The+Ganges+River

**The Ganges starts in an ice cave in the Himalayas, flows through 2 countries before ending up in the Indian Ocean.** This river is 2510 kilometres long. It flows through India and Bangladesh. It has an average depth of 16 metres and with a maximum depth of 30 metres. This river a flows through 7 cites before splitting up into its Delta with is one of the biggest in the world. The delta flows into the Bay of Bengal before flowing into the Indian Ocean. **Different weather conditions exist along the Ganges and it has a range of plants and animals.** One of the animals along the Ganges is a fish commonly named the coelacanth. This fish is found in the Himalayas. The coelacanth is up to 170cm in length and weighs about 60 KG. In the 16, 17 centuries there was an abundance of plants but over time the plants have died due to growing population. In the Himalayas the climate is cold and windy but in the Bay of Bengal it is classified low tropical. **To all Hindus and people who like mythology the Ganges has a significant history.** The Ganges is life purity and the goddess to the people of India. The river holy name is Ganga ma (Mother Ganges). Her name and story is known throughout India. It is the story of the sons of king saga. They died and they were criminated/burnt. King saga who was a good king hoped that his son would be blown to heaven. Ganga ma knew that the ashes would not make to heaven so she poured her life source to send the ash through her to go to heaven and Ganga ma is still where she put herself today and that’s how it got its name the Ganges. **The unmanaged Ganges is over used by humans.** The Ganges River is not managed by anyone that is why 90% of water that is dumped into the Ganges is sewerage. There are lots of uses along the Ganges. Bathing and leisure are one of the most popular uses of the Ganges. Bathing in dirty water as Australians we think it is disgusting but the Hindus along the Ganges don’t mind. Leisure is mostly taken up by children playing games and swimming in dirty water. **The Ganges is considered one of the dirtiest rivers in the world.** The Ganges River has a very wide range of issues from sewerage to chemicals and more. A huge issue is garbage thrown into the Ganges by humans. The people of India cannot understand that throwing rubbish into the Ganges is bad. They think it is an offering to Mother Ganga; another huge issue is chemicals that kill animals, humans and plants that live along the Ganges. Most of these chemicals come from tanneries. Tanneries take a lot of water from the Ganges to bleach leather to sell them, and then throw the water full of chemicals back into the river polluting the Ganges. If the tanneries close down to stop chemicals going into the Ganges then the areas around the Ganges will be poorer because they will not be able to sell tanned leather. They will have to rely on the Ganges much more. Instead of having to buy food they would have to catch fish but the fish would have eaten rubbish so the people would get very sick. One of the more minor issues in the Ganges is crimination. After death people are criminated then thrown in the Ganges and are believed to go to heaven. Normally a little bit of ash would only help the Ganges but since the people who live near the Ganges can not afford to burn the whole body but they can only afford to burn until bones start to appear since priests say it will be enough to be sent to heaven. If slightly burnt bodies are thrown into the Ganges they will rot and pollute the river killing people, plants and animals. Another problem is people are using the Ganges as a toilet. Further down the river people are drinking the water and getting very sick. **Overall a hugely, beautiful river is being destroyed and we need to help.**
 * __ The Ganges River by Ben Harvey and Julian Heath   __**
 * The Ganges River is located in Asia and is one of the longest rivers in the world. It has an abundance of plants and aquatic animals and has a unique historical background. It has many uses and issues involving pollution. **