- Arun River, China-Nepal
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For other uses, see River Arun.
Arun (Bum-chu) River Countries Nepal, China State Tibet Tributaries - left Yeru Tsanpo, Trakar-chu - right Barun River Source Zurtso Mouth Confluence with Sun Kosi and Tamur River to form Sapta Kosi - location Tribenighat, Nepal - coordinates 26°54′47″N 87°09′25″E / 26.91306°N 87.15694°E The Arun River (Nepali: अरुण नदी) is a trans-boundary river and is part of the Kosi or Sapt Koshi river system in Nepal. It originates in Tibet Autonomous Region of People's Republic of China where it is called Bum-chu.
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Name
In Tibet, the river is called Bum-chu.,[1][2] also transliterated Phung-Chu or from Chinese as Peng Qu or Pumqu. Men Qu or Moinqu is an upper tributary draining glaciers from Xixabangma (Shishapangma). In Nepal the river's name changes to Arun.
Tibet
The Tibetan name Bum-chu may refer to a religious ceremony attempting to divine prospects for the coming year from the level of water in a pot or well.,[3][4] Chu is the Tibetan word for water. The river originates near Zurtso in Nyalam County of Tibet. Around 17 kilometres (11 mi) downstream the Men-chu joins it. The Dingri county occupies the upper reaches of the Bum-chu and the lateral valleys formed by its tributaries, the foremost of which are Lolo-chu, Shel-chu, Rongpu-chu, Trakar-chu, Kharda-chu, Ra-chu Tsangpo, and Langkor Gya-chu. The Yeru Tsanpo confluences with Bum-chu in Tingkye County, which accommodates the lower Bum-chu valley. Another river that meets Bum-chu is Trakar-chu. The river flows past the town of Kharda, gateway to the Khangzhung east face of Everest. With the force of its accumulated waters carves its way, South of Drengtrang, through the main chain of the Himalayas directly between the mountain massifs of Everest and Kangchenjunga into Nepal.[2] [5]
Kosi River System
The Kosi or Sapta Koshi drains eastern Nepal. It is known as Sapt Koshi because of the seven rivers which join together in east-central Nepal to form this river. The main rivers forming the Koshi system are – the Sun Kosi, the Indravati River, the Bhoté Koshi, the Dudh Kosi, the Arun River, Barun River, and Tamur River. The combined river flows through the Chatra gorge in a southerly direction to emerge from the hills.[6][7]
The Sun Kosi contributes 44 per cent of the total water in the Sapta Koshi , the Arun 37 per cent and the Tamur 19 per cent.[8]
Nepal
The Arun is the largest trans-Himalayan river passing through Nepal and also has the greatest snow and ice covered area of any Nepalese river basin. The Arun drains more than half of the area contributing to the Sapta Kosi river system but provides only about a quarter of the total discharge. This apparent contradiction is caused by the location of more than 80 percent of the Arun's drainage area in the rain shadow of the Himalayas. Average annual rainfall in Tibet is about 300 millimetres (12 in).[9]
The river leaves the Tibet region at a height of about 3,500 metres (11,500 ft). South of the Himalayas, the flow of the Arun increases substantially in the seasonally-humid environment of east Nepal. The landscape south of the border tends to be steep with less than 15 percent of the area having a sustained slope of less than 15° and is strongly dissected by stream channels. Many of the hill slopes are structurally unstable, and the region is seismically active. An earthquake in August 1988, with an epicentre more than 50 km south of the Arun basin, had a magnitude of 6.7 on the Richter scale and resulted in more than 100 deaths in the Arun basin alone The northern third of the Nepalese portion of the Arun basin supports a rich, though human-modified, forest of mixed hardwoods, Chir pine, fir, and rhododendron at elevations of over 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). The vegetation in the southern two-thirds of the area has been extensively modified for subsistence agriculture. Most of the half-million people in the Arun basin live in this southern area between 300 metres (980 ft) and 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) in widely scattered villages near the slopes they farm.[10]
References
- ^ Gyurme Dorje (1999). Tibet Handbook. Bath, England: Footprint Handbooks. http://books.google.com/books?id=xul-VmZBUKoC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
- ^ a b Morris, captain C.J.. The Gorge of the Arun. The Geographical Journal, September 1923.. JSTOR 1780654.
