Comparative Physiography of the Lower Ganges and Lower Mississippi Valleys.

283 Pages·2017·11.99 MB·English

LLoouuiissiiaannaa SSttaattee UUnniivveerrssiittyy
LLSSUU DDiiggiittaall CCoommmmoonnss
LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School
1955
CCoommppaarraattiivvee PPhhyyssiiooggrraapphhyy ooff tthhee LLoowweerr GGaannggeess aanndd LLoowweerr
MMiissssiissssiippppii VVaalllleeyyss..
S. Ali ibne hamid Rizvi
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
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Rizvi, S. Ali ibne hamid, "Comparative Physiography of the Lower Ganges and Lower Mississippi Valleys."
(1955). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 109.
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COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF THE LOWER GANGES AND
LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEYS
A Dissertation
Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the
Louisiana State University and
Agricultural and Mechanical College
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
in
The Department of Geography
^ by
9. Ali IJt**Hr Rizvi
B*. A., Muslim University, l9Mf
M. A*, Muslim University, 191*6
M. A., Muslim University, 191*6
May, 1955
EXAMINATION AND THESIS REPORT
Candidate: ^ A li X. H. R izvi
Major Field: Geography
Title of Thesis: Comparison Between Lower Mississippi and Lower Ganges*
Brahmaputra Valleys
Approved:
Major Prj for And Chairman
Dean of Gri ualc School
EXAMINING COMMITTEE:
2
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t o R ^ / q
Date of Examination:
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The author wishes to tender his sincere gratitude to
Dr. Richard J. Russell for his direction and supervision
of the work at every stage; to Dr. Fred B. Kniffen for his
valuable suggestions and guidance; to Dr. Robert C. West
for guidance in planning maps; and to Dr. William G. Haag,
Mr. John Vann, Dr. William G. Mclntire, and Dr. James P.
Morgan for their valuable criticism of manuscript and en­
couragement.
Thanks are due to Mr. Iqbal Ahmed for drawing maps and
to Miss Helen Harrell and Mrs. Joie R. Porter for typing
dissertation.
The author also wishes to express his sincere thanks
to his niece, Miss Binte Zehra Rizvi, whose assistance in
the preparation of maps at Aligarh has been of great value.
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
ACKNOWLEDGMENT........................... ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS........................ iii
LIST OF PLATES........................... ix
ABSTRACT................................. x
INTRODUCTION............................. xiii
I THE DRAINAGE BASIN OF THE GANGES RIVER... 1
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS................. 1
THE GANGES AND ITS TRIBUTARIES.......... h
The Ganges. ................... if
The Jumna........................... &
The S o n 10
The Ramganga........... •••••••••••••• 12
The Gandak......................... Ik
The Kosi............................ 15
The Brahmaputra.................. 16
The Meghna ...... 21
CLIMATE AND VEGETATION................... 23
DIVISIONS OF THE GANGES VALLEY........... 28
The Upper Ganges Valley............. 31
The Middle Ganges Valley.......... 31
The Lower Ganges Valley •••••• 32
iii
CHAPTER PAGE
COMPARISON WITH THE MISSISSIPPI BASIN. 3L
II OLDER GEOLOGIC FEATURES................ LI
SIWALIK DRAINAGE SYSTEM............... LI
Siwalik-Indobrahm Hypothesis......... LL
Dismemberment of the Siwalik River
System. .... ............ L9
THE GANGES STRUCTURAL TROUGH............... 53
Thickness of Deposits. •••••• ........ 55
Suess*s Explanation.................. 56
Burrard*s Hypothesis.................. 57
Oldham*s Interpretation of Geodetic
Data............................. 59
THE INDUS AND BENGAL-ASSAM TROUGHS........ 63
COMPARISON OF GEOSYNCLIN ES IN THE GANGES
AND MISSISSIPPI VALLEYS............... 66
Mississippi Structural Trough.... 66
Gulf Coast Geosyncline........... 69
III PLEISTOCENE TERRACES OF THE GANGES VALLEY.. 73
BASIC CONCEPTS......................... 7L
Changes in the Level of Land and Sea.• 77
Correlation of European and North
American Glacial and Interglacial
Stages •••••••............ 76
Effect of Pleistocene Level Changes
