Babai River
| Babai River | |
|---|---|
Babai River | |
| Location | |
| Country | Nepal and India |
| Location | Inner Terai, Siwaliks and Terai |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | eastern end of Dang Valley |
| • coordinates | 27°58′27″N 82°34′06″E / 27.97417°N 82.56833°E |
| • elevation | 672 m (2,205 ft) |
| Mouth | |
• location | at Ghaghara River WNW of Bahraich |
• coordinates | 27°44′08″N 81°17′54″E / 27.73556°N 81.29833°E |
• elevation | 118 m (387 ft) |
| Length | about 400 km (250 mi) |
| Basin size | 3,500 km2 (1,400 sq mi)in Nepal, 200 km2 (77 mi2) in India |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 71 m3/s (2,500 cu ft/s) (4 in April - 588 in July, at Chepang above Sharada confluence) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Nepal Mid-West Region: Dang, Salyan, Bardiya districts; India Uttar Pradesh Awadh region: Bahraich district |
| River system | Ganges |
| Tributaries | |
| • right | Sharada Khola |
The Babai River (Nepali: बबई नदी) originates and drains in the Inner Terai Dang Valley of Mid-Western Nepal. The Dang Valley is an oval basin situated between the Mahabharat Range and the Siwalik Hills in Dang Deukhuri District. Historically inhabited by the Tharu people, the area later came under the rule of the House of Tulsipur, one of the Baise Rajya (Nepali: बाइसे राज्य), a confederation of twenty-two petty kingdoms in the Karnali (Ghagra) region. Around 1760, the Shah Dynasty annexed most of these kingdoms during the unification of Nepal, although Tulsipur’s territories south of the Siwalik Hills remained outside of their control. Owing to its higher elevation, cooler climate, and better drainage, the Dang Valley was less affected by malaria than other Inner Terai regions and was consequently settled by Shah and Rana courtiers, as well as other Pahari groups prior to the introduction of DDT for control of the Anopheles mosquito.