The Meghna River ( bn, মেঘনা নদী) is one of the major rivers in
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
,
one of the three that form the
Ganges Delta, the largest delta on earth, which fans out to the Bay of Bengal. A part of the
Surma-Meghna River System, Meghna is formed inside Bangladesh in
Kishoreganj District
Kishoreganj ( bn, কিশোরগঞ্জ) is a district in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh. Earlier it was a Mohkuma (মহকুমা) under the Mymensingh district. It was taken 2495.07 sq. km of land from Mymensingh district to form pres ...
above the town of
Bhairab Bazar by the joining of the
Surma and the
Kushiyara, both of which originate in the hilly regions of eastern
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 ...
as the
Barak River. The Meghna meets its major tributary, the
Padma
The Padma ( bn, পদ্মা ''Pôdma'') is a major river in Bangladesh. It is the main distributary of the Ganges, flowing generally southeast for to its confluence with the Meghna River near the Bay of Bengal. The city of Rajshahi is sit ...
, in
Chandpur District. Other major tributaries of the Meghna include the
Dhaleshwari
The Dhaleshwari River ( bn, ধলেশ্বরী ''Dhôleshshori'') is a distributary, long, of the Jamuna River in central Bangladesh. It starts off the Jamuna near the northwestern tip of Tangail District. After that it divides into two b ...
, the
Gumti
The Gomti, Gumti or Gomati River is a tributary of the Ganges. According to beliefs, the river is the son of Rishi Vashistha, Vashishtha and bathing in the Gomti on Ekadashi (the 11th day of the two lunar phases of the Hindu calendar month) can ...
, and the
Feni. The Meghna empties into the
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line betwee ...
in
Bhola District via four principal mouths, named
Tetulia (Ilsha), Shahbazpur, Hatia, and Bamni.
The Meghna is the widest river among those that flow completely inside the boundaries of Bangladesh. At a point near Bhola, Meghna is 13 km wide. In its lower reaches, this river's path is almost perfectly straight.
Course
The Meghna is formed due to the confluence of the
Surma and
Kushiyara rivers originating from the hilly regions of eastern
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 ...
. Down to
Chandpur, Meghna is hydrographically referred to as the Upper Meghna. After the
Padma
The Padma ( bn, পদ্মা ''Pôdma'') is a major river in Bangladesh. It is the main distributary of the Ganges, flowing generally southeast for to its confluence with the Meghna River near the Bay of Bengal. The city of Rajshahi is sit ...
joins, it is referred to as the Lower Meghna.
Near Muladhuli in
Barisal
Barisal ( or ; bn, বরিশাল, ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal Di ...
district, the Safipur River is an offshoot of the Surma that creates one of the main rivers in South Bengal. 1.5 km wide, this river is one of the widest in the country as well.
At Chatalpar of
Brahmanbaria District, the river
Titas emerges from Meghna and after circling two large bends by a distance of about , falls into the Meghna again near
Nabinagar Upazila. The Titas forms as a single stream but braids into two distinct streams that remain separate before re-joining the Meghna.
In Daudkandi, (
Comilla District), the Meghna is joined by the
Gumti River, which increases the Meghna's water flow considerably. The pair of bridges over the Meghna and Gumti are two of the country's largest bridges.
Meghna is
reinforced by the
Dhaleshwari
The Dhaleshwari River ( bn, ধলেশ্বরী ''Dhôleshshori'') is a distributary, long, of the Jamuna River in central Bangladesh. It starts off the Jamuna near the northwestern tip of Tangail District. After that it divides into two b ...
before Chandpur. Further down, the
Padma River
The Padma ( bn, পদ্মা ''Pôdma'') is a major river in Bangladesh. It is the main distributary of the Ganges, flowing generally southeast for to its confluence with the Meghna River near the Bay of Bengal. The city of Rajshahi is sit ...
- the largest distributary of the Ganges in Bangladesh, along with the
Jamuna River- the largest distributary of the Brahmaputra, join with the Meghna in
Chandpur District, resulting in the Lower Meghna.
After Chandpur, the combined flow of the Padma, Jamuna, and Meghna moves down to the
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line betwee ...
in an almost straight line, braiding occasionally into a number of riverines including the Pagli, Katalia, Dhonagoda, Matlab, and Udhamodi. All of these rivers rejoin the Meghna at different points downstream.
Near
Bhola, just before flowing into the ''Bay of Bengal'', the river again divides into two main streams in the Ganges delta and separates an island from both sides of the mainland. The western stream is called Ilsha while the eastern one is called Bamni. They form the largest delta named Ganges delta.
See also
*
List of rivers in Bangladesh
References
{{coord, 22, 38, 35, N, 90, 48, 57, E, type:waterbody_region:BD_dim:300km, display=title
Rivers of Bangladesh
Bay of Bengal
Distributaries of the Ganges
Ganges basin
Rivers of Chittagong Division