A major river system in South Asia, the Indus River flows primarily through Pakistan. It impacts parts of China, India, and Afghanistan, stretching 3180 km from the Himalayas to the Arabian Sea. The geographical area in which the Indus River System lies is the Indus Basin.
For centuries, the Indus River has been recognized by different names; it was originally known as the Sindhu River. The River Sindhu was called Indus by the Greeks, likely during Alexander the Great’s crossing of the river in 326 BCE. The name “Indus” is derived from the ancient Sanskrit word “Sindhu” and reflects the river’s significance in the region and its interaction with various cultures and empires over time. It’s known as Abaseen (father of the rivers) in Pashto. In the Tibetan language, it is known as Sengge Chu (Lion River), and in Chinese, it is called Shendo.
The Indus basin itself is 50 million years old, dating back to the early Eocene epoch. This was when the Indian and Eurasian plates collided, causing the initial formation of the river system. The River Indus has remained roughly in its current position but has shifted within the Indus basin for millions of years. The Indus River system has been supporting life since the very beginning. About 1000 archaeological sites have been discovered along the River Indus from Punjab to Sindh. The Indus Valley civilization, known as the Harappan civilization, was from the 3300 to 1300 BCE and had two major cities, Harappa in Punjab, and Mohenjo-Daro in Sindh. About 5 million people used to live on the banks of the Indus River.
The Indus River originates from the Louis mouth glacier, which has a height of 4164 mt. It is situated in the Tibetan region in the Kailash Mountain range near Lake Manasarovar (China). The river then flows Northwest and enters the Ladakh region of India at a place called Danchok. Once in India, the Indus River flows between the Karakorum and Ladakh range and then enters Pakistan from Jammu and Kashmir and the Gilgit-Baltistan region. It mainly has two attributes, namely Western and Eastern. A western attribute consists of the rivers that join the Indus from the Afghanistan side. The Swat River joins the Kabul River, and then both rivers merge with the Indus River at Attock. The Kurram River joins the Indus near Isa Khel—the Gomal River merges 20 m south of Dera Ismail Khan with the Indus. The Gilgit River joins the Indus at Banji.
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