The path of the Ganges River that we see today is vastly different from its route 2500 years ago. A groundbreaking study has uncovered that a massive earthquake, which rocked the entire South Asian region, drastically altered the river’s course—a change that has endured through the ages.
This earthquake, previously unknown to the scientific community, has been brought to light by researchers who discovered evidence of a colossal tremor near Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The team’s findings, published in the prestigious journal *Nature Communications*, suggest that this seismic event reached a magnitude of 7.5 or even 8. This extraordinary force was enough to divert the Ganges River, creating a new path that has stood the test of time.
Michael Steckler, a co-author of the study, explained that such sudden changes in a river’s course are known as avulsions. While the scientific community has recorded avulsions caused by numerous earthquakes in the past, none have been on this monumental scale. “We often hear about the powerful forces of nature, but this discovery truly shows the river’s journey was written by the hand of an ancient quake,” Steckler remarked.
This revelation offers a fascinating glimpse into the dynamic and ever-changing nature of our planet. It reminds us that even the most stable and enduring features of our environment have been shaped by dramatic events from the past. The history of the Ganges River is a proof of the power of natural forces and their ability to rewrite the landscape in the blink of an eye.