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52. The book 'The Himalayan Gazetteer' authored by Edwin Thomas Atkinson Volume-3, published on 19th February, 1986, defines Gangotri Glacier as under: -

"Gangotri, in patti and parganah Taknaur of Tihri, a small temple on the right bank of the Bhagirathi, is situate in north latitude 300-59'-10'' and east longitude 780-59'-30", about ten miles south-east of its source at an elevation of 10,020 feet above the level of the sea. A gunshot below Gangotri the Kedar Ganga, a rapid and considerable stream, debouches into the Bhagirathi at a place called Gaurikund, a place of ablution for pilgrims. The hills here recede a little, and above Gaurikund the bed of the Bhagirthi widens into a small shingly space, in which the river flows rapidly, changing its course as the floods direct it. Just at the gorge of this space a bridge has been thrown across, and just above the bridge, in a bay formed by a reach of the river in this shingly place, fifteen feet above the stream, is situate the small temple dedicated to the goddess Ganga. This was erected by Amr Singh, Thapa, the chief of the Gorkhali commanders in Gargwal early in the present century. The temple is erected on the sacred stone where tradition has it, Bhagirath used to worship Mahadeo. It is a small building of a square form, for about 12 feet high and rounding in to the top in the manner common to temples in the hills. It is quite plain, coloured white with red mouldings, and surmounted with the usual melon-shaped ornament commonly known as a Turk's cap. From the eastern face of the square which is turned nearly to the sacred source, there is a small projection covered with a stone roof, in which is the entrance facing east, and just opposite to this there is a smaller temple of similar shape dedicated to Bhaironji, as the guardian of the shrine. The larger temple contains small statues of Ganga, Bhagirath, and other deities supposed to be connected with the locality. The whole is surrounded by a wall built of unhewn stone and mortar, and the space this contains is paved with flat stones. In this space, too, there is a comfortable but small house for the officiating Brahmans. Without the enclosure there are a few wooden sheds constructed for the accommodation of pilgrims, who also find shelter in caves formed by overhanging stones, of which there are many.