Chenab
Chenab is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. 2 dams stand on this watercourse and are 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
- 2
- Coordinates
- 31.83°, 73.11°
About Chenab
The Chenab River is a major river in India and Pakistan, and one of the five major rivers associated with the Punjab region. It is formed by the union of two headwaters, the Chandra and Bhaga, which rise in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul region of Himachal Pradesh, India. The Chenab then flows through the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, India, into the plains of Punjab, Pakistan, where it joins the Sutlej River to form the Panjnad, which ultimately flows into the Indus River at Mithankot.
The waters of the Chenab were allocated to Pakistan under the terms of the Indus Waters Treaty. India is allowed non-consumptive uses such as power generation. The Chenab River is extensively used in Pakistan for irrigation. Its waters are also transferred to the channel of the Ravi River via numerous link canals.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Chenab River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Chenab in Depth
Course
The river is formed by the confluence of two rivers, Chandra and Bhaga, at Tandi, 8 km (5.0 mi) southwest of Keylong, in the Lahaul and Spiti district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
The Bhaga River originates from Surya taal lake, which is situated a few kilometers west of the Bara-lacha la pass in Himachal Pradesh. The Chandra River originates from glaciers east of the same pass (near Chandra Taal). This pass also acts as a water-divide between these two rivers. The Chandra river transverses 115 km (71 mi) while the Bhaga river transverses 60 km (37 mi) through narrow gorges before their confluence at Tandi.
History
The river was known to Indians in the Vedic period. In 325 BCE, Alexander the Great allegedly founded the town of Alexandria on the Indus (present-day Uch Sharif or Mithankot or Chacharan in Pakistan) at the confluence of the Indus and the combined streams of Punjab rivers (currently known as the Panjnad River). Arrian, in the Anabasis of Alexander, quotes the eyewitness Ptolemy Lagides as writing that the river was 2 miles (3.2 km) wide where Alexander crossed it.
The Battle of Chenab was fought between Sikhs and Afghans on the bank of the river.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Chenab River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Chenab: Key Facts
| Length | 1,974 km |
|---|---|
| Drainage basin | 138,000 km² |
| Source | Chandra River |
| Mouth | Panjnad River |
| Drainage system | Indus basin |
| Tributaries | Tawi River, Ravi River, Jhelum River, Marusudar River, Bhut Nal |
Facts from Wikidata Q216875 (CC0).
Dams on the Chenab
2 dams on the Chenab, ordered by structural height, with their reservoirs and generating capacity.
| Dam | Height | Capacity | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baglihar Dam | 143 m | 900 MW | 2008 |
| Salal Dam | 113 m | 690 MW | 1987 |
Baglihar Dam
Concrete Gravity dam · Jammu & Kashmir, India
Baglihar Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Chenab in Jammu & Kashmir, India, standing 143 m (469 ft) high and completed in 2008. It carries an installed hydroelectric capacity of 900 MW. The structure impounds Baglihar Reservoir.
Baglihar Dam (Hindi: बगलिहार बाँध Baglihār Bāndh), also known as Baglihar Hydroelectric Power Project, is a run-of-the-river power project on the Chenab River in Baglihar road in the Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir, India.
The first power project executed by the Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Corporation, it was conceived in 1992 and approved in 1996, with construction begun in 1999. The project was estimated to cost US$1 billion. The project consists of two-stage of 450MW each. The first stage of the project was completed in 2008-09 and the second stage of the project was completed in 2015–16.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Baglihar Dam (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Dam type
- Concrete Gravity
- Structural height
- 143 m (469 ft)
- Installed capacity
- 900 MW
- Impounded river
- Chenab
- Reservoir
- Baglihar Reservoir
- Location
- Jammu & Kashmir, India
- Year completed
- 2008
- Height rank
- #34 of 115 indexed
- Output rank
- #53 of 102 indexed
- Coordinates
- 33.1583°, 75.3167°
Notable: Engineered in a narrow Himalayan canyon under the Indus Waters Treaty.
