Lohit River

Lohit River
Zayü River
Lohit River in Arunachal Pradesh
Lohit River in Arunachal Pradesh
Lohit River basin
Mouth of Lohit River
Mouth of Lohit River
Mouth of Lohit River
Mouth of Lohit River
Mouth of Lohit River
Lohit River (India)
Mouth of Lohit River
Mouth of Lohit River
Lohit River (Asia)
Location
CountryChina, India
ProvinceTibet, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam
Physical characteristics
SourceKangri Karpo
 • locationTibet, Zayu County, China
 • coordinates29°09′46″N 97°05′01″E / 29.1629°N 97.0837°E / 29.1629; 97.0837
 • elevation5,200 m (17,100 ft)
2nd sourceKangri Karpo
 • locationTibet, Zayu County, China
 • coordinates29°27′47″N 97°08′12″E / 29.463°N 97.1366°E / 29.463; 97.1366
MouthSiang (Brahmaputra)
 • location
Assam
 • coordinates
27°48′N 95°28′E / 27.800°N 95.467°E / 27.800; 95.467
 • elevation
108 m (354 ft)
Length560 km (350 mi)
Basin size41,499 km2 (16,023 sq mi)[1]
Discharge 
 • locationConfluence of Brahmaputra River, Assam, India
 • average3,437.9 m3/s (121,410 cu ft/s)[1]
Discharge 
 • locationDemwe Lower hydroelectric plant (basin size: 20,174 km2 (7,789 sq mi)), Arunachal Pradesh, India
 • average(Period: 1984/85-2003/04)1,234 m3/s (43,600 cu ft/s)[2]
 • minimum263 m3/s (9,300 cu ft/s)[2]
 • maximum4,273 m3/s (150,900 cu ft/s)[2]
Basin features
River systemBrahmaputra River
Tributaries 
 • leftZuao, Gholum, Lati, Noa Dihang
 • rightDav, Delai, Tiding, Dibang

The Lohit River, whose name came from the Assamese word Lohit meaning blood, also known as the Zayul Chu by the Tibetans and Tellu by the Mishmis,[3] is a river in China and India, which joins the Brahmaputra River in the state of Assam. It is formed in the Zayul County of the Tibet Autonomous Region, through a merger of two rivers: the Kangri Karpo Chu (also called Rongto Chu and Zayul Ngu Chu), which originates in the Kangri Karpo range, and Zayul Chu (Chinese: 察隅河; pinyin: Cháyú Hé), which originates to its northeast. The two rivers merge below the town of Rima.[4] The combined river descends through this mountainous region and surges through Arunachal Pradesh in India for 200 kilometres (120 mi) before entering the plains of Assam where it is known as the Lohit River. Tempestuous and turbulent, and known as the river of blood partly attributable to the lateritic soil, it flows through the Mishmi Hills, to meet the Siang (Brahmaputra) at the head of the Brahmaputra valley.

  1. ^ a b "Upper Brahmaputra".
  2. ^ a b c "Lohit River Basin Study". 2009.
  3. ^ Williamson, Noël (1909). "The Lohit-Brahmaputra between Assam and South-Eastern Tibet, November, 1907, to January, 1908". The Geographical Journal. 34: 363–383. doi:10.2307/1777190. JSTOR 1777190. Tibetans call it the Zayul Chu, and the Mishmi name is Tellu
  4. ^ Kingdon Ward, F.; Smith, Malcolm (November 1934), "The Himalaya East of the Tsangpo", The Geographical Journal, 84 (5): 369–394, doi:10.2307/1786924, JSTOR 1786924