Beas
Beas is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. Pong Dam (Maharana Pratap Sagar) stands on this watercourse and is written up below. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Dams Recorded
- 1
- Coordinates
- 31.84°, 76.24°
About Beas
The Beas River, anglicized from Vyas River (Hindi: व्यास नदी) in India, is a river in northwestern India, flowing through the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, and is the smallest of the five major rivers of the Punjab region. Rising in the Himalayas in central Himachal Pradesh, the river flows for approximately 470 kilometres (290 mi) into the Sutlej River in Punjab. Its total length is 470 kilometres (290 mi) and its drainage basin is 20,303 square kilometres (7,839 sq mi) large.
As of 2017, the river is home to a tiny isolated population of the Indus dolphin.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Beas River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Beas in Depth
Course
The river rises 4,361 metres (14,308 ft) above sea-level on the southern face of Rohtang Pass in Kullu. It traverses the Mandi District and enters the Kangra District at Sandhol, 590 metres (1,940 ft) above sea-level. During its lower course the Beas is crossed by numerous ferries, many of which consist of inflated skins (darais). Near Reh in Kangra District it divides into three channels, which reunite after passing Mirthal, 300 metres (980 ft) above sea-level. On meeting the Sivalik Hills in Mukerian, the river sweeps sharply northward, forming the boundary with Kangra District. Then, bending round the base of the Sivalik Hills, it takes the southerly direction, separating the districts of Gurdaspur and Hoshiapur.
History
The Beas River marks the easternmost border of Alexander the Great's conquests in 326 BC. It was one of the rivers that created problems in Alexander's invasion of India. His troops mutinied here in 326 BC, refusing to go any further East in Mukerian. Alexander shut himself in his tent for three days, but when the mutiny did not cease he gave in, raising twelve colossal altars to mark the limit and glory of his expedition. The exact location and fate of these altars are unknown, although one historian has suggested that they were later reused to create some of the Pillars of Ashoka.
According to the Kavyamimansa of Rajasekhara, the kingdom-territories of the Gurjara-Pratihara monarch Mahipala I extended as far as the upper course of the river Beas in the north-west.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Beas River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Beas: Key Facts
| Length | 470 km |
|---|---|
| Drainage basin | 20,303 km² |
| Mouth | Sutlej |
| Drainage system | Indus basin |
| Tributaries | Parvati River, Kali Bein, Chakki River |
Facts from Wikidata Q319590 (CC0).
Pong Dam (Maharana Pratap Sagar)
Pong Dam (Maharana Pratap Sagar)
Earth-core Gravel dam · Himachal Pradesh, India
Pong Dam (Maharana Pratap Sagar) is an earth-core gravel dam on the Beas in Himachal Pradesh, India, standing 133 m (436 ft) high and completed in 1974. It carries an installed hydroelectric capacity of 396 MW. The structure impounds Maharana Pratap Sagar.
The Pong Dam, also known as the Beas Dam, is an earth-fill embankment dam on the Beas River in Khatiyar, Kangra district in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India, just upstream of Talwara. The purpose of the dam is water storage for irrigation and hydroelectric power generation. As the second phase of the Beas Project, construction on the dam began in 1961 and was completed in 1974. At the time of its completion, the Pong Dam was the tallest of its type in India. The lake created by the dam, Maharana Pratap Sagar, became a renowned bird sanctuary.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Pong Dam (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Dam type
- Earth-core Gravel
- Structural height
- 133 m (436 ft)
- Installed capacity
- 396 MW
- Impounded river
- Beas
- Reservoir
- Maharana Pratap Sagar
- Location
- Himachal Pradesh, India
- Year completed
- 1974
- Height rank
- #39 of 115 indexed
- Output rank
- #67 of 102 indexed
- Coordinates
- 31.9708°, 75.9525°
Notable: Major Indus Waters storage dam; Ramsar wetland bird sanctuary.
Among the 115 dams indexed in YearMaps, Pong Dam (Maharana Pratap Sagar) ranks #39 by structural height, behind Jinping-I Dam (305 m). By installed generating capacity it ranks #67, behind Three Gorges Dam (22,500 MW).
Nearest cities: Pathankot (40 km), Hoshiarpur (50 km), Jullundur (79 km).
More about Pong Dam (Maharana Pratap Sagar)
Background
The idea for a dam on the Beas at the Pong site was first proposed in 1926 and subsequent surveys of the Indus River and its tributaries were ordered by the Punjab Government in 1927. Interest in the dam declined after the report deemed the project difficult because of flood waters. In 1955, geological and hydrological studies were carried out on the Pong site and an embankment design was recommended. In 1959, extensive studies were carried out and recommended an embankment dam with a gravity section. A final design was issued and construction began in 1961 on the dam which was called Beas Project Unit II - Beas Dam. The Pandoh Dam 140 km (87 mi) upstream being the Beas Project Unit I. It was completed in 1974 and the power station was later commissioned between 1978 and 1983.
Design
The Pong Dam is a 133 m (436 ft) tall and 1,951 m (6,401 ft) long earth-fill embankment dam with a gravel shell. It is 13.72 m (45 ft) wide at its crest and 610 m (2,001 ft) wide at its base. The total volume of the dam is 35,500,000 m3 (46,432,247 cu yd) and its crest sits at an elevation of 435.86 m (1,430 ft) above sea level. The dam's spillway is located on its southern bank and is a chute-type controlled by six radial gates. Its maximum discharge capacity is 12,375 m3/s (437,019 cu ft/s). The reservoir created by the dam, Maharana Pratap Sagar, has a gross capacity of 8,570,000,000 m3 (6,947,812 acre⋅ft) of which 7,290,000,000 m3 (5,910,099 acre⋅ft) is active (live) capacity. The reservoir has a normal elevation of 426.72 m (1,400 ft) and catchment area of 12,560 km2 (4,849 mi2).
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Pong Dam (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Beas: Quick Answers
- Where is Beas?
- Beas is located in India, at 31.8445° N, 76.2408° E.
- Are there dams on the Beas?
- Yes. YearMaps records one dam on the Beas: Pong Dam (Maharana Pratap Sagar).
- How tall is Pong Dam (Maharana Pratap Sagar)?
- Pong Dam (Maharana Pratap Sagar) is 133 metres (436 ft) high and was completed in 1974.