The Ken River is one of the major
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 w ...
s in the
Bundelkhand region of central
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 ...
and flows through the states of
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
and
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
. It is a tributary of the
Yamuna
The Yamuna (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in List of major rivers of India, India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a ...
.
Course
The Ken River originates near the village Ahirgawan on the north-west slopes of
Barner Range in
Katni district and travels a distance of 427 km, before merging with the Yamuna at Chilla village, district Banda in Uttar Pradesh at
Ken has an overall
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 ...
of 28,058 km
2, out of which 12,620 km
2 belong to
Sonar River its largest tributary, whose entire basin lies in Madhya Pradesh; and along its course it receives water from its own tributaries such as Bawas, Dewar, Kaith and Baink on the left bank, and Kopra and Bearma of the right. Out of its total length of it flows for in Madhya Pradesh, in Uttar Pradesh, and forms the boundary between the two states.
Crossing the
Bijawar-Panna hills, the Ken River cuts a 60 km long, and 150–180 m deep gorge. Several streams join the Ken in this gorge making waterfalls. The Ken valley separates the
Rewa Plateau
The Rewa Plateau covers a portion of Rewa district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
The Rewa Plateau lies between the Kaimur Range in the south and Vindhya Range or Binj Pahar in the north. To the north of the Binj Pahar are the alluvial ...
from the Satna Plateau.
Tourist attraction
The
Raneh Falls
The Raneh Falls is a natural waterfall on the Ken River, located in Khajuraho in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
The falls
The Ken River forms a long, and deep canyon made of pure crystalline granite in varying shades of colours rangin ...
on the Ken river and Ken Ghariyal Sanctuary are tourist attractions. The rocks formed here present different hues and are made of Granite, Dolomite and Quartz.
Gangau Dam has been constructed at the confluence of the Ken and Simri rivers. The Ken River passes through
Panna National Park
Panna National Park is a national park located in Panna and Chhatarpur districts of Madhya Pradesh in India.
It has an area of . It was declared in 1994 as the twenty second Tiger reserve of India and the fifth in Madhya Pradesh,
Panna was ...
.
The banks of the Ken River have quite a few castles which were used by the
Rajputs
Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...
of this region. Nowadays, some of these castles are occupied by dacoits and are a cause for worry for the local police. These castles are in such a state of ruin that the walls are difficult to see from below the hill they are built on and ruins of only key buildings still exist. Some of these castles make for a good trek.
It is famous for the rare semi-precious stone known as ''Shahjar'' or ''Shazar'' , a transparent form of the mineral
Agate
Agate () is a common rock formation, consisting of chalcedony and quartz as its primary components, with a wide variety of colors. Agates are primarily formed within volcanic and metamorphic rocks. The ornamental use of agate was common in Anci ...
containing
dendrites
Dendrites (from Greek δένδρον ''déndron'', "tree"), also dendrons, are branched protoplasmic extensions of a nerve cell that propagate the electrochemical stimulation received from other neural cells to the cell body, or soma, of the ...
.
Banda city is located on banks of river Ken.
References
{{Authority control
Rivers of Madhya Pradesh
Rivers of Uttar Pradesh
Tributaries of the Yamuna River
Rivers of India