Search For Evidences of Ancient River Channels of 
    Indus/Sarasvati in Shallow Sea, Kachchh (Gujarat)

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R. Nigam, M.C. Pathak, N.H. Hashimi, K.L. Kotnala and S.K. Chaturvedi 
        National Institute of Oceanography Dona Paula - 403 004, Goa

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Archaeological evidences and remote sensing records indicate that the
courses of many of the rivers of the plains have undergone the periodic
alterations in and around the area of Saurashtra and Kachchh peninsula.
Various evidences and explanations are advanced about the migration and
extinction of the once mighty river Sarasvati. Similarly the reports are
there to suggest that river Indus once upon a time flowed to the sea through
Gulf of Khambat prior to now occupied position via Great Rann of Kachchh.
The fluctuations in the course of these rivers must have left their imprints
preserved in the oceanic and marine environment in the form of
paleochannels. 

The evidences of such remnants have been encountered in the recently
conducted shallow seismic surveys at the confluence of Kori Creek area of
Kachchh district of Gujarat State in the form of two ancient channels. These
paleochannels of 4 to 5m topographic depression which extend about 200m in
width are located at 6m water depth and buried -l0m below the present plain
of seafloor. We see that the present or in the recent past, drainage system
of the area is not capable of forming the paleochannel of such magnitude.
These paleochannels are suggestive of some ancient major river or its
branches of drainage system flowed to the sea through the present creek
system. In the absence of the precise dating and detailed survey, we are not
concluding the source river created these paleochannels but postulate in the
background of the archaeological, historical and paleoclimatic information
that these channels were part of drainage system of Indus/Saraswati.