The Ganges (/'gnd?i?z/ gan-jeez), also Ganga (Hindi: ????; Bengali: ?????

; Sansk
rit: ?????) (Hindustani pronunciation: ['g??ga?] gung-ga), is a trans-boundary r
iver of Asia which flows through India and Bangladesh. The 2,525 km (1,569 mi) r
iver rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and flow
s south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, wher
e it empties into the Bay of Bengal. It is the third largest river by discharge.