The most significant feature of the Bangladesh landscape is provided by the rivers, which have molded not only its physiography but also the way of life of the people. Bangladesh is known as the country of rivers. It has 290 rivers and tributaries criss-crossing it. Two great river systems of the world, 'Bhrahmaputra' and the 'Ganges' flow through Bangladesh. The two mentioned rivers and the 'Meghna' river create the largest delta in the world, both in terms of sediment carried and actual area of the delta. All the other rivers (except those flowing from the Chittagong Hill Tracts) either flow into the three rivers or flow out of them to reach the sea.

Rivers in Bangladesh, however, are subject to constant and sometimes rapid changes of course, which can affect the hydrology of a large region; consequently, no description of Bangladesh's topography retains its absolute accuracy for long. One spectacular example of such a change occurred in 1787, when the Tista River underwent exceptionally high flooding; its waters were suddenly diverted eastward, where they reinforced the Brahmaputra. The swollen Brahmaputra in turn began to cut into a minor stream, which by the early 1800s became the river's main lower course, now known as the Jamuna. A much smaller river (the Old Brahmaputra) now flows through the Brahmaputra's former course. Each year between June and October the rivers overflow their banks and inundate the countryside, rising most heavily in September or October and receding quickly in November. The inundations are both a blessing and a curse. Without them, the fertile silt deposits would not be replenished, but severe floods regularly damage crops and ruin hamlets and sometimes take a heavy toll on human and animal populations.

The rivers may be divided into five systems:

(1) The Ganges, or Padma, and its deltaic streams
(2) The Meghna and the Surma river system
(3) The Jamuna and its adjoining channels
(4) The North Bengal rivers
(5) The rivers of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the adjoining plains.

The Ganges is the pivot of the deltaic river system of Bengal. The river and its tributaries enclose a large area of southwestern Bangladesh, and the Ganges Delta covers about 20,000 square miles. The Ganges River system is divided into two segments, the Ganges and the Padma, although within Bangladesh the entire length of the river is called the Padma. The Ganges enters Bangladesh from the west and forms, for about 90 miles, the boundary between Bangladesh and West Bengal (India). It forms numerous distributaries and spill channels and reaches its confluence with the Jamuna west of Dhaka, after which their combined waters are known as the Padma. The Padma flows southeast to join the Meghna near Chandpur and enters the Bay of Bengal through the Meghna estuary and lesser channels. Except where it is confined by high banks, the Ganges' main channel changes course every two or three years. Its waters appear muddy owing to the volume of silt carried by the river. Silt deposits build temporary islands that reduce navigability but are so highly fertile that they have been for decades a source of feuds among peasants who rush to occupy them.

The Meghna is formed by the union of the Sylhet-Surma and Kusiyara rivers. These two rivers are branches of the Barak River, which rises in the Nagar-Manipur watershed in India. The main branch of the Barak, the Surma, is joined near Azmiriganj in northeastern Bangladesh by the Kalni and farther down by the Kusiyara branch. The Dhaleswari, a distributary of the Jamuna River, joins the Meghna a few miles above the junction of the Padma and the Meghna. As it meanders south, the Meghna grows larger after receiving the waters of a number of rivers, including the Buri-Ganga and the Sitallakhya. The Jamuna and its adjoining channels cover a large area from north-central Bangladesh to the Meghna River in the southeast.

The Jamuna receives waters from a number of rivers, especially on its right bank, and, with its notoriously shifting channels, not only prevents permanent settlement along its banks but also inhibits communication between the northern area of Bangladesh and the eastern part, where Dhaka is situated. The Tista is the most important water carrier of northwestern Bangladesh. Rising in the Himalayas near Sikkim, India, it flows southward, turning southeast near Darjiling (Darjeeling) to enter Bangladesh and eventually meeting the Jamuna. Navigation of Tista's lower reaches is made difficult by the shoals and quicksand that form near the junction with the Brahmaputra.

Four main rivers constitute the river system of the Chittagong Hills and the adjoining plains--the Feni, the Karnaphuli, the Sangu, and the Matamuhari. Flowing generally west and southwest across the coastal plain, they empty into the Bay of Bengal. Of these rivers the longest is the Karnaphuli, which is dammed at Kaptai, about 30 miles upstream from its mouth near the city of Chittagong.

None of the major rivers of Bangladesh originates within the country's territory. The headwaters of the Surma are in India; the Ganges rises in Nepal and the Brahmaputra in China, but they, too, reach Bangladesh across Indian territory. Thus, Bangladesh lacks full control over the flow of any of the streams that irrigate it. The construction of a barrage upstream at Farakka in West Bengal has led to the diversion of a considerable volume of water from the Ganges, and the flow to western Bangladesh is insufficient in the dry season from November to April. The equitable distribution of the river's waters has been since the 1970s a source of friction between India and Bangladesh.