Jumna River
The Jumna (or Yamuna) River rises in the Indian Himalayas in the north of Uttar Pradesh state, at the southwestern base of the Jamnotri Peaks, near the Jamnotri hot springs, at an elevation of 3,307 meters. It flows south to break through the Siwalik Hills by a gorge and out onto the Gangetic Plain at Faizabad, continuing on past Delhi, and then in a southeasterly direction past Agra to join with the Ganges River at the fort and city of Allahabad. This latter is a most sacred confluence, called prayag, or place of pilgrimage. Countless thousands come here to bathe and become sanctified each year.
The river's length is 1,384 kilometers, and it is the most important feeder of the Ganges.
Its catchment area is estimated at 305,600 square kilometers. In its upper reaches, timber is floated down the stream, and in the lower reaches grain, cotton, and building materials are transported by barge. Near Faizabad it gives off the Eastern (constructed between 1823 and 1830) and the Western (constructed in 1350 and 1628) Jumna Canals. As a result of this loss of water, during the hot season the river itself is reduced to a mere stream above Agra. Here and elsewhere several railway bridges cross the Jumna.
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