Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary
Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary known as Pakshi Kashi of Karnataka, is a bird sanctuary in the Mandya District of the state of Karnataka in India. It is the largest bird sanctuary in the state, only 40 acres in area, comprises six islets on the banks of the Kaveri river. Ranganathittu is located three kilometers away from the historic town of Srirangapatna and 16 kilometres north of Mysore; the sanctuary attracted about 3 lakh visitors during 2016–17, which shows its notability as important bird sanctuary of India. The islets came into being when an embankment across the Kaveri river was built in 1648 by the Mysore King, Kanteerava Narasimharaja Wadiyar; the ornithologist Salim Ali observed that the islets formed an important nesting ground for birds, persuaded the Wodeyar kings of Mysore to declare the area a wildlife sanctuary in 1940. The Forest Department of Karnataka State is maintaining the bird sanctuary and puts its efforts to improve the sanctuary, which include purchase of nearby private lands to expand the protected area.
The sanctuary with its islets experience heavy flooding during certain rainy seasons when water is released from KRS Dam upstream, due to heavy rains. During heavy flooding boating is suspended and tourists are allowed to watch the nesting birds from a distance. Frequent flooding has damaged some portions of three islands over past few decades. Most of the park falls under corresponding to the Indomalaya ecozone. Riverine reed beds cover the banks of the islands, while the islands themselves are covered in broadleaf forests, with dominant species being Terminalia arjuna, bamboo groves, Pandanus trees. Eucalyptus and acacia trees have been planted, which might lead to long-term eradication of native species; the endemic and threatened lily Iphigenia mysorensis of the family Colchicaceae grows in the sanctuary. 170 bird species have been recorded here. Of these, the painted stork, Asian openbill stork, common spoonbill, woolly-necked stork, black-headed ibis, lesser whistling duck, Indian shag, stork-billed kingfisher, cormorant, Oriental darter, spot-billed pelican and heron breed here regularly.
The great stone plover, river tern nest here. The park is home to a large flock of streak-throated swallows. During the months of January and February, more than 30 species of birds are found and the season of the sanctuary is from November to June. About 50 pelicans have made Ranganathittu as their permanent home. During winter months, starting from mid-December, as many as 40,000 birds congregate in this bird sanctuary. Of which, some birds come from Latin America and parts of north India. Ranganathittu is a popular nesting site for the birds and about 8,000 nestlings were sighted during June 2011; the islands are host to numerous small mammals, including bonnet macaque, smooth coated otter, colonies of flying fox and common small mammals like common palm civet and Indian gray mongoose and the monitor lizard. The mugger crocodile or marsh crocodile is a common inhabitant of the riverine reed beds and Ranganathittu has largest fresh water crocodile population in Karnataka state.variety of plants Ranger-guided boat tours of the isles are available throughout the day, are a good way to watch birds, crocodiles and bats.
There is no lodging at the tiny sanctuary, so visitors have to stay over at Mysore or Srirangapatna. The seasons for visiting the park are: June–November; the best time to watch migratory birds is December but it can vary year to year. The Salim Ali Interpretation Centre, maintained by Forest Department, screens a 4- minute documentary to special interest groups. Nearest Town: Srirangapatna Nearest City: Mysore Nearest Railhead: Srirangapatna Nearest Airport: Mysore Airport Nearest Highway: Bangalore – Mysore highway Ranganathittu Photos Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary- A Report
Mahanadi
The Mahanadi is a major river in East Central India. It drains an area of around 141,600 square kilometres and has a total course of 858 kilometres Mahanadi is known for the Hirakud Dam; the river flows through the states of Odisha. The word Mahanadi is a compound of nadi. Like many other seasonal Indian rivers, the Mahanadi too is a combination of many mountain streams and thus its precise source is impossible to pinpoint; however its farthest headwaters lie 6 kilometres from Pharsiya village 442 metres above sea level south of Sihawa town in Dhamtari district of Chhattisgarh. The hills here are an extension of the Eastern Ghats and are a source of many other streams which go on to join the Mahanadi. For the first 80 kilometres of its course, the Mahanadi flows in a northerly direction and drains the Raipur district and touches eastern portions of Raipur city, it is a rather narrow river at this stage and the total width of its valley does not exceed 500–600 metres. After being joined by the Seonath, the river flows in an easterly direction through the remaining part of its journey.
