Unit1.

5 Five Main Rivers of Bangladesh

The most significant feature of the Bangladesh landscape is provided by the rivers. Bangladesh is
renowned for its beautiful geomorphic features, including the massive rivers flowing throughout the
country.

The major river of Bangladesh are →

The Padma : The Padma is a major river in Bangladesh. It is the main distributary of the Ganges,
flowing generally southeast for 356 kilometers (221 mi) to its confluence with the Meghna River near
the Bay of Bengal. The city of Rajshahi is situated on the banks of the river. Since 1966, over 66,000
hectares of land has been lost due to erosion of the Padma

The Meghna: The River Meghna hails from the convergence of the Surma and Kushiyara Rivers.
Considered as one of the most important rivers in Bangladesh, it measures 164 miles and fans out of the
Bay of Bengal. Its delta constitutes four principal mouths, namely Shahbazpur, Bamni, Hatia, and Tetulia.

The Jamuna : The Jamuna River is one of the three main rivers of Bangladesh. It is the lower stream of
the Brahmaputra River, which originates in Tibet as Yarlung Tsangpo, before flowing into India and then
southwest into Bangladesh.

The Tista: The Tista River originates from the Himalayas and streams down forming a boundary
between Sikkim and West Bengal. The 192-mile-long river passes through India and merges up with river
Brahmaputra.

The Karnaphuli : Originating from the Hills of Lushai, the Karnaphuli River stretches itself over a
distance of 168 miles. The Kaptai Dam situated on this river facilitates the production of hydroelectric
power which serves the locals of Chittagong.

Exercise:

1.What is the biggest river in Bangladesh?

The biggest river in Bangladesh is the Padma River

2. Which is the longest river in Bangladesh?

Padma is the longest river in Bangladesh.

3.What is the widest river in Bangladesh?

The river Meghna,

1.6 Land resource and shaping of Bengal delta

LAND RESOURCE AND SHAPING OF DELTA

Bangladesh is the lowest riparian of three major river systems of the Himalayan Range – the Ganges, the
Brahmaputra, and the Meghna (GBM), which drain a huge volume of water generated in the GBM region
and pass through Bangladesh on to the Bay of Bengal. About 92% of the run-off Bangladesh has to deal
with, enters the country from upstream annually outside of the country. Bangladesh occupies only 7% of
the GBM catchment area with a network of rivers crisscrossing the country. The country is surrounded
by India in the West, North and Northeast and by Myanmar on the Southeast with the Bay of Bengal in
the South providing a gateway to the oceans of the world.Most of Bangladesh lies within the broad delta
formed by the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers and is exceedingly flat, low-lying, and subject to annual
flooding. Much fertile, alluvial soil is deposited by the floodwaters. The only significant area of hilly
terrain, constituting less than one-tenth of the nation's territory, is the Chattogram Hill Tracts District in
the narrow southeastern panhandle of the country

Land Total area: 144,000 square kilometers;

 Land area: 133,910 square kilometers

 Land boundaries: 4,246 km total;
 Coastline: 580 km.