Gori Ganga ( Kumaoni: ''Gori Gād'') is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

in the

Munsiari Munsiyari ( Kumaoni: ''Munsyār'') is the name of the sub-division headquarters, a conglomeration of revenue villages and it also refers to the entire region as Munsiyari Tehsil and Sub Division in the Pithoragarh District in the hill-state of ...

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

of the

Pithoragarh District Pithoragarh district is the easternmost district in the state of Uttarakhand. It is located in the Himalayas and has an area of and a population of 483,439 (as of 2011). The city of Pithoragarh, located in Saur Valley, is its headquarters. T ...

, part of the state of

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

in northern

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 ...

. Its principal source is the

Milam Glacier Milam Glacier is a major glacier of the Kumaon Himalaya. History It is located in the tehsil of Munsiyari, part of the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, India, about northeast of Nanda Devi. It ranges in elevation from about to about at ...

, just northeast of

Nanda Devi Nanda Devi is the second-highest mountain in India, after Kangchenjunga, and the highest located entirely within the country (Kangchenjunga is on the border of India and Nepal). It is the 23rd-highest peak in the world. Nanda Devi was consid ...

along with the Glaciers of the Ralam River, and the Pyunshani and Uttari & Dakshini Balati Glaciers that lie on the western face of the Panchachuli Peaks.

Etymology

In the local language "gori" means white or fair. "Gad" and "ganga" both mean river. The water of this river froths and contains white clay/sand, so it looks white most of the time.

Course

The alpine trans-humant village of Milam is located one kilometer below the snout of the glacier. Here a left-bank stream called ''Gonka'' joins the Gori. The valley provides the approach route for access to peaks such as Nanda Devi East,

Hardeol Hardeol or 'Temple of God' is one of the major peaks of the Kumaon Himalaya. It is the highest peak on the northern side of the ring of peaks guarding the Nanda Devi Sanctuary, and lies at the northeast corner of this ring. It is situated at th ...

Trishuli Tirsuli is a Himalayan mountain peak in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, India. It is part of the complex of mountains, including Tirsuli West, Hardeol, Dunagiri, Changabang, and Kalanka, which make up the northeast wall of the Nanda De ...

Panchchuli The Panchachuli (पंचाचुली) peaks are a group of five snow-capped Himalayan peaks lying at the end of the eastern Kumaon region, near the Dugtu village in Darma valley. The peaks have altitudes ranging from to . They form th ...

and

Nanda Kot Nanda Kot ( Kumaoni-नन्दा कोट) is a mountain peak of the Himalaya range located in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand state in India. It lies in the Kumaon Himalaya, just outside the ring of peaks enclosing the Nanda Devi S ...

. The Gori is also fed by glaciers and streams flowing from the eastern slopes of the east wall of the Nanda Devi Sanctuary, and those flowing west from the high peaks of

, Rajramba, and Chaudhara, including the Ralam Gad and the Pyunsani Gadhera. The Kalabaland-Burfu Kalganga glacier system also flows into the Gori Ganga Valley from the east.''Garhwal-Himalaya-Ost'', 1:150,000 scale topographic map, prepared in 1992 by Ernst Huber for the

Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internatio ...

, based on maps of the

Survey of India The Survey of India is India's central engineering agency in charge of Cartography, mapping and surveying.

. The principal rivers joining the main trunk Gori river are listed below - * Panchu Gad - True Right Bank at Panchu / Ganghar * Burfu Gad - True Left Bank at Burfu * Lwa Gad - True Right Bank below Martoli * Poting Gad - True Right Bank at Bogdayar * Ralam Gad - True Left Bank upstream of Ruspiabagad * Jimia Gad - True Right Bank at Jimmighat * Suring Gad - True Right Bank at Suring Gad / Ghat * Madkani or Madkanya - True Left Bank at Madkot - This river originates from the Pyunshani and Balati Glaciers at the base of the Panchachuli Peaks * Ghosi Gad - True Left Bank at Baram * Rauntees - True Right Bank at Garjia. This is the only major rain fed stream joining the Gori River. MadkoteDam

Goriganga joins the Kali River at

Jauljibi Jauljibi is the small bazaar of Indo-Nepal border ( Mahakali Zone) situated at the confluences of Kali and Gori Rivers. The name refers to bazaars on both sides of the river, with the Nepal-side bazaar being rather small compared to that on the ...

References

{{Coord, 29.7500, N, 80.3763, E, source:wikidata, display=title Rivers of Uttarakhand Geography of Pithoragarh district Rivers of India