Reconstruction of buried channel-floodplain systems of the northwestern Haryana Plains and their relation to the 'Vedic' Saraswati

Abstract

Based on the collection of subsurface lithofacies data from well logs, this study attempts to map the buried channel-floodplain systems of a part of the northwestern Haryana Plains and provides evidence of buried major sand bodies at various depths; these belong to at least two separate phases of fluvial activity. The younger phase of fluvial activity includes the previously mapped palaeochannel segment between Tohana and Sirsa that was considered as a part of the 'lost' Saraswati. The recognition of major palaeochannel belts in the subsurface provides definite proof of the presence of a strong fluvial regime sometime in the past. Based on OSL dating, it is inferred that these relatively older palaeochannel belts pre-date the Last Glacial Maximum and are related to the later part of the wetter MIS 3; and the younger fluvial activity, recognized in a limited part of the area, is dated between ~6.0 and ~2.9 Ka BP. The analysis of these subsurface data suggests the existence of integrated drainage networks in the northwestern Haryana Plains in the 20-30 Ka time interval.