Sun Kosi
Encyclopedia
The Sun Kosi or Matsang Tsangpo is a trans-boundary river
and is part of the Kosi
or Sapta Kosi river system in Nepal
. It originates in Tibet Autonomous Region
of China
.
denotes a river flowing from or through Tsang
, i.e. Tibet west of Lhasa
.
, the Bhote Koshi
, the Dudh Kosi
, the Arun River, Barun River
, and Tamur River
. The combined river flows through the Chatra gorge in a southerly direction to emerge from the hills.
The Sun Kosi contributes 44 per cent of the total water in the Sapta Koshi , the Arun 37 per cent and the Tamur 19 per cent.
province is traditionally known as Lato, the highland region of Tibet. North Lato comprises the upper reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo
and Raga Tsangpo. South Lato comprises the upper reaches of Matsang Tsangpo, Bum-chu, and Kyirong Tsangpo
.
The Sun Kosi or Matsang Tsangpo rises as a number of snow fed streams beyond Gosainthan
massif in Tibet.South of the town of Pengyeling, in Nyalam County
of Tibet, Matsang Tsangpo gorge cuts through the Himalayas
. In Nepal, the Arniko Rajmarg
follows the Sun Kosi up to Dolalghat.It is joined by the Bhote Koshi
just downstream from Barabise, in Nepal.The Indravati
meets the Sun Kosi at Dolalghat.The Sun Kosi then flows eastwards through the valley between the Mahabharat Range and the Himalayas
. The area has no roads or towns, just the occasional picturesque village.There are few more tributaries of Sun Kosi as Rosi Khola, Junga Khola, Tamakosi (copper river), Dudh Kosi (milk river), and Rasuwa Khola.The Tamur
, the Arun join the Sun Kosi at Tribenighat to form the giant Saptakoshi which flows through Mahabharat Range on to the Gangetic plain.
The Sun Kosi basin covers an area of 18800 square kilometres (7,258.7 sq mi). Average annual flow is 22 x 109 m3. Average sediment load is 54 x 106 m3.
and intermediate kayaking
. It has grade III-IV rapids.The most common put in point of a Sun Kosi river trip is Dolalghat,at a height of 620 metres (2,034.1 ft) and it ends at the Chatra gorge at 115 metres (377.3 ft), a distance of around 272 kilometres (169 mi).
across the river near Kurule through a 16.6 kilometres (10.3 mi) tunnel and a 61.4 MW associated power house to the Kamala River
, flowing through central Nepal. Some 72 m3/s of water would be transferred to the Kamala River for the purposes of irrigation and further generation of power.
Trans-boundary river
A trans-boundary river is a river that crosses at least one political border, either a border within a nation or an international boundary. The country of Bangladesh has the greatest number of these rivers, almost all of which cross national boundaries....
and is part of the Kosi
Koshi River
The Kosi River or Koshi —also Saptakoshi for its seven Himalayan tributaries—is a trans-boundary river flowing through Nepal and India. Some of the rivers of the Koshi system, such as the Arun, the Sun Kosi and the Bhote Koshi, originate in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China...
or Sapta Kosi river system in Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
. It originates in Tibet Autonomous Region
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region , Tibet or Xizang for short, also called the Xizang Autonomous Region is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China , created in 1965....
of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
.
Etymology
Sun Kosi or Sona Kosi means river of gold. In the local languages sona means gold and kosi means river. It could have been so named because of the gold sometimes picked up with the gravels, or because of the colour of the water loaded with alluvium during the monsoons.The Sun Kosi is known as Matsang Tsangpo in Tibet. The suffix TsangpoTsangpo
Tsangpo is the suffix attached to names of rivers originating or sometimes flowing through the Tsang province of Tibet. Some of the rivers are:* The Yarlung Tsangpo – in its lower reaches it is known as the Brahmaputra River...
denotes a river flowing from or through Tsang
Ü-Tsang
Ü-Tsang , or Tsang-Ü, is one of the three traditional provinces of Tibet, the other two being Amdo and Kham. Geographically Ü-Tsang covered the central and western portions of the Tibetan cultural area, including the Tsang-po watershed, the western districts surrounding and extending past Mount...
, i.e. Tibet west of Lhasa
Lhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
.
Kosi river system
The Kosi or Sapt Kosi drains eastern Nepal. It is known as Sapt Koshi because of the seven rivers which join together in east-central Nepal to form this river. The main rivers forming the Kosi system are – the Sun Kosi River, the Indravati RiverIndravati River, Nepal
-Kosi river system:The Kosi or Sapt Kosi drains eastern Nepal. It is known as Sapt Koshi because of the seven rivers which join together in east-central Nepal to form this river. The main rivers forming the Kosi system are – the Sun Kosi River, the Indravati River, the Bhola Koshi, the Dudh Kosi,...
, the Bhote Koshi
Bhote Koshi
The Bhote Kosi or Rongshar Tsangpo is a trans-boundary river and is part of the Kosi or Sapta Kosi river system in Nepal. It originates in Tibet Autonomous Region of China.-Etymology:...
, the Dudh Kosi
Dudh Kosi
-Kosi river system:The Kosi or Sapt Kosi drains eastern Nepal. It is known as Sapt Koshi because of the seven rivers which join together in east-central Nepal to form this river. The main rivers forming the Kosi system are – the Sun Kosi, the Indravati River, the Bhola Kosi, the Dudh Kosi, the Arun...
, the Arun River, Barun River
Barun River
The Barun River is a tributary of the Arun River and is part of the Kosi river system in Nepal.-Kosi river system:The Kosi or Sapt Kosi drains eastern Nepal. It is known as Sapt Koshi because of the seven rivers which join together in east-central Nepal to form this river...
