Sankosh (also Mo Chu, and Svarnakosha) is a river that rises in northern
Bhutan
Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...
and empties into the
Brahmaputra
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 ...
in the state of
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
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 ...
. In Bhutan, it is known as the Puna Tsang Chu below the confluences of several tributaries near the town of
Wangdue Phodrang
Wangdue Phodrang (, Dzongkha 'Wangdi Phodr'a) is a town and capital (dzongkhag thromde) of Wangdue Phodrang District in central Bhutan. It is located in Thedtsho Gewog.
History
The town shares its name with the Wangdue Phodrang Dzong built in 1 ...
.
![View_of_Wangdue_Dzong_2019-12-16](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/View_of_Wangdue_Dzong_2019-12-16.jpg)
The two largest tributaries are the
Mo Chhu
Mo Chhu is a major river in Bhutan. The word "Chhu" means "river" or "water" in Dzongkha, the official national language in Bhutan. The river rises in Gasa Dzongkhag (district) near the border between Bhutan and Tibet. From there, the Mo Chhu fl ...
and
Pho Chhu
Pho Chhu (Male River) is one of the major rivers of Bhutan, which tracks its source in the Gasa District that borders Bhutan with Tibet, which joins with Mo Chhu (Female River) at the confluence below Punakha Dzong, the winter resident of Dratsh ...
, which flow together at
Punakha
Punakha ( dz, སྤུ་ན་ཁ་) is the administrative centre of Punakha dzongkhag, one of the 20 districts of Bhutan. Punakha was the capital of Bhutan and the seat of government until 1955, when the capital was moved to Thimphu. It is abo ...
. The Punakha
dzong, which is situated immediately above the confluence of the two rivers, is one of the most beautiful dzongs in Bhutan and the winter residence of the
Dratshang Lhentshog
The Dratshang Lhentshog ( Dzongkha: ; Wylie: ''grwa-tshang lhan-tshogs'') is the Commission for the Monastic Affairs of Bhutan. Under the 2008 Constitution, it is the bureaucracy that oversees the Drukpa Kagyu sect of Buddhism, which is the st ...
. The upper reaches of the Pho Chhu are susceptible to ice blockages, and the dzong has been damaged on several occasions by
glacial lake outburst flood
A glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) is a type of outburst flood caused by the failure of a dam containing a glacial lake. An event similar to a GLOF, where a body of water contained by a glacier melts or overflows the glacier, is called a j ...
s. After it enters in India, it flows on the border of Assam and West Bengal. At Wangdue Phodrang, elevation , the river is joined by the west flowing
Tang Chuu
The Tang Chuu is a tributary of the Mo Chhu in western Bhutan.
Course
It originates in the Himalayas near Thowadra Gompa. It receives numerous hill streams, including the Yenyer Chhu. It joins the Mo Chhu, which later takes on the name of Sankosh ...
and it enters a precipitous gorge. The highway running south from Wangdue Phodrang to Dagana follows the river for much of its course. Near the town of Takshay is the confluence with the west flowing
Hara Chhu
Hara may refer to:
Art and entertainment
* Hara (band), a Romanian pop-band
* ''Hara'' (film), a 2014 Kannada-language drama film
* ''Hara'' (sculpture), a 1989 artwork by Deborah Butterfield
* Goo Hara (1991-2019), South Korean idol singer
...
. The last major Bhutanese tributary is the
Daga Chhu.
References
*
*
External links
River System of Bhutanfrom "Survey of the Waters of Bhutan Physiography and Fisheries Potential", Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1978
Rivers of Bhutan
Rivers of Assam
International rivers of Asia
Rivers of India
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