The river Ganges is the largest river in India, it is 2510 km long and on average 52 feet deep but at its deepest it is 100 feet. It is considered the holiest of all rivers by Hindus and they believe that if you drink it, it can cure disease and clear all sins, therefore most Hindu families have a bottle of its water in case anyone is sick.

The source of the river Ganges is a Gangotri glacier in Uttarakhand at 3,892 m above sea level. The mouth of the river is in the bay of Bengal in Bangladesh and India. The Ganges flows through twenty-nine cities and two countries, India and Bangladesh.

Recently the Ganges has been so polluted that bathing and drinking from the river has become very dangerous. One of the main things that has caused this is the 1 billion litres of sewage that is dumped into the river every day.

The Ganges delta region was hit by the deadliest tropical cyclone of the twentieth century. 500,000 people were killed and 100,000 missing. Another cyclone hit the delta killing 138,000 people. 1,000 people were killed and 30 million people were left homeless during the flood in the delta and the Bangladesh government asked for $900 million.

The River Bhagirathi and Alaknanda join together in Devprayag to form the river Ganges. Most people believe the river has holy water in it therefore they drink it, brush their teeth and wash in it. The basin of the Ganges is about 200 to 400 miles wide. The plains on the banks of the river are one of the most densely populated areas in the world holding almost half of India's population. The Ganges is a major site for river rafting, and has become a sport in India.