Chambal River

Chambal River
Chambal River Gorge as seen from Kota, Rajasthan
Interactive Map
Location
Country	India
State	Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh
City	Kota
Physical characteristics
Source	Bhadakla Falls in rewa enterprise
• location	Vindhyachal Ranges, Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, India
• coordinates	22°27′N 75°31′E / 22.450°N 75.517°E / 22.450; 75.517
• elevation	870.25 m (2,855.2 ft)
Mouth	Yamuna River
• location	Sahon, Bhind (M.P.) and Jalaun Etawah (U.P.), Madhya Pradesh, India
• coordinates	26°29′20″N 79°15′10″E / 26.48889°N 79.25278°E / 26.48889; 79.25278
• elevation	123 m (404 ft)
Length	1,024 km (636 mi)
Basin size	143,219 km2 (55,297 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	456 m3/s (16,100 cu ft/s)[1]
• minimum	58.53 m3/s (2,067 cu ft/s)
• maximum	2,074.68 m3/s (73,267 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Tributaries
• left	Banas, Mej
• right	Parbati, Kali Sindh, Shipra, Kuno River,Shivna

The Chambal River is a tributary of the Yamuna River in Central and Northern India, and thus forms part of the drainage system of the Ganges.^[2] The river flows north-northeast through Madhya Pradesh, running for a time through Rajasthan, then forming the boundary between Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh before turning southeast to join the Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh state.^[3]

It is a legendary river and finds mention in ancient Hindu scriptures. The perennial Chambal originates at Janapav hills, south of Mhow town, near Manpur, Indore, on the south slope of the Vindhya Range in Madhya Pradesh. The Chambal and its tributaries drain the Malwa region of northwestern Madhya Pradesh, while its tributary, the Banas, which rises in the Aravalli Range, drains southeastern Rajasthan. It ends a confluence of five rivers, including the Chambal, Kwari, Yamuna, Sind, Pahuj, at Pachnada near Bhareh in Uttar Pradesh state, at the border of Bhind and Etawah districts.

The Chambal River is considered pollution free,^[4] and hosts a diverse riverine faunal assemblage including two species of crocodilians – the mugger and gharial, eight species of freshwater turtles, smooth-coated otters, gangetic river dolphins, skimmers, black-bellied terns, sarus cranes and black-necked storks, amongst others. Charmanwati' (also spelled Charmanvati) is a river mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. It is believed that the ancient name of Chambal river was Charmanvati, meaning the river on whose banks leather is dried. In due course of time, this river became famous as the river of ‘charman’ (skin) and was named as Charmanvati.^[5]