on Streams. ................ 79
PLEISTOCENE TERRACES IN THE GULF COAST AREA 81
The Prairie Terrace. ................. 82
iv
CHAPTER PAGE
The Montgomery Terrace............ 83
The Bentley Terrace. ...... 84
The Williana Terrace.................. 85
Pleistocene Stratigraphy. ..... ••••• 86
Mechanics of Terrace Formation......... 88
STUDY OF QUATERNARY IN INDIA................ 90
Quaternary Terminology of the Upper
Ganges Valley..................... 94
Khadar and Bhangar ......... 96
Bhabar and Terai ................. 96
The "Old Alluvium” of the Lower Ganges
Valley............................ 97
The Madhupur Jungle............... 99
The Barind........................ 101
The Lalmai Hills.................. 102
Speculations Regarding the Formation of
"Old Alluvium"...... ..••.•••••••• 103
Are the Patches of "Old Alluvium"
Pleistocene Terraces?............. 106
IV THE CHANGING DRAINAGE PATTERNS OF THE LOWER
GANGES VALLEY.......................... 109
SOURCES OF INFORMATION...................... 109
Old Hindu Scriptures. ....... 110
Historical Records..................... 110
Travellerfs Accounts. .......... Ill
Pt'olemy’s Description.......... Ill
Archaelogical Evidence........ 112
Modern Maps .............. 112
CHAPTER PAGE
THE POST-SIWALIK DRAINAGE.................... 113
MODERN DRAINAGE PATTERNS..................... 115
Rivers of the Fourteenth Century........115
Rivers of the Sixteenth Century....... 117
Rivers of the Seventeenth Century*•••••• 118
Rivers of the Eighteenth Century........121
EVOLUTION OF THE PRESENT RIVER SYSTEM....... 124
The Ganges-Brahmaputra Doab............. 126
The Meghna-Brahmaputra Valley.•••••••••• 128
The Deltaic Plain••••••••••••••••••••••• 132
BAERiS LAW IN RELATION TO BENGAL RIVERS.......133
V THE FLOOD PLAINS............................. 139
The Brahmaputra................*........ 139
The Ganges........ *.....*.............. 142
The Meghna******................*........ 146
STREAM PATTERNS.............................. 146
Braided Patterns .................. 146
Meander Patterns ..... 149
LAND FORMS.................................... 151
Alluvial Cones ....... 151
Natural Levees...... 152
BHILS AND JHEELS............................. 154
Sylhet Jheels......... *................ 155
Chalan Bhil..... *....................... 156
vi
CHAPTER PAGE
VI THE DELTA.................................... 159
DEFINITION..*............................... 159
ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF A DELTA............... 163
STRUCTURE.................................... 160
The Bottomset Beds........... 170
The Foreset Beds....... 170
The Topset Beds............. 171
THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA....................... 174
THE GANGES DELTA................. 176
VII SURFACE FEATURE OF THE GANGES DELTA........ 167
RIVERS AND KHALS............................ 167
The Bhagirathi............... 16?
The Jalangl......... 190
The Bhairab................••••••...... 191
The Matabhanga.•••••.•••••••••••••••••• 191
The Garai-Madhumati....... 192
The Arial Khan........ 193
The Padma..................... •••••.... 194-
STREAM PATTERNS............ 196
Meander Patterns........ ........ 196
Network Patterns. ....... 197
Braided Patterns.......... 196
DEAD AND DYING RIVERS.......... 196
BHILS AND JHEELS............................ 204
vii
CHAPTER PAGE
LAND FORMS.................................. 208
Natural Levees. ..... 208
Dwips. ..... 210
SEDIMENTATION............................... 212
Sedimentary Load............. 212
Thickness of Sediments ....... 217
Growth of Delta........ 219
VIII MODERN SUBDELTAS OF THE GANGES.............. 221
The Bhagirathi Subdelta. ..... 227
The Bhairab Subdelta......... 229
The Matabhanga Subdelta....... 231
The Arial Khan Subdelta................ 233
The Garai-Madhuxnati Subdelta.......... 235
DIVISIONS OF THE DELTAIC PLAIN.............. 237
Moribund Delta...... ...••••«•......... 237
Mature Delta. .......... 239
Active Delta. 2i+0
IX SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS..................... 22+1
BIBLIOGRAPHY................................ 22+6
APPENDIX..................................... 259
BIOGRAPHY................................... 261
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