It is joined by the Jonk and Hasdeo rivers here before entering into Odisha after covering about half of its total length. Near the city of Sambalpur, it is dammed by the largest earthen dam in the Hirakud Dam. A composite structure of the earth and masonry, the dam measures 24 kilometres including the Dykes, it spans two hills. It forms the biggest artificial lake in Asia, with a reservoir holding 743 square kilometres at full capacity, with a shoreline of over 640 kilometres. After the formation of Chhattisgarh State, the major portion of Mahanadi basin now lies in Chhattisgarh. Presently, only 154 square kilometres basin area of Hasdeo River in Anuppur District lies in Madhya Pradesh. Before the construction of the dam in 1953, the Mahanadi was about a mile wide at Sambalpur and carried massive amounts of silt during the monsoon. Today, it is a rather tame river after the construction of the dam and is joined by the Ib, Ong and other minor streams, it skirts the boundaries of the Baudh district and forces a tortuous way between ridges and ledges in a series of rapids until it reaches Dholpur, Odisha.
The rapids end here and the river rolls towards the Eastern Ghats, forcing its way through them via the 64 kilometres long Satkosia Gorge. The Satakosia Gorge ends at Badamul of Nayagarh. Dense forests cover the hills flanking the river here; the river enters the Odisha plains at Naraj, about 11 kilometres from Cuttack, where it pours down between two hills that are a mile apart. A barrage has been constructed here to regulate the river's flow into Cuttack; the river traverses Cuttack district in an east-west direction. Just before entering Cuttack, it gives off a large distributary called the Kathjori; the city of Cuttack stands on the spit separating the two channels. The Kathjori throws off many streams like the Kuakhai and Surua which fall into the Bay of Bengal after entering Puri district; the Kathjori itself falls into the sea as the Jotdar. Other distributaries of Mahanadi include the Paika, Chitroptala river and Lun; the Birupa goes on to join the Brahmani River at Krushnanagar and enters the Bay of Bengal at Dhamra.
The Mahanadi proper enters the sea via several channels near Paradeep at Jagatsinghpur. The combined Delta of the Mahanadi's numerous distributaries and the Brahmani is one of the largest in India. Prior to the construction of Hirakud Dam, the Mahanadi was navigable from its mouth up to Arrang, about a 190 kilometres from its source; however numerous barrages apart from the Hirakud have put an end to that. Today, boats are restricted to the Hirakud reservoir; the Mahanadi is an important river in the state of Odisha. This river flows for about 900 kilometres and deposits more silt than any other river in the Indian subcontinent; the cities of Cuttack and Sambalpur were prominent trading places in the ancient world and the river itself has been referred to as the Manada in Ptolemy's works. However today the Mahanadi valley is best known for its fertile soil and flourishing agriculture. Prior to the Hirakud dacarthe Indian subcontinent. Average annual surface water potential of 66.9 km³ has been assessed in this basin.
Out of this, 50.0 km³ is utilisable water. Culturable area in the basin is about 80,000 square kilometres, 4% of the total culturable area of the country. Present use of surface water in the basin is 17.0 km³. Live storage capacity in the basin has increased since independence. From just about 0.8 km³ in the pre-plan period, the total live storage capacity of the completed projects has increased to 8.5 km³. In addition, a substantial storage quantity of over 5.4 km³ would be created on completion of projects under construction. Additional storage to the tune of over 11.0 km³ would become available on execution of projects under consideration. The hydropower potential of the basin has been assessed as 627 MW at 60% load factor. At its peak during the monsoon, the Mahanadi has a discharge rate of 2,000,000 cubic feet per second as much as the much larger Ganges; however owing to its seasonal nature the river is a narrow channel flanked by wide sand banks for most of the year. The Mahanadi was notorious for its devastating floods for much of recorded history.
