JUMNA, or Jamunâ, one of the large rivers of northern India, rises in the Himalayas in Garhwâl state, about 5 miles north of Jamnotri hot springs, in 31° 3' N. 1at. and 78° 30' E. long. The stream first flows south for 7 miles, then south-west for 32 miles, and afterwards due south for 26 miles, receiving several small tributaries in its course. It afterwards turns sharply to the west for 14 miles, when it is joined by the large river Tons from the north. The Jumna here emerges from the Himalayas into the valley of the Diin, and flows in a south-westerly direction for 22 miles, dividing the Kiarda Dùn on the west from the Dehra Dùn on the east. It then, in the 95th mile of its course, forces its way through the Siwâlik hills, and debouches upon the plains of India at Faizâbâd in Sahâranpur district. By this time a large river, it gives off, near Faizâbâd, both the eastern and western Jumna canals. From Faizâbâd the river flows for 65 miles in a south-south-west direction, receiving the Maskarra stream from the east. Near Bidhauli, in Muzaffarnagar district, it turns due south for 80 miles to Delhi city; thence south-east for 27 miles to near Dankaur, receiving the waters of the Katha-nadi and Hindan river on the east, and of the Sabi-nadi on the east. From Dankaur it resumes its southerly course for 100 miles to Mahâban near Muttra, where it turns eastwards for nearly 200 miles, passing the towns of Agra, Firozâbâd, and Etâwah, receiving on its left bank the Karwan-nadi, and on its rjght the Utanghan. From Etâwah it flows 140 miles south-east to Hamirpur, being joined by the Sengon on its north bank, and on the south by the great river Chambal from the west, and by the Sind. From Hamirpur, the Jumna flows nearly due east, until it enters Allahâbâd ...district and passes Allahâbâd city, 3 miles below which it falls into the Ganges in 25° 25' N. lat. and 81° 55' E. long. In this last part of its course it receives the waters of the Betwa and the Ken.
The Jumna, after issuing from the hills, has a longer course through the North-Western Provinces than the Ganges, but it is not so large nor so important a river; and above Agra in the hot weather it dwindles to a small stream. This is no doubt partly caused by the eastern and western Jumna canals,—of which the former was excavated in 1823-30, and in its course of 130 miles irrigated, in 1875-76, 195,846 acres of the districts of Sahâranpur, Muzaffarnagar, and Meerut, in the North-Western Provinces; while the latter, consisting of the reopened channels of two canals dating from about 1350 and 1628 respectively, extends for 405 miles through the districts of Ambâla, Karmil, Delhi, and Rohtak in the Punjab, irrigating (1872-73) 351,820 acres.
The trade on the Jumna is not now very considerable; in its upper portion timber, and in the lower stone, grain, and cotton are the chief articles of commerce, carried in the clumsy barges which navigate its stream. Its waters are clear and blue, while those of the Ganges are yellow and muddy; the difference between the streams can be discerned for some distance below the point at which they unite. Its banks are high and rugged, often attaining the proportions of cliffs, and the ravines which run into it are deeper and larger than those of the Ganges. It traverses the extreme edge of the alluvial plain of Hindustan, and in the latter part of its course it almost touches the Bundelkhand offshoots of the Vindhyâ range of mountains. Its passage is therefore more tortuous, and the scenery along its banks is more varied and pleasing, than is the case with the Ganges.
The Jumna at its source near Jamnotri is 10,849 feet above the sea-level; at Kotnur, 16 miles lower, it is only 5036 feet; so that, between these two places, it falls at the rate of 314 feet in a mile. At its junction with the Tons it is 1686 feet above the sea; at its junction with the Asan, 1470 feet; and at the point where it issues from the Siwâlik hills into the plains, it is 1276 feet. The catchment area of the river is 118,000 square miles; its flood discharge at Allahâbâd is estimated at 1,333,000 cubic feet per second. The Jumna is crossed by railway bridges at Delhi, Agra, and Allahâbâd, while bridges of boats are stationed at Etâwah, Kalpi, Hamirpur, Muttra, Chillatâra, and many other places.
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