Key Facts about Shyok River

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About Shyok River:

It is a river that flows through northern Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, India, and enters the Pakistan-administered region of Gilgit-Baltistan, where it joins the Indus River.
It is a tributary of the Indus River.
Course:
- It originates from the Rimo Glacier; one of the tongues of the Siachen Glacier, and gets its name from a Ladakhi word meaning ‘the river of death’.
- The alignment of the Shyok river is very strange, originating from the Rimo glacier, it flows in a South-East direction and at joining the Pangong range, it takes a north-west turn and flows parallel to its prior path.
- The Shyok, flowing in a broad valley, rapidly enters a narrow gorge after Chalunka and then joins the Indus at Skardu (Pakistan).
The total length of the river is around 550 km (340 mi).
It is fed by meltwater from numerous glaciers on its journey.
It meanders through the high-altitude desertsand mountain ranges of Ladakh before converging with the Indus.
Its main right-bank tributary is the Nubra River.

Q1: Which are the main tributaries of the Indus River?

The Indus receives its most-notable tributaries from the eastern Punjab Plain. These five rivers—the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej—give the name Punjab (“Five Rivers”) to the region divided between Pakistan and India.

Source: Five soldiers swept away by Shyok river during military training in Ladakh: Army