Ganges River

river, c.1,560 mi (2,510 km) long, rising in the Gangotri glacier in the Himalayas in Uttaranchal state, India, and flowing generally southeast through NE India across a vast plain to the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh; the most sacred river of Hindu India. The fertile Ganges plain is one of the world's most densely populated regions; rice, grains, oilseed, sugarcane, and cotton are the main crops. Because of its location near major population centers, however, the river is highly polluted.

The upper Ganges supplies water to extensive irrigation works. The river passes the holy bathing sites at Haridwar Haridwaror Hardwar , city (1991 pop. 187,392), Uttaranchal state, N India, on the Ganges River. The headworks of the Ganges Canal system are located in Haridwar.

..... Click the link for more information. , Allahabad Allahabad , city (1991 pop. 844,546), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India. On the site of Prayag, an ancient Indo-Aryan holy city, Allahabad is at the junction of two sacred rivers, the Yamuna and the Ganges.

..... Click the link for more information. (where the Yamuna Yamuna or Jumna , river, c.850 mi (1,370 km) long, rising in the Himalayas, N India, and flowing generally SE, through the Shiwalik Range, past Delhi, to the Ganges River at Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh state; the Chambal and Betwa rivers are its

..... Click the link for more information. River enters the Ganges), and Varanasi Varanasi , formerly Benares , city (1991 pop. 1,030,863), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India, on the Ganges River. Although a rail hub and trade center, Varanasi is chiefly important as a holy city.

..... Click the link for more information. . Below Allahabad the Ganges becomes a slow, meandering stream with shifting channels.