Dhansiri River
River in India
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Etymology
The Dhansiri is also known as Dima in Dimasa usage; Edward Gait noted that Dima, meaning "big river", was used particularly for the Dhansiri, while the Ahoms referred to the river as Nam-tima. The city Dimapur, capital of the Dimasa Kingdom, was derived from the Dhansiri river. The compound word is derived from the Dimasa Kachari words: di (water), ma (big), and pur (settlement).
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Former course
Geomorphological evidence indicates that the lower Dhansiri formerly followed a substantially different course. Sarma and Sharma describe the Gelabil as a nearly east–west, slightly sinuous tributary of the South Dhansiri. In the earlier drainage configuration, immediately after receiving the Gelabil, the Dhansiri turned west and flowed along the channel now occupied by the Mora Dhansiri through Kaziranga National Park.
At that time, the present north-westward lower course of the Dhansiri between Kurabahi and Dhansirimukh, where it now joins the Brahmaputra, did not exist. Sarma and Sharma proposed that tectonic movement along the Bomdila Fault caused subsidence east of the fault, obstructing the river's westward course and producing an avulsion into its present north-westward alignment. The abandoned western channel survives as the Mora Dhansiri.
Geography
While flowing as the boundary between Karbi Anglong and Nagaland, it flanks a large wilderness very rich in wildlife. On one side is the Dhansiri Reserved Forest and on the other Intanki National Park.
It has several types of important wood bearing trees along its bank like Intanki Forest. Dhansari river along with Kapili by headward erosion has completely isolated the Mikir hills from the Peninsular plateau. There are numerous perennially waterlogged, swampy regions locally known as bils associated with this river.
Fishes
A fish survey conducted in 2011-12 found 34 species of fish belonging to five orders, thirteen families, and 24 genera. Seventeen species of Cypriniformes were found, followed by eight species of Siluriformes. The Dhansiri river in Dimapur has freshwater, semi torrent, hill stream and ornamental fish species.