Thus it was called'the sorrow of Orissa'. However the construction of the Hirakud Dam has altered the situation. Today a network of canals and check dams keep
Lakshmana Tirtha
The Lakshmana Tirtha is a river of Karnataka, India. It flows eastward, it joins the Kaveri in the Krishna Raja Sagara lake
Deccan Plateau
The Deccan Plateau is a large plateau in western and southern India. It rises to 100 metres in the north, to more than 1,000 metres in the south, forming a raised triangle within the South-pointing triangle of the Indian subcontinent's coastline, it extends over eight Indian states and encompasses a wide range of habitats, covering most of central and southern India. The plateau is located between two mountain ranges, the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, each of which rises from its respective nearby coastal plain, converge at the southern tip of India, it is separated from the Gangetic plain to the north by the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges, which form its northern boundary. The Deccan produced some of the major dynasties in Indian history including Pallavas, Vakataka and Rashtrakuta dynasties, the Western Chalukya, the Kadamba Dynasty, Kakatiya Empire and Maratha empires and the Muslim Bahmani Sultanate, Deccan Sultanate, the Nizam of Hyderabad; the name Deccan is an anglicised form of the Prakrit word dakkhin or dakkhaṇa, itself derived from the Sanskrit word dákṣiṇa, as the Deccan Plateau is located in the southern part of the subcontinent.
The Deccan region has lacked an enduring geo-political centre, has been defined in various ways. Geographers have attempted to define it using indices such as rainfall, soil type or physical features; when considering physical features, it is taken to be the area bounded on North by the Narmada River, in East by the Eastern Ghats and on West by the Western Ghats. The 16th-century historian Firishta defined Deccan as the territory inhabited by the native speakers of Kannada and Telugu languages. Richard M. Eaton settled on this linguistic definition; the Western Ghats mountain range is tall and blocks the moisture from the southwest monsoon from reaching the Deccan Plateau, so the region receives little rainfall. The eastern Deccan Plateau is at a lower elevation spanning the southeastern coast of India, its forests are relatively dry but serve to retain the rain to form streams that feed into rivers that flow into basins and into the Bay of Bengal. Most Deccan plateau rivers flow south. Most of the northern part of the plateau is drained by the Godavari River and its tributaries, including the Indravati River, starting from the Western Ghats and flowing east towards the Bay of Bengal.
Most of the central plateau is drained by the Tungabhadra River, Krishna River and its tributaries, including the Bhima River, which run east. The southernmost part of the plateau is drained by the Kaveri River, which rises in the Western Ghats of Karnataka and bends south to break through the Nilgiri Hills at the island town of Shivanasamudra and falls into Tamil Nadu at Hogenakal Falls before flowing into the Stanley Reservoir and the Mettur Dam that created the reservoir, emptying into the Bay of Bengal; the climate of the region varies from semi-arid in the north to tropical in most of the region with distinct wet and dry seasons. Rain falls during the monsoon season from about June to October. March to June can be dry and hot, with temperatures exceeding 40 °C; the Deccan plateau is a topographically variegated region located south of the Gangetic plains-the portion lying between the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal-and includes a substantial area to the north of the Satpura Range, which has popularly been regarded as the divide between northern India and the Deccan.
The name derives from the Sanskrit daksina. The plateau is bounded on the east and west by the Ghats, while its northern extremity is the Vindhya Range; the Deccan's average elevation is about 2,000 feet, sloping eastward. The plateau's climate is arid in places. Although sometimes used to mean all of India south of the Narmada River, the word Deccan relates more to that area of rich volcanic soils and lava-covered plateaus in the northern part of the peninsula between the Narmada and Krishna rivers. Having once constituted a segment of the ancient continent of Gondwanaland, this land is the oldest and most stable in India; the Deccan plateau consists of dry tropical forests. On the western edge of the plateau lie the Sahyadri, the Nilgiri, the Anaimalai and the Elamalai Hills known as Western Ghats; the average height of the Western Ghats, which run along the Arabian Sea, goes on increasing towards the south. Anaimudi Peak in Kerala, with a height of 2,695 m above sea level, is the highest peak of peninsular India.
