The Ganges River originates in the Himalayas and flows through several major cities before forming a vast delta, with a basin that ranges from 200 to 400 miles wide. It is one of the most polluted rivers in the world due to over a billion liters of untreated sewage and partially cremated human and livestock corpses entering it daily. Despite the pollution, the Ganges remains an important religious site where thousands of people visit daily to bathe and perform rituals.

1. Facts on the River Ganges The river Ganges has some amazing facts! Here are just some them.

3. The river Ganga originates at Gangotri glacier on the southern slopes of the Himalayas, some 14, 000 feet above sea level.

4. River Bhagirathi and Alaknanda join each other at Devprayag to form River Ganga.

5. Major pilgrimage places on River Ganga are- Rishikesh, Haridwar, Varanasi and Prayag (Allahabad).

6. The mouth of River Ganga forms a vast delta, the Sundarban delta (the largest delta in the world).

8. Also, inadequate cremation procedures contributes to a large number of partially burnt or un-burnt corpses floating down the Ganga, not to mention livestock corpses

10. Every day about 60,000 people go down to the Varanasi ghats to take a holy dip along a 7km stretch of the river. Along this same area, 30 large sewers are continuously discharging into the river.