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An ancient earthquake changed the course of the Ganges River

Flooding due to a similar quake today could threaten 170 million people in India and Bangladesh

Three people on a boat look at the Ganges River with mountains in the background

A previously unknown earthquake about 2,500 years ago changed the course of the Ganges River near where it meets the sea, a new study suggests.

Steven Goodbred/Vanderbilt University

By Sid Perkins

India’s Ganges River shifted abruptly due to a distant yet massive earthquake around 2,500 years ago, new geologic evidence suggests.

Such changes have been observed in other rivers in recent times but only far upstream.