:In the research I did a couple months ago, sources seems about equally divided between describing the Ganges as ending at Farakka or the Bay of Bengal. Certainly the river named Ganges (or Ganga) ends at Farakka. But obviously the river does continue on to empty into the Bay of Bengal via numerous distributaries. The Padma is currently the largest distributary and most sources that describe the Ganges as flowing to the Bay of Bengal consider the Padma (and lower Meghna) as being continuations of the main stem Ganges. Other sources describes it via the Hooghly. Still others consider all distributaries as part of the Ganges system. The whole set is known as the "Mouths of the Ganges" after all. Although the Brahmaputra is larger, so shouldn't they be called the "Mouths of the Brahmaputra"? Maybe, strictly hydrologically speaking, but historically, the Ganges has been far more important. Also, the main channels of the Ganges and Brahmaputra used to reach the Bay of Bengal separately. Historically, the Padma was not always the main distributary. A few centuries ago the Hooghly was the main channel, and many others were before that. The main channel has shifted many many times over the eons. When it shifts, it typically takes over a formerly minor but named channel. It is natural that the old channel's name continues to be used. The same thing happened with the Brahmaputra, as you point out, which changed its lower course to the Jamuna a couple centuries ago. The former main channel is now a very small stream, but still called "Brahmaputra". Anyway, I think your question has no simple answer. The Ganges Delta region is too complex, both hydrologically and historically, for a simple this-or-that answer. In writing up and editing the "Course" and "Hydrology" sections here, I tried to make it clear that the complexity of the delta makes it tricky to describe the Ganges below Farakka. Whether the Padma page should be merged with the Ganges, and/or the Jamuna with the Brahmaputra, I don't know. Maybe? Due to the shifting main stems, both the Padma and Jamuna have historical differences from the Ganges and Brahmaputra. This region has been inhabited since time immemorial, and the rivers named and considered sacred for many millennia. That, and the complicated history of constantly shifting channels, makes the question of which channel is really the Ganges or Brahmaputra tricky. Another point that occurs to me is that the Brahmaputra (Jamuna) joins the Padma before the Padma joins the Meghna, but no one ever seems to call the Ganges a tributary of the Brahmaputra (or vice versa). If "Padma" was simply a different name for the Ganges, then the Ganges should be considered a tributary of the Brahmaputra, but I can't recall ever seeing such a claim. Anyway, I can't think of another example of such a complicated delta system, with multiple large rivers splitting and joining in such a complex everchanging network.