Abstract
The Jamuna–Meghna system drains the Barind tract and Sylhet basin of Bangladesh. The changes in river courses within this subsystem since the late eighteenth century are most striking. Earlier the Ganga and the Jamuna discharged separately into the Bay of Bengal. The Teesta avulsed eastwards in 1787. The Brahmaputra left its course through Sylhet basin 1830 and adopted a then insignificant channel called Janai. Since then the lower Brahmaputra is known as Jamuna. The Meghna extended itself to join the Ganga or Padma at Chandpur. The subsidence of central Bengal (i.e. along the present course followed by the Jamuna) acted as the cardinal force governing the changes. The absorption of sediment load carried by the old Brahmaputra in the Sylhet basin for a longer geological period may be attributed to the disproportionate growth of the delta towards the Bay of Bengal.
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Rudra, K. (2018). The Jamuna–Meghna System. In: Rivers of the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta. Geography of the Physical Environment. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76544-0_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76544-0_5
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