Indus

Indus, one of the largest rivers of India, rises in the Kailas Mountain among the Himalayas (32° N. lat. and 81° E. long.), where the Sutlej also has its source, and after a course of 1,800 miles, during which it descends 18,000 feet and drains an area of 373,000 square miles, falls into the Arabian Sea by several mouths S.E. of Karachi. It is first known as Sinhkabad, and, flowing N.W. past Ladak for 160 miles, enters Kashmir. The Hindu Kush range is passed at an altitude of 14,000 feet by the tremendous gorge of Iskardob, and then, flowing S.W. through Kohistan, the river enters the Punjab at Derbend. Near Attock it is joined by the Cabul river, and from this point turns almost due S., parallel to the Suleiman range. At Mithunkote it receives the vast volume of water which the Panjnad has collected from the five rivers of the Punjab, and from this point its breadth is increased to 2,000 yards, or even to several miles in seasons of flood. It enters Sind at 28° 26' N. lat., and soon after spreads into several branches, the chief being to the W., where a delta of 3,000 square miles is formed. The Indus is shallow, the depth in places not exceeding 5 feet, and is much obstructed by sands and rocks, besides being liable to floods in March and September; but the navigation has of late years been vastly improved, and steamers ply regularly up to Sukkur.