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1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
• Jumna
The Nuttall Encyclopedia
• Jumna

or Jamuna, a river of northern India. Rising in the Himalayas in Tehri state, about 5 m. N. of the Jamnotri hot springs, in 31° 3' N. and 78° 30' E., the stream first flows S. for 7 m., then S.W. for 32 m., and afterwards due S. for 26 m., receiving several small tributaries in its course. It afterwards turns sharply to the W. for 14 m., when it is joined by the large river Tons from the north. The Jumna here emerges from the Himalayas into the valley of the Dun, and flows in a S.W. direction for 22 m., dividing the Kiarda Dun on the W. from the Dehra Dun on the E. It then, at the 95th mile of its course, forces its way through the Siwalik hills, and debouches upon the plains of India at Fyzabad in Saharanpur district. By this time a large river, it gives off, near Fyzabad, the eastern and western Jumna canals. From Fyzabad the river flows for 65 m. in a S.S.W. direction, receiving the Maskarra stream from the east. Near Bidhauli, in Muzaffarnagar district, it turns due S. for 80 m. to Delhi city, thence S.E. for 27 m. to near Dankaur, receiving the waters of the Hindan river on the east. From Dankaur it resumes its southerly course for 100 m. to Mahaban near Muttra, where it turns E. for nearly 200 m., passing the towns of Agra, Ferozabad and Etawah, receiving on its left bank the Karwan-nadi, and on its right the Banganga (Utanghan). From Etawah it flows 140 m. S.E. to Hamirpur, being joined by the Sengar on its north bank, and on the south by the great river Chambal from the west, and by the Sind. From Hamirpur, the Jumna flows nearly due E., until it enters Allahabad district and passes Allahabad city, below which it falls into the Ganges in 25° 25' N. and 81° 55' E. In this last part of its course it receives the waters of the Betwa and the Ken. Where the Jumna and the Ganges unite is the prayag, or place of pilgrimage, where devout Hindus resort in thousands to wash and be sanctified.

The Jumna, after issuing from the hills, has a longer course through the United Provinces than the Ganges, but is not so large nor so important a river; and above Agra in the hot season it dwindles to a small stream. This is no doubt partly caused by the eastern and western Jumna canals, of which the former, constructed in 1823-1830, irrigates 300,000 acres in the districts of Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar and Meerut, in the United Provinces; while the latter, consisting of the reopened channels of two canals dating from about 1350 and 1628 respectively, extends through the districts of Umballa, Karnal, Hissar, Rohtak and Delhi, and the native states of Patiala and Jind in the Punjab, irrigating 600,000 acres. The headworks of the two canals are situated near the point where the river issues from the Siwaliks.

The traffic on the Jumna is not very considerable; in its upper portion timber, and in the lower stone, grain and cotton are the chief articles of commerce, carried in the clumsy barges which navigate its stream. Its waters are clear and blue, while those of the Ganges are yellow and muddy; the difference between the streams can be discerned for some distance below the point at which they unite. Its banks are high and rugged, often attaining the proportions of cliffs, and the ravines which run into it are deeper and larger than those of the Ganges. It traverses the extreme edge of the alluvial plain of Hindustan, and in the latter part of its course it almost touches the Bundelkhand offshoots of the Vindhya range of mountains. Its passage is therefore more tortuous, and the scenery along its banks more varied and pleasing, than is the case with the Ganges.

The Jumna at its source near Jamnotri is 10,849 ft. above the sea-level; at Kotnur, 16 m. lower, it is only 5036 ft.; so that, between these two places, it falls at the rate of 314 ft. in a mile. At its junction with the Tons it is 1686 ft. above the sea; at its junction with the Asan, 1470 ft.; and at the point where it issues from the Siwalik hills into the plains, 1276 ft. The catchment area of the river is 118,000 sq. m.; its flood discharge at Allahabad is estimated at 1,333,000 cub. ft. per second. The Jumna is crossed by railway bridges at Delhi, Muttra, Agra and Allahabad, while bridges of boats are stationed at many places.