River Indus

The Indus Civilization (circa 2600 - 1800 

B.C.) was the culmination of a regionalized farming village society based on the
cultivation of wheat and barley that had already been established for several
millennia. Some of these ancient ways of life continue to this day. The Indus
Civilization thus provided the foundation for modern civilization in both India
and Pakistan. 

Originating in the Tibetan plateau in the
vicinity of Lake Mansarovar in Tibet Autonomous Region, the river runs a course
through the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir and then enters Northern Areas
(Gilgit-Baltistan), flowing through the North in a southerly direction along the
entire length of the country, to merge into the Arabian Sea near port city of
Karachi in Sindh. The total length of the river is 3,180 kilometers (1,976
miles) and is Pakistan's longest river. The river has a total drainage area
exceeding 1,165,000 square kilometers (450,000 square miles). The river's
estimated annual flow stands at around 207 cubic kilometers, making it the
twenty-first largest river in the world in terms of annual flow. Beginning at
the heights of the world with glaciers, the river feeds the ecosystem of
temperate forests, plains and arid countryside. Together with the rivers Chenab,
Ravi, Sutlej, Jhelum, Beas and two tributaries from the North West Frontier and
Afghanistan, the Indus forms the Sapta Sindhu (Seven Rivers) delta
of Pakistan.



The Indus River Delta forms where the Indus River flows into the
Arabian Sea in Pakistan. The delta covers an area of about 16,000 square miles
(41,440 km�), and is approximately 130 miles across where it meets the sea.
Unlike many other deltas, the Indus River Delta consists of clay and other
infertile soils, and is very swampy. The delta receives between 10 and 20 inches
of rainfall in a normal year.

Pakistan's fifth largest city, Hyderabad, lies about 130 miles north of the
mouths of the Indus. Towns are found throughout the delta, but there are no
large cities on the delta south of Hyderabad. Karachi, Pakistan's largest city,
lies west of the delta on the coast of the Arabian Sea.

Average temperatures for the delta region in July range from 70 - 85 �F, and
50 - 70 �F in January. The Indus River Delta is an important region for
migrating water birds, and is an area rich in freshwater fauna. Fish found in
the delta include the Hilsa, Indus baril, Indus garua (a catfish), the giant
snakehead, golden mahaseer and the Rita catfish..