"The Elambore River, also known as the North River, was a significant waterway in pre-colonial and colonial Chennai, flowing from north to south and then turning east near the site of the present General Hospital before joining the Cooum River at its mouth.
It played a crucial role in the selection of the site for Fort St. George, as the area between the Elambore, the Cooum, and the sea formed a natural backwater and marsh, providing a strategic location for the British settlement.
The river was vital for the city's early development, with its course being modified in the 17th century to equalize flood levels between the Elambore and the Cooum by cutting a channel approximately 300 yards wide, which transformed a natural peninsula into the artificial island known today as The Island.
The Elambore River was used for various purposes during the colonial era, including irrigation for fields north of the Great Ditch (now NSC Bose Road), and it provided water for the moat at Fort St. George.
In 1675, the area adjacent to the river was designated for washermen to wash and dry calicoes, leading to the development of Washermanpet.
Over time, the river's course was altered, with a diversion attempted in the 1680s by Elihu Yale and later implemented in the 1750s after the French occupation, which caused the river to dry up rapidly and be referred to as a rivulet by 1762.
By the 19th century, the Elambore was fully absorbed into the Buckingham Canal, which was constructed in the 1870s as a famine relief measure and linked existing waterways from Pulicat to Cuddalore.
Today, the Elambore River no longer exists as a distinct water body; its historical course is now part of the Buckingham Canal, which runs from Pulicat to The Island.
The river's origin remains uncertain, though it may have originated from the Pulicat lagoon, and it was also known as the Palliacate River at some point in its history.
Despite its disappearance, the Elambore River remains a key element in Chennai’s historical geography, having shaped the city’s early urban layout and infrastructure"