Purbasthali - The Oxbow Lake

The Oxbow Lake

The oxbow lake of Purbasthali sprawls over an area 3.50 km2. in the post monsoon period of winter months. Beyond the lake, this river fed eco-system also forms a cluster of large and small islands comprise Purbasthali Gangetic Isle Complex. Formed by the meandering river Ganga, over last 40 years, the area has transformed into a closed loop, allowing emergence of the oxbow lake. This channel of water course in a length of about 10 kilometers feeds the oxbow lake with thin connectivity with the main river with shoals forming at the river mouth. The process of rapid and growing sedimentation threatens to cut off the channel in near future. Thus the present course of the main river shifts further eastward while the original bed holds the loop with stranded water. Remote sensing images of the wetland clearly establishes the differences of turbidity between the main river and the wetland which has sandy clay sediment and crystal clear waters because of sedimentation of suspended solid particles in the stagnant stretches.