Chenab River

The Chanab or Chenab (Hindi: चेनब cenab; Panjabi ਚਨਾਬ, canāb; Urdu چناب) is a river in India and Pakistan with a length of 1242 kilometres.

It begins at the confluence of the Chandra and Bhaga rivers at Tandi in the Upper Himalayas in Lahaul and Spiti district, Himachal Pradesh. Its upper course, above the confluence of the Marau at Bandarkoot, is also known as the Chandrabhaga. The Chanab then cuts through the Pir Panjal mountain range. On this 150 km stretch are the Baglihar and Salal dams. At Reasi, the Chanab leaves the mountains.

The river flows through the Jammu region in the south of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the plains of the Panjab, where first the Jhelam and then the Ravi flow into it. The Chanab eventually joins the Satluj to form the Panjnad ("Five Rivers"), which later flows into the Indus.

In Jammu and Kashmir, the river is dammed by the Baglihar Dam. The water supply of the Chanab to Pakistan is regulated by the Indus Water Treaty between the two states.

In Vedic times, the river was known to the Indians as Ashkini or Iskmati and to the Greeks as Akesines. In the collective consciousness of the inhabitants of the Panjab, the Chanab occupies a prominent position; it plays an important role in the national epic of the Panjab Heer Ranjha.

See also: List of the longest rivers on earth