In the Nilgiris lie Ootacamund, the well-known hill station of southern India. The western coastal plain is uneven and swift rivers flow through it that forms beautiful lagoons and backwaters, examples of which can be found in the state of Kerala; the east coast is wide with deltas formed by the rivers Godavari and Kaveri. Flanking the Indian peninsula on the western side are the Lakshadweep Islands in the Arabian Sea and on the eastern side lies the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal; the eastern Deccan plateau, called Telangana and Rayalaseema, is made of vast sheets of massive granite rock, which traps rainwater. Under the thin surface layer of soil is the impervious gray granite bedrock, it rains here only during some months. Comprising the northeastern part of the Deccan Plateau, the Telangana Plateau has an area of about 148,000 km2, a north-south length of about 770 km, an east-west width of about 515 km; the plateau is drained by the Godavari River taking a southeasterly course.
Bangalore
Bangalore known as Bengaluru, is the capital city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of over ten million, making it a megacity and the third most populous city and fifth most populous urban agglomeration in India, it is located in southern India on the Deccan Plateau at an elevation of over 900 m above sea level, the highest among India's major cities. It reflects its multireligious and cosmopolitan character by its more than 1000 temples, 400 mosques, 100 churches, 40 Jain derasars, three Sikh gurdwaras, two Buddhist viharas and one Parsi fire temple located in an area of 741 km² of the metropolis; the religious places are further represented to include the few members of the Jewish community who are making their presence known through the Chabad that they propose to establish in Bengaluru and the large number of Bahá'ís whose presence is registered with a society called the Bahá'í Centre. In 1537 CE, Kempé Gowdā – a feudal ruler under the Vijayanagara Empire – established a mud fort considered to be the foundation of modern Bengaluru and its oldest areas Or Petes which exist to the present day.
After the fall of Vijayanagar empire in 16th Century, the Mughals sold Bangalore to Chikkadevaraja Wodeyar, the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore for three lakh rupees. When Haider Ali seized control of the Kingdom of Mysore, the administration of Bangalore passed into his hands, it was captured by the British East India Company after victory in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, who returned administrative control of the city to the Maharaja of Mysore. The old city developed in the dominions of the Maharaja of Mysore and was made capital of the Princely State of Mysore, which existed as a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj. In 1809, the British shifted their cantonment to Bangalore, outside the old city, a town grew up around it, governed as part of British India. Following India's independence in 1947, Bangalore became the capital of Mysore State, remained capital when the new Indian state of Karnataka was formed in 1956; the two urban settlements of Bangalore – city and cantonment – which had developed as independent entities merged into a single urban centre in 1949.
The existing Kannada name, Bengalūru, was declared the official name of the city in 2006. Bengaluru is sometimes referred to as the "Silicon Valley of India" because of its role as the nation's leading information technology exporter. Indian technological organisations ISRO, Wipro and HAL are headquartered in the city. A demographically diverse city, Bangalore is the second fastest-growing major metropolis in India. Bengaluru has one of the most educated workforces in the world, it is home to many educational and research institutions in India, such as Indian Institute of Science, Indian Institute of Management, International Institute of Information Technology, National Institute of Fashion Technology, National Institute of Design, National Law School of India University and National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences. Numerous state-owned aerospace and defence organisations, such as Bharat Electronics, Hindustan Aeronautics and National Aerospace Laboratories are located in the city.
The city houses the Kannada film industry. The name "Bangalore" represents an anglicised version of the Kannada language name and its original name, "Bengalūru" ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು, it is the name of a village near Kodigehalli in Bangalore city today and was used by Kempegowda to christen the city as Bangalore at the time of its foundation. The earliest reference to the name "Bengalūru" was found in a ninth-century Western Ganga Dynasty stone inscription on a "vīra gallu". In this inscription found in Begur, "Bengalūrū" is referred to as a place in which a battle was fought in 890 CE, it states that the place was part of the Ganga Kingdom until 1004 and was known as "Bengaval-uru", the "City of Guards" in Halegannada. An apocryphal story recounts that the 12th century Hoysala king Veera Ballala II, while on a hunting expedition, lost his way in the forest. Tired and hungry, he came across a poor old woman; the grateful king named the place "benda-kaal-uru", which evolved into "Bengalūru". Suryanath Kamath has put forward an explanation of a possible floral origin of the name, being derived from benga, the Kannada term for Pterocarpus marsupium, a species of dry and moist deciduous trees, that grew abundantly in the region.
