Kangru Chhu
Kangru Chhu (Chinese: 康如普曲, Tibetan: ཁང་རུ་ཆུ་, lit. “Glacial Valley River”) is a high-altitude river in Kangmar County, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Originating from the Zurkar Glacier (5,820 m elevation) on the northern slopes of the Himalayas, it flows 148 km southeast before merging with the Rongshar Tsangpo, a tributary of the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) basin.[1]
Geography
[edit | edit source]The river's watershed spans 2,300 km², primarily draining alpine meadows and arid valleys. Its average discharge is 18 m³/s (peaking at 120 m³/s during July glacial melts). Notable features include Tramo Hot Springs near its upper course and the Drakar Gorge, a 12 km canyon with 300 m vertical cliffs.[2] Economically, it supports 16 irrigation channels watering 6,500 hectares of barley and pea fields in Kangmar. A 15 MW hydropower station, operational since 2018, supplies 40% of the county's electricity. Ecologically, it sustains populations of snow trout (Schizopygopsis stoliczkai) and serves as a corridor for migratory blue sheep.[3][4]
Culturally, the river is revered as a nechhu (sacred water) by local Buddhists. Annual Kangru Chhu Offering Rituals occur each May, where devotees float barley flour sculptures to honor mountain deities. A 14th-century cliffside carving of Padmasambhava overlooks its middle reaches.[5]
References
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