, and Tamur River
Tamur River
The Tamur River is a major river in eastern Nepal, which begins around Kanchenjunga. The Tamur and the Arun join the Sun Kosi at Tribenighat to form the giant Saptakoshi which flows through Mahabharat Range on to the Gangetic plain-Kosi river system:...
. The combined river flows through the Chatra gorge in a southerly direction to emerge from the hills.
The Sun Kosi contributes 44 per cent of the total water in the Sapta Koshi , the Arun 37 per cent and the Tamur 19 per cent.
Course
The westernmost part of TsangÜ-Tsang
Ü-Tsang , or Tsang-Ü, is one of the three traditional provinces of Tibet, the other two being Amdo and Kham. Geographically Ü-Tsang covered the central and western portions of the Tibetan cultural area, including the Tsang-po watershed, the western districts surrounding and extending past Mount...
province is traditionally known as Lato, the highland region of Tibet. North Lato comprises the upper reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo
Brahmaputra River
The Brahmaputra , also called Tsangpo-Brahmaputra, is a trans-boundary river and one of the major rivers of Asia. It is the only Indian river that is attributed the masculine gender and thus referred to as a in Indo-Aryan languages and languages with Indo-Aryan influence...
and Raga Tsangpo. South Lato comprises the upper reaches of Matsang Tsangpo, Bum-chu, and Kyirong Tsangpo
Trishuli River
The Trishuli River is a trans-boundary river and is one of the major tributaries of the Narayani River basin in central Nepal. It originates in Tibet Autonomous Region of China where it is called Kyirong Tsangpo...
.
The Sun Kosi or Matsang Tsangpo rises as a number of snow fed streams beyond Gosainthan
Shishapangma
Xixabangma, frequently spelled Shishapangma or Shisha Pangma , also called Gosainthān , is the fourteenth-highest mountain in the world and, at 8,013 m , the lowest of the eight-thousanders...
massif in Tibet.South of the town of Pengyeling, in Nyalam County
Nyalam County
Nyalam County is a county in Tibet's Xigazê Prefecture. It borders on Nepal.The land area of the county is 7,903 square km. The population as of 2003 was 10,000. The postal code for the county is 858300.The county seat is in Nyalam Town....
of Tibet, Matsang Tsangpo gorge cuts through the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
. In Nepal, the Arniko Rajmarg
Arniko Rajmarg
The Araniko Highway connects Kathmandu with Kodari, north-east of the Kathmandu Valley, on the Nepal-China border. It is among the most dangerous of highways in Nepal due to extremely steep slopes on each side of the highway from Barabise onwards, massive landslides and bus plunges are not...
follows the Sun Kosi up to Dolalghat.It is joined by the Bhote Koshi
Bhote Koshi
The Bhote Kosi or Rongshar Tsangpo is a trans-boundary river and is part of the Kosi or Sapta Kosi river system in Nepal. It originates in Tibet Autonomous Region of China.-Etymology:...
just downstream from Barabise, in Nepal.The Indravati
Indravati River, Nepal
-Kosi river system:The Kosi or Sapt Kosi drains eastern Nepal. It is known as Sapt Koshi because of the seven rivers which join together in east-central Nepal to form this river. The main rivers forming the Kosi system are – the Sun Kosi River, the Indravati River, the Bhola Koshi, the Dudh Kosi,...
meets the Sun Kosi at Dolalghat.The Sun Kosi then flows eastwards through the valley between the Mahabharat Range and the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
. The area has no roads or towns, just the occasional picturesque village.There are few more tributaries of Sun Kosi as Rosi Khola, Junga Khola, Tamakosi (copper river), Dudh Kosi (milk river), and Rasuwa Khola.The Tamur
Tamur River
The Tamur River is a major river in eastern Nepal, which begins around Kanchenjunga. The Tamur and the Arun join the Sun Kosi at Tribenighat to form the giant Saptakoshi which flows through Mahabharat Range on to the Gangetic plain-Kosi river system:...
, the Arun join the Sun Kosi at Tribenighat to form the giant Saptakoshi which flows through Mahabharat Range on to the Gangetic plain.
The Sun Kosi basin covers an area of 18800 square kilometres (7,258.7 sq mi). Average annual flow is 22 x 109 m3. Average sediment load is 54 x 106 m3.
Water sports
The Sun Kosi is used for both raftingRafting
Rafting or white water rafting is a challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. The development of this...
and intermediate kayaking
Kayaking
Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. Kayaking and canoeing are also known as paddling. Kayaking is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle...
. It has grade III-IV rapids.The most common put in point of a Sun Kosi river trip is Dolalghat,at a height of 620 metres (2,034.1 ft) and it ends at the Chatra gorge at 115 metres (377.3 ft), a distance of around 272 kilometres (169 mi).
Sun Kosi-Kamala multipurpose project
The Sun Kosi has a 90 per cent reliable flow of 126 m3/s. It has been proposed that water be diverted from a small weirWeir
A weir is a small overflow dam used to alter the flow characteristics of a river or stream. In most cases weirs take the form of a barrier across the river that causes water to pool behind the structure , but allows water to flow over the top...
across the river near Kurule through a 16.6 kilometres (10.3 mi) tunnel and a 61.4 MW associated power house to the Kamala River
Kamala River
The Kamala River flows through Nepal and the Indian state of Bihar.-Course:The Kamala originates from Mahabharat Range near Sindhuliagarhi in Sindhuli District of Nepal at an elevation of .It flows in a southerly direction and after passing through a gorge above Chauphat it flows into the terai...
, flowing through central Nepal. Some 72 m3/s of water would be transferred to the Kamala River for the purposes of irrigation and further generation of power.