km wide. Downstream of the gorge, the river enters the alluvial plains forming a huge megafan covering around 16,000 km
2.
[
The gorge is located at . The initial or northern portion of the gorge is at an altitude of .][Tom Woodhatch, "Nepal Handbook", p. 167, Footprint, ]
Sapta Kosi High Dam
A high dam is proposed to be built near Barahakshetra
Barahachhetra (also Barahakshetra or Varahakshrata; ne, वराहक्षेत्र) is a Hindu and Kirat piligram site which remains between the confluence of Koka and Koshi rivers in Barahakshetra, Sunsari of Province No. 1, Nepal. ...
across the Sapta Kosi in the Chatra gorge. It will have a 3,000 MW power station and a barrage 8 km downstream with canals on both sides for irrigation.
References
{{Hydrography of Nepal
Canyons and gorges of Nepal