Sharda River

The Sharda River is the downstream of Kāli River (or Mahakali River) that originates in the northern Uttarakhand state of India in the Great Himalayas on the eastern slopes of Nanda Devi massif, at an elevation of 3,600 m (11,800 ft) in the Pithoragarh district. It then flows on the Nepal and India border. Descending, it enters the Indo-Gangetic Plain at Brahmadev Mandi in Nepal, where it expands above the Sharda Barrage. From that point onward, it is known as the Sharda River. The river proceeds southeastward into India through northern Uttar Pradesh before merging with the Ghaghara River southwest of Bahraich, covering a distance of approximately 300 miles (480 km).

It offers potential for hydroelectric power generation. The river is also proposed as source for one of the many projects in the Himalayan component of the Indian Rivers Inter-link project.

It is named after Śāradā, which is another name for Saraswati, the goddess of learning in Hinduism.^{[citation needed]} It is called Mahakali River in Nepali: महाकाली नदी, romanized: mahākālī nadī, शारदा नदी, shāradā nadī in Hindi, and Kali Gad (Kumaoni: काली गाड़, kālī gād) or Kali Ganga in Uttarakhand.^{[citation needed]}

The sources of the Sharda river have seen much debate through history. The tradition believes that the river originates from a collection of springs near the Kalapani village. The Almora District Gazetteer states:

A remarkable collection of springs regarded as sacred by the Indians and erroneously considered by them as the source of the Kali river, though the headwaters of the latter lie 30 miles further north-west. The springs are in fact unimportant tributaries.

In the British definition of 1911, the Sharda River is formed by the union of two headwaters: the Kalapani River that originates below the Lipulekh Pass and the Kuthi Yankti river that rises below the Limpiyadhura range, but both streams have been termed "Kali River" on different occasions.

The Sharda River serves as the boundary between Uttarakhand's Kumaon Division and Nepal from "a little below the Kalapani encamping ground" (30°13′01″N 80°54′14″E / 30.217°N 80.904°E / 30.217; 80.904). The Lipulekh Pass as well as the Limpayadhura pass (or Limpiya pass) are on Uttarakhand's border with Tibet.

The Sharda River receives from the right, the Darma River at Tawaghat (29°57′N 80°36′E / 29.950°N 80.600°E / 29.950; 80.600). It passes Dharchula and receives Gori Ganga at Jauljibi, after which it exists the high mountains that reach into the alpine zone. At 29°36′N 80°24′E / 29.600°N 80.400°E / 29.600; 80.400 the first important left-bank (L) tributary from Nepal, the Chameliya joins after flowing southwest from Nepal's Gurans Himal (including Api). A bazaar town Jhulaghat (29°34′N 80°21′E / 29.567°N 80.350°E / 29.567; 80.350) is on both sides of the river. Then the Kali receives the Sarju River (R) at 29°27′N 80°15′E / 29.450°N 80.250°E / 29.450; 80.250. The area around Pancheshwar is called Kali Kumaon.