Mountain fed rivers
originate in the high mountains of the Himalaya. The Kosi river is an
example of this class characterized by a large upland source area, a
high ratio of upland source area to plains (5.31), and a high discharge.
The Kosi river has its source in Tibet that includes the world's highest
upland it then drains a large
part of Nepal before emerging onto the Gangetic plains. Its three major
tributaries, the Sun Kosi, Arun and Tamur meet at one point just upstream of
10 km gorge cut through the Himalayan foothills. It emerges from this gorge
at Chatra, and then flows across the Himalayan alluvial piedmont zone for
some 40 km to Bhimnagar. The present main channel belt of the Kosi then
follows a curved path around the western edge of the Kosi megafan,
ultimately turning eastwards and forming a "yazoo" subparallel to the Ganga
which it ultimately joins. The megafan of the Kosi has a radius of about 100
km downstream of Bhimnagar.
|