On 11 December 2005, the Government of Karnataka announced that it had accepted a proposal by Jnanpith Award winner U. R. Ananthamurthy to rename Bangalore to Bengalūru. On 27 September 2006, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike passed a resolution to implement the proposed name change; the government of Karnataka accepted the proposal, it was decided to implement the name change from 1 November 2006. The Union government approved this request, along with name changes for 11 other Karnataka cities, in October 2014, hence Bangalore was renamed to "Bengaluru" on 1 November 2014. A discovery of Stone Age artefacts during the 2001 census of India at Jalahalli and Jadigenahalli, all of which are located on Bangalore's outskirts today, suggest probable human settlement around 4,000 BCE. Around 1,000 BCE, burial grounds were established at Koramangala and Chikkajala on the outskirts of Bangalore. Coins of the Roman emperors Augustus and Claudius found at Yeswanthpur and H
Bhavani River
Bhavani is a major river in Kongu Nadu region of Tamil Nadu, India. It's a major tributary of the Kaveri River. Bhavani river originates from Nilgiri hills of the Western Ghats, enters the Silent Valley National Park in Kerala and flows back towards Tamil Nadu; the Bhavani is a 217-kilometre long perennial river fed by the southwest monsoon and supplemented by the northeast monsoon. Its watershed drains an area of 0.62 million hectares spread over Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The main river courses majorly through Coimbatore Erode district in Tamil Nadu. About 90 per cent of the river's water is used for agriculture irrigation. Twelve major rivulets including West and East Varagar rivers join Bhavani draining the southern Nilgiri slopes. At Mukkali, Bhavani takes an abrupt 120-degree turn towards the northeast and flows for another 25 kilometres through Attappady plateau, it gets reinforced by the Kunda river coming from the north. Siruvani river, a perennial stream and the Kodungarapallam river, flowing from the south and southeast join the Bhavani at Kerala-Tamil Nadu border.
The river flows east along the base of Nilgiris and enters the plains near Bathra Kaliamman temple at Mettupalayam after joining with Coonoor river coming from northwest. About 30 kilometres downstream, Moyar River, a major tributary originating in Mudumalai National Park, flows in from the northwest, where it drains the valley between the northern slopes of the Nilgiris and the southern slopes of the Bilgiri Hills. After the Moyar it is blocked by the Lower Bhavani Dam, feeding Lower Bhavani Project Canal near Sathyamangalam in Erode District; the river continues east for over 160 kilometres through Erode District, traversing Kodiveri Dam, near Gobichettipalayam which feeds the Arakkankottai and Thadappalli canals constructed for agricultural purposes. A small barrage across the river was built by Kalingarayan in 1283 AD to feed the 90-kilometre Kalingarayan irrigation canal; the river joins Kaveri at Kooduthurai near Sangameswarar Temple, Bhavani where it is believed that the mystic Sarasvati River joins the confluence.
Bhavanisagar Bhavanisagar dam is located on the Bhavani river in Tamil Nadu, India. The dam is one of the largest earthen dams in the world; the dam is situated some 16 km west of 35 km from Gobichettipalayam. The Lower Bhavani Project was the first major irrigation project initiated in India after independence in 1948, it was completed by 1955 and opened for use in 1956. The dam was constructed at a cost of ₹210 million; the dam is 40 m high. The full reservoir level is 120 ft and the dam has a capacity of 32.8×10^9 cu ft. The dam has two hydel power stations, one on the east bank canal and the other on the Bhavani river; each has a capacity of 16 megawatts for a total capacity of 32 megawatts. Kodiveri Kodiveri dam is located on the Bhavani River near Gobichettipalayam in Western Tamil Nadu; the dam is situated along the State Highway 15 about 15 km from Gobichettipalayam towards Sathyamangalam. It was constructed by Kongalvan in the year 1125 AD. Industrial and agricultural pollution of the river results in poor water quality and negative impacts on the health of people and animals dependent on the river water
Irrigation
Irrigation is the application of controlled amounts of water to plants at needed intervals. Irrigation helps to grow agricultural crops, maintain landscapes, revegetate disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of less than average rainfall. Irrigation has other uses in crop production, including frost protection, suppressing weed growth in grain fields and preventing soil consolidation. In contrast, agriculture that relies only on direct rainfall is referred to as rain-fed or dry land farming. Irrigation systems are used for cooling livestock, dust suppression, disposal of sewage, in mining. Irrigation is studied together with drainage, the removal of surface and sub-surface water from a given area. Irrigation has been a central feature of agriculture for over 5,000 years and is the product of many cultures, it was the basis for economies and societies across the globe, from Asia to the Southwestern United States. Archaeological investigation has found evidence of irrigation in areas lacking sufficient natural rainfall to support crops for rainfed agriculture.
