The Yarlung Tsangpo flows through the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon in the Himalayas.
Known in Tibet as the Yarlung Tsangpo, the river runs eastward across the Tibetan Plateau before making a dramatic bend around the Namcha Barwa massif. It then cuts through one of the deepest and longest canyon systems on Earth.
The river changes names downstream: it becomes the Siang or Dihang in Arunachal Pradesh, the Brahmaputra in Assam and Bangladesh, and the Jamuna in Bangladesh. This naming sequence can cause confusion when sources discuss the same river system.
The canyon is remote and was long difficult for outsiders to explore. Its exceptional depth results from powerful river erosion combined with the rapid uplift of the eastern Himalayas.