Swat River
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts.Many units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Swat River
==Sanskrit, Suvastu ; Greek, Souastos or Souastene==
River of the North-West Frontier Province, formed by the junction at
Kalan in the Swat Kohistan of the Gabral and Ushu. The former
rises on the east of the Badugai pass, and the latter comes down from
the higher hills of Bashkar to the north. From Kalan the Swat river
flows almost due south for about 68 miles, but at Manglaur turns
abruptly to the south-west and west for 24 miles until it is joined by
the Panjkora. The united waters then sweep in a great curve south-
westwards to Abazai in Peshawar District, where they emerge to the
north of the Mohmand hills into the Peshawar valley. Here the river
spreads south-east in several streams over the plain, joining the Kabul
river at Nisatta after a total course of about 400 miles. Fed by
glaciers and snow, it has a considerable volume in the summer months,
but shrinks after the middle of September, until in midwinter it is
fordable almost everywhere. In Peshawar District the Swat River
Canal takes off" from the river, and a scheme for tunnelling under the
Malakand Pass and bringing its waters to the eastern part of Yusufzai
is under consideration.