- ^ http://www.sikkiminfo.net/bumchu.htm
- ^ http://www.sikkimonline.info/sikkim/Bumchu
- ^ Gyurme Dorje, 1999, op. cit.. http://books.google.com/books?id=xul-VmZBUKoC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- ^ Negi, Sharad Singh. "Himalayan rivers, lakes and glaciers". Kosi River System, p. 89. Google books. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=5YtUShKY8zcC&pg=PA89&lpg=PA89&dq=Himalayan+rivers+Negi+Sun+kosi&source=bl&ots=_HegZ9tvi0&sig=LBfqD_upzK4XiqvS9l8iEDBXuMo&hl=en&ei=Hg7uS__cL4TDrAfhxMiTBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
- ^ Bahadur, Jagdish. "Himalayan snow and glaciers: associated environmental problems, progress". Kosi, p. 90. Google books.. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=fgxQSBwOe0QC&pg=PA90&lpg=PA90&dq=Sunkosi+Barun&source=bl&ots=uRyk_6OlUA&sig=mX4RyKc-B7OppsdhB_DX-d3orNA&hl=en&ei=oBPuS67fBIKmrQewsb2TBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CCMQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
- ^ K.L.Rao. "India’s Water Wealth". p. 70. Google books. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=DZNrXuA2y3MC&pg=PA70&lpg=PA70&dq=Tamur+river+tributary&source=bl&ots=c_NZ_EolVE&sig=o-NIUxzB7U3xUuFheJlY8W54gnc&hl=en&ei=zOD9S-30Ds24rAfuybHJCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAjge#v=onepage&q=Tamur%20river%20tributary&f=false. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
- ^ Kattelmann, Richard (1990). "Hydrology and development of the Arun River, Nepal". Proceedings of two Lausanne Symposia, August 1990, IAHS publ. no. 193. International Association of Hydrological Sciences. pp. 778. http://iahs.info/redbooks/a193/iahs_193_0777.pdf. Retrieved May 27, 2011.
- ^ Kattelmann, 1990, op. cit., pp. 778, http://iahs.info/redbooks/a193/iahs_193_0777.pdf
Hydrology of Nepal Rivers Mahananda basinSapta Koshi basinArun or Bum-chu • Barun • Bhote Koshi or Rongshar Tsangpo • Dudh Kosi • Hongu • Imja Khola • Indravati • Kosi or Sapta Koshi • Sabha • Sangkhuwa • Siswa • Sun Kosi or Matsang Tsangpo • TamurBagmati basinBagmati • Bisnumati • Kamala • LakhandeiNarayani basinKarnali basinBheri • Karnali or Ghagra • Kalapani • Kali • Panjang • Rohini • Sarda or Mahakali • Seti • Thuli Bheri • West Rapti RiverLakes Glaciers Icefalls Related topics Kosi basin Rivers Arun or Bum-chu • Barun • Bhote Koshi or Rongshar Tsangpo • Dudh Kosi • Hongu • Imja Khola • Indravati • Kosi or Sapta Koshi • Sabha • Sangkhuwa • Siswa • Sun Kosi or Matsang Tsangpo • Tamur
The Bagmati basin is not included in the Kosi basin in this NavboxDams, barrages Koshi Barrage • Kosi embankmentGeographical features Floods Floods in Bihar • 2008 Bihar floodRiparian districts/ areas Tibet Autonomous Region of China Nyalam County • Tingri County Nepal Kosi Zone • Sagarmatha Zone Bihar Darbhanga division • Kosi division • Purnia divisionLanguages/ people Transport Categories:- Rivers of Nepal
- Rivers of Tibet
- International rivers of Asia
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