The Indus River Waterhed & Delta

The Indus River Delta forms where the Indus River flows into the Arabian Sea, creating a complex system of swamps, streams and mangrove forests. Reduced river flows are threatening the survival of many species found here, including one of the world’s rarest dolphins. Originating high on the Tibetan Plateau, the Indus River empties into the Arabian Sea. The total drainage area goes in the ranges and foothills of the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush, and the Karakoram Range, while the rest opens on the plains of Pakistan. The river’s annual flow is about twice that of the Nile River and three times that of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers combined. The name derives from the Tibetan and Sanskrit name Sindhu. The earliest chronicles of the Indo-European-speaking peoples of ancient India, the Rigveda, composed about 1500 BCE, mention the river, which is the source of the country’s name.

A river like the Indus River’s system can not be understood without understanding and acknowledging the civilizations it fueled and birthed. People living along the upper reaches of the Indus, – Tibetans, Ladakhi, Balti- speaking Tibetan languages and once practicing Buddhism, many have adopted Islam. Pastoralism is also an important part of the local economy as the livelihood. As you go down South, the inhabitants of the land speak Indo-European Languages and are Muslims, a clear representation of the cultures and people who have gone through the Indian Subcontinent from the West over the millenia. The Kashmir region is inhabited by Dardic-speaking groups whose languages are also Indo-European in Origin.

The well-watered plains of Northern Indus plains are settled and revolve around agricultural heritage and practices; these groups speak Punjabi, Lahnda and form the majority of the Indus Valley people. Going lower, the Indus Valley is inhabited by more agricultural people who speak Sindhi. The Indus Delta is the opening of the Indus River where it meets the Arabian Sea. It is said that the Macedonian fleet of Alexander the Great anchored itself for some time in the Indus River Delta and was damaged by a tsunami generated by an earthquake off the Makran Coast in 325 BC. from 1591-1592, the Mughal Empire also was said to have waged a campaign to bring lowe Sindh under imperial rule, resulting in the Delta coming under the province of Multan and ruled by Mirza Ghazi Beg.