Among the 115 dams indexed in YearMaps, Baglihar Dam ranks #34 by structural height, behind Jinping-I Dam (305 m). By installed generating capacity it ranks #53, behind Three Gorges Dam (22,500 MW).
Nearest cities: Jammu (66 km), Sialkote (100 km), Pathankot (106 km).
More about Baglihar Dam
Baglihar Dam: Key Facts
| Crest length | 363 m |
|---|
Facts from Wikidata Q460350 (CC0).
Salal Dam
Rock-fill / Concrete dam · Jammu & Kashmir, India
Salal Dam is a rock-fill / concrete dam on the Chenab in Jammu & Kashmir, India, standing 113 m (371 ft) high and completed in 1987. It carries an installed hydroelectric capacity of 690 MW. The structure impounds Salal Reservoir.
Salal Dam (Hindi: सलाल बाँध Salāl Bāndh), also known as Salal Hydroelectric Power Station, is a run-of-the-river hydropower project on the Chenab River in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. It was the first hydropower project built by India in Jammu and Kashmir under the Indus Water Treaty regime. After having reached a bilateral agreement with Pakistan in 1978, with significant concessions made to Pakistan in the design of the dam, reducing its height, eliminating operating pool, and plugging the under-sluices meant for sediment management, India completed the project in 1987. The concessions made in the interest of bilateralism damaged the long-term sustainability of the dam, which silted up in five years. It ran at 57% capacity factor. In May 2025, India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, and de-silted the reservoir restoring some of the plant's power generation capacity.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Salal Dam (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Dam type
- Rock-fill / Concrete
- Structural height
- 113 m (371 ft)
- Installed capacity
- 690 MW
- Impounded river
- Chenab
- Reservoir
- Salal Reservoir
- Location
- Jammu & Kashmir, India
- Year completed
- 1987
- Height rank
- #44 of 115 indexed
- Output rank
- #60 of 102 indexed
- Coordinates
- 33.1417°, 74.8319°
Notable: First major Indian run-of-the-river hydroelectric scheme built on the Chenab.
Among the 115 dams indexed in YearMaps, Salal Dam ranks #44 by structural height, behind Jinping-I Dam (305 m). By installed generating capacity it ranks #60, behind Three Gorges Dam (22,500 MW).
Nearest cities: Jammu (48 km), Sialkote (74 km), Gujrat (94 km).
More about Salal Dam
History
The Salal project was conceived in 1920. Feasibility studies on the project commenced in 1961 by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir and a project design was readied by 1968. Construction was started in 1970 by the Central Hydroelectric Project Control Board (under the Government of India's Ministry of Irrigation and Power). The design of the project contained a two-stage powerhouse generating 690 MW power making use of the head created by the dam.
Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, the Chenab River is allocated to Pakistan for exploitation (one of the 'Western Rivers' – Indus, Jhelum and Chenab). India has rights to use the river for "non-consumptive" uses such as power generation.
Location
The project is located on the Chenab River near the Salal village in the Reasi District, a few kilometres south of Matlot where the river turns to a southerly course. Pakistan's Marala Headworks is 72 km (45 mi) downstream, from where the Marala–Ravi Link Canal and the Upper Chenab Canal carry water to various parts of Pakistani Punjab.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Salal 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
Chenab: Quick Answers
- Where is Chenab?
- Chenab is located in Pakistan and India, at 31.8301° N, 73.1081° E.
- Are there dams on the Chenab?
- Yes. YearMaps records 2 dams on the Chenab: Baglihar Dam, Salal Dam.
- What is the tallest dam on the Chenab?
- Baglihar Dam is the tallest dam recorded on the Chenab, at 143 m (469 ft), completed in 2008.
- Which dam on the Chenab generates the most electricity?
- Baglihar Dam has the largest installed hydroelectric capacity on the Chenab: 900 MW. Installed capacity is the maximum rated output, not the annual average.