The Brahmaputra River in Assam: The Outsized Braided Himalayan River

Abstract

The Brahmaputra is a very large braided river, which flows though a narrow intermontane valley in Assam with low gradient. It is the fourth largest river in the world in terms of average discharge, but its discharge is mainly contributed by its tributaries. The river is ranked second in sediment load. The river is the backbone for economy of Assam State and Bangladesh. Characteristic fluvio-geomorphic features of the river are channels of various orders, channel bars, side bars, unit bars, crevasse splays, natural levees, swamps, palaeochannels, etc. Floods, bank erosion, and natural dam-burst floods are major hazards of the river. The Brahmaputra River is an antecedent river as it is older than the Himalaya that are rising since the Miocene times. The sediments from the Himalaya and the southern hills were deposited in the Assam Valley giving rise to full development of the braided pattern in recent times.