Ganga
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Overview
The Ganga takes shape at Devprayag, where the Bhagirathi and the Alaknanda meet. It was declared India's National River in 2008 and runs through Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
Together with the Indus and the Brahmaputra, its alluvium builds the very fertile Northern Plains, and with the Brahmaputra it forms the Sundarbans delta, the largest delta in the world. In history, the later Vedic people moved east into the Ganga–Yamuna doab and the Ganga plains, where iron tools (the Painted Grey Ware culture) helped them clear forest and farm.
Geography and key facts
- A Himalayan river (glacier- and snow-fed)
- Formed at Devprayag by the Bhagirathi and the Alaknanda
- National River of India since 2008
- Its plains show bhabar, terai, bhangar (old alluvium) and khadar (new alluvium)
- Ganga–Brahmaputra delta (Sundarbans): the world's largest delta
Why it matters for UPSC
Prelims has asked about the Himalayan tributaries that join the Ganga below Prayagraj (2024), the National Ganga River Basin Authority (2016), the crowded Ganga Plain (2000) and river sequences (1996, 1997). Learn its tributaries in order from west to east.
Note for UPSC
Formed at Devprayag by the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda; the National River (2008), flowing through Uttarakhand, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
Prelims asks about tributaries, the states a river flows through, its basin and the projects on it, so trace the course on the map.
Asked in PYQs
- UPSC Prelims 2026 · Q1Consider the following assertion : In the Pleistocene period either the Yamuna once flowed into the Indus, or the Sutlej flowed into the Yamuna and one major tributary of…
- UPSC Prelims 2024 · Q6With reference to the Himalayan rivers joining the Ganga downstream of Prayagraj from West to East, which one of the following sequences is correct ?…
- UPSC Prelims 2016 · Q23Which of the following are the key features of 'National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA)'? Select the correct answer using the code given below.…
- UPSC Prelims 2016 · Q68'Gadgil Committee Report' and 'Kasturirangan Committee Report', sometimes seen in the news, are related to…
- UPSC Prelims 2014 · Q96Consider the following statements : Which of the statements given above is/are correct?…
- UPSC Prelims 2013 · Q32Consider the following pairs: National Park : River flowing through the Park Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?…
- UPSC Prelims 2001 · Q35Consider the following statements regarding environment issues of India: I. Gulf of Mannar is one of the biosphere reserves. II. The Ganga Action Plan, phase II has been …
- UPSC Prelims 2000 · Q89Assertion (A): Ganga Plain is the most densely populated part of India. Reason (R): Ganga is the most harnessed river of India.…
- UPSC Prelims 1997 · Q76In the map shown in the given figure, rivers labelled as 1, 2, 3 and 4 are respectively…
- UPSC Prelims 1996 · Q28The river most mentioned in early Vedic literature is…
- UPSC Prelims 1996 · Q96Consider the following rivers: I. Kishenganga II. Ganga III. Wainganga IV. Penganga The correct sequence of these rivers when arranged in the north-south direction is —…
Questions from our Prelims bank whose text names Ganga.
Key facts
- Type
- River
- States / UTs on its course
- Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal
- River system
- Himalayan
- Basin
- Ganga
- Extent on map
- 24.4°–30.1°N, 78.0°–88.2°E
- Asked in Prelims
- 11 questions · 2026, 2024, 2016, 2014, 2013, 2001, 2000, 1997, 1996
From the Map Explorer data; positions are for orientation.