The Indus

It is a landscape of extraordinary beauty. Those who have stood on the banks of the Indus, among them Alexander the Great and his soldiers, have written of the awe inspired by this immense and powerful river.

Each spring, the Indus is fed by melting snow and ice from the high mountains of Asia, before being swollen further by the summer monsoon. Its journey takes it through some of the most dramatic landscapes on Earth: from the cold, windswept plateau of Tibet, through the high-altitude deserts of Ladakh, and into the towering Karakoram, where four of the world's fourteen 8,000-metre peaks rise above the horizon. This vast region of glaciers and permanent ice is often called the "Third Pole" because it contains the largest concentration of ice outside the Arctic and Antarctic.

Beyond these mountains, the river enters a different world. The landscape grows greener, wetter, and more fertile under the influence of the monsoon. Eventually, the Indus reaches the great plain that bears its name, a fertile valley that has sustained civilizations for thousands of years. Today, however, the river is no longer entirely free-flowing. A vast network of canals, many of them built during British colonial rule, redirects its waters across the plains. Dams and reservoirs further alter its course in the pursuit of irrigation and energy. At the same time, the glaciers that sustain the Indus are retreating, raising profound questions about the future of the river and the millions of people who depend upon it.

Designed by cartographer Perrin Remonté.

• 11" x 17" matte paper
  
• Frame not included
• Frame used in photo: https://amzn.to/3O81zfa