SPACEPHOTOS

The Brahmaputra River of northeast India is considered both destructive and beneficial to northeast India and Bangladesh. The river is destructive because on an annual basis, the wet summer monsoon that affects south Asia causes disastrous and frequent floods in the region. The river is beneficial because it carries rich soils that it deposits on the agricultural lands downstream. While the quantity of water that falls during the wet summer monsoon can vary from year to year, record amounts of rainfall exceed 400 inches (1016 cm) per monsoon season. As seen on this image, this tremendous quantity of water has created an immense floodplain. Within the floodplain there are numerous sand bars (highly reflective surfaces), islands, and multiple channels. Many of the southerly draining tributary streams of the Brahmaputra also display broad floodplains and multibraided stream channels as the tributaries exit the heavily forested (darker landscape) Himalayan Mountains. A deep, narrow gorge where the Brahmaputra River (known as the Dihang River as it flows through the mountains) cuts through the Himalayas is visible (light-colored, linear feature slight left of top center). A few scattered clouds are visible over sections of the mountains north of the Brahmaputra Valley.