Karnaphuli River
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| Karnaphuli River of Bangladesh |
Karnafuli River (also spelt Karnafuli) the largest and most important river in chittagong and the chittagong hill tracts,Karnaphuli is a 667 metres (2,188 ft) wide river in the south-eastern part of Bangladesh. Originating from the Lushai hills in Mizoram, India, it flows 270 km (170 mi) southwest through Chittagong Hill Tracts and Chittagong and then follows a zigzag course before it forms two other prominent loops, the Dhuliachhari and the kaptai.
The Rangamati and the Dhuliachhari loops are now under the reservoir of the Kaptai earth-filled dam. The hydroelectric dam is situated just before the entrance of the river into the Kaptai loop. After coming out from the Kaptai loop the river follows another stretch of tortuous course through the Sitapahar hill range and flows across the plain of Chittagong after emerging from the hills near Chandraghona. Therefore, the river drains into the bay of bengal cutting across several hill ranges, viz the Barkal, Gobamura, Chilardak, Sitapahar and Patiya of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and Chittagong.
It has possibly maintained its older course keeping pace with the uplift of the hill ranges and can be classified as an antecedent river. The Karnafuli is narrow and straight from Prankiang to waggachhari along Kaptai-Chandraghona road. The straightness of the river is probably due to a fault, which controlled the channel from Prankiang to Wagga. The main tributaries of the Karnafuli are the kasalong, Chengi, halda and Dhurung on the right and the Subalong, Kaptai, Rinkeong and Thega on the left.Flowing to the west through rangunia upazila and then keeping raozan upazila on the north and boalkhali upazila on the south, it receives the waters of the Halda river at Kalurghat just above the railway bridge. It then turns south, receives the waters of the Boalkhali and other khals and turns west circling round the eastern and southern sides of Chittagong Town. From the extreme corner of the chittagong port to the west, it moves southwest to fall into the Bay of Bengal 16.89 km below. It is navigable throughout the year by sea-going vessels up to Chittagong Port and by large boats, shallow draughts and all sorts of freighters and launches up to Kaptai river in the Hill Tracts.