The River basin and adjoining mountain ranges are tectonically active, and a large part of the basin is geologically young. Yet, the rivers in this region are antecedent6, older than the mountains they flow through. Major morphological evolutions started to take place in Early Eocene7, when the Indian plate collided with the Asian mainland and the rise of the Himalaya was initiated between 40 and 50 million years ago8 (some scientists suggest this to be 55 million years ago9). The Yarlung Tsangpo currently flows through the suture zone that separates the Indian plate from the Asian Plate situated in the Tibetan Plateau. With vast expanses of pristine flatness at high elevations, this is the world’s highest and widest plateau, and the geological history is closely linked to that of the Himalayas. East of this Plateau is the geologic wonder, the narrow deep Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon entrenched between the Namcha Barwa and Gyala Peri mountains10.