The earliest known use of the technology dates to the 6th millennium BCE in Khuzistan in the south-west of present-day Iran. Irrigation was used as a means of manipulation of water in the alluvial plains of the Indus valley civilization, the application of it is estimated to have begun around 4500 BC and drastically increased the size and prosperity of their agricultural settlements; the Indus Valley Civilization developed sophisticated irrigation and water-storage systems, including artificial reservoirs at Girnar dated to 3000 BCE, an early canal irrigation system from c. 2600 BCE. Large-scale agriculture was practiced, with an extensive network of canals used for the purpose of irrigation. Farmers in the Mesopotamian plain used irrigation from at least the third millennium BCE, they developed perennial irrigation watering crops throughout the growing season by coaxing water through a matrix of small channels formed in the field. Ancient Egyptians practiced basin irrigation using the flooding of the Nile to inundate land plots, surrounded by dykes.
The flood water remained until the fertile sediment had settled before the engineers returned the surplus to the watercourse. There is evidence of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Amenemhet III in the twelfth dynasty using the natural lake of the Faiyum Oasis as a reservoir to store surpluses of water for use during dry seasons; the lake swelled annually from the flooding of the Nile. The Ancient Nubians developed a form of irrigation by using a waterwheel-like device called a sakia. Irrigation began in Nubia some time between the third and second millennia BCE, it depended upon the flood waters that would flow through the Nile River and other rivers in what is now the Sudan. In sub-Saharan Africa irrigation reached the Niger River region cultures and civilizations by the first or second millennium BCE and was based on wet-season flooding and water harvesting. Evidence of terrace irrigation occurs in pre-Columbian America, early Syria and China. In the Zana Valley of the Andes Mountains in Peru, archaeologists have found remains of three irrigation canals radiocarbon-dated from the 4th millennium BCE, the 3rd millennium BCE and the 9th century CE.
These canals provide the earliest record of irrigation in the New World. Traces of a canal dating from the 5th millennium BCE were found under the 4th-millennium canal. Ancient Persia used irrigation as far back as the 6th millennium BCE to grow barley in areas with insufficient natural rainfall; the Qanats, developed in ancient Persia about 800 BCE, are among the oldest known irrigation methods still in use today. They are now found in the Middle East and North Africa; the system comprises a network of vertical wells and sloping tunnels driven into the sides of cliffs and of steep hills to tap groundwater. The noria, a water wheel with clay pots around the rim powered by the flow of the stream, first came into use at about this time among Roman settlers in North Africa. By 150 BCE the pots were fitted with valves to allow smoother filling as they were forced into the water; the irrigation works of ancient Sri Lanka, the earliest dating from about 300 BCE in the reign of King Pandukabhaya, under continuous development for the next thousand years, were one of the most complex irrigation systems of the ancient world.
In addition to underground canals, the Sinhalese were the first to build artificial reservoirs to store water. These reservoirs and canal systems were used to irrigate paddy fields, which require a lot of water to cultivate. Most of these irrigation systems still exist undamaged up to now, in Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, because of the advanced and precise engineering; the system was further extended during the reign of King Parakrama Bahu. The oldest known hydraulic engineers of China were Sunshu Ao of the Spring and Autumn period and Ximen Bao of the Warring States period, both of whom worked on large irrigation projects. In the Sichuan region belonging to the state of Qin of ancient China, the Dujiangyan Irrigation System devised by the Qin Chinese hydrologist and irrigation engineer Li Bing was built in 256 BCE to irrigate a vast area of farmland that today still supplies water. By the 2nd century AD, during the Han Dynasty, the Chinese used chain pumps which lifted water from a lower elevation to a higher one.
These were powered by manual foot-pedal, hydraulic waterwheels, or rotating mechanical wheels pulled by oxen. The water was used for public works, providing water for urban residential quarters and palace gardens, bu
