Ganga River

The Ganga River (Ganga)
River
The Ganges in Varanasi
Countries	India,  Bangladesh
States	Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong
Tributaries
- left	Ramganga, Gomti, Ghaghara, Gandaki, Koshi, Mahananda
- right	Yamuna, Tamsa, Son, Punpun
Cities	Rishikesh, Haridwar, Farrukhabad, Kanpur, Jajmau, Allahabad, Mirzapur, Varanasi, Ghazipur, Buxar, Ballia, Patna, Hajipur, Munger, Bhagalpur, Raebareli
Source	Gangotri Glacier, Satopanth Glacier, Khatling Glacier, and waters from melted snow from such peaks as Nanda Devi, Trisul, Kedarnath, Nanda Kot, and Kamet.
- location	Uttarakhand, India
- elevation	3,892 m (12,769 ft)
- coordinates	30°59′N 78°55′E / 30.983°N 78.917°E / 30.983; 78.917
Length	2,525 km (1,569 mi)
Basin	1,080,000 km2 (416,990 sq mi)
Discharge	for Farakka Barrage
- average	16,648 m3/s (587,919 cu ft/s)
- max	70,000 m3/s (2,472,027 cu ft/s)
- min	2,000 m3/s (70,629 cu ft/s)
Discharge elsewhere (average)
- Bay of Bengal	38,129 m3/s (1,346,513 cu ft/s)
Map of the combined drainage basins of the Ganges (orange), Brahmaputra (violet), and Meghna (green).

The Ganges (/ˈɡændʒiːz/ GAN-jeez), also Ganga (Hindustani: [ˈɡəŋɡaː]) is a trans-boundary river of Asia which flows through the nations of India and Bangladesh. The 2,525 km (1,569 mi) river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. It is the third largest river in the world by discharge.

The Ganges is the most sacred river to Hindus. It is also a lifeline to millions of Indians who live along its course and depend on it for their daily needs. It is worshipped as the goddess Ganga in Hinduism. It has also been important historically, with many former provincial or imperial capitals (such as Pataliputra,Kannauj,Kara, Kashi, Patna, Hajipur, Munger, Bhagalpur, Murshidabad, Baharampur, Kampilya, and Kolkata) located on its banks.