Drainage system in India
The area drained by a single river system is called a drainage basin.
Any elevated area, such as a mountain or an upland which separates
two drainage basins, is known as a water divide.
Drainage Systems in India
The Indian rivers are divided into two major groups:
The Himalayan rivers
The Peninsular rivers
The Himalayan rivers The Peninsular rivers
Most of the Himalayan rivers are perennial, Peninsular rivers are seasonal.
which means they have water throughout the
year.
These rivers receive water from rain as well The flow of these rivers is
as from melted snow from high mountains. dependent on rainfall.
Two major Himalayan rivers, the Indus and Most of the rivers of peninsular
the Brahmaputra originate from the north of India originate in the Western
the mountain ranges. Ghats and flow towards the Bay
of Bengal.
The Himalayan rivers have long courses from These rivers have shorter and
their source to the sea. shallower courses as compared to
the Himalayan rivers.
The Himalayan Rivers
The major Himalayan rivers are the Indus, the Ganga and the
Brahmaputra. A river, along with its tributaries, may be called a river
system.
1) The Indus River System
A total of 2900 kilometers make up the length of the Indus
River.
Indus rises near Lake Mansarovar in Tibet.
In Jammu and Kashmir, it forms a picturesque gorge in the
Ladakh district.
The Satluj, the Beas, the Ravi, the Chenab and the Jhelum join
together to enter the Indus near Mithankot in Pakistan.
2) The Ganga River System
The source of the Ganga called the ‘Bhagirathi’, is fed by the
Gangotri Glacier and joined by the Alaknanda at Devaprayag in
Uttarakhand.
The Ganga emerges from the mountains to the plains at
Haridwar.
The Ganga is joined by many tributaries from the Himalayas, a
few of them being major rivers, such as the Yamuna, the
Ghaghara, the Gandak and the Kosi.
The length of the Ganga is over 2500 km.
Farakka in West Bengal is the northernmost point of the Ganga Delta
where the Ganga River divides into 2 parts.
1. The Bhagirathi-Hooghly flows southwards through the deltaic
plains to the Bay of Bengal.
2. The mainstream flows southwards into Bangladesh and is joined
by the Brahmaputra. Further downstream, it is known as
the Meghna. The Meghna River flows into the Bay of Bengal
and forms Sundarban Delta.
3) The Brahmaputra River System
The Brahmaputra rises in Tibet east of Mansarowar Lake.
It is slightly longer than the Indus.
On reaching the Namcha Barwa (7757 m), it takes a ‘U-turn’
and enters India in Arunachal Pradesh, where it is called
the Dihang.
Dihang is joined by the Dibang, the Lohit, and many other
tributaries to form the Brahmaputra in Assam.
The Peninsular Rivers
The main water divide in Peninsular India is formed by the Western
Ghats. Most of the major rivers of the Peninsula, such as the
Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna, and the Kaveri, flow eastwards
and drain into the Bay of Bengal. These rivers make deltas at their
mouths. The Narmada and the Tapi are the only long rivers which
flow west and make estuaries.
1) The Narmada Basin
The Narmada rises in the Amarkantak hills in Madhya Pradesh.
The Narmada flows through a deep gorge at the ‘Marble
Rocks’ near Jabalpur.
At Dhuadhar Falls, the river jumps over steep rocks.
The Narmada basin covers parts of Madhya Pradesh and
Gujarat.
2) The Tapi Basin
The Tapi rises in the Satpura ranges in the Betul district of
Madhya Pradesh.
Its basin covers parts of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and
Maharashtra.
3) The Godavari Basin
The Godavari is the largest Peninsular river. Its length is about
1500 km.
It rises from the slopes of the Western Ghats in the Nasik district
of Maharashtra.
The basin covers parts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha
and Andhra Pradesh.
The Godavari is joined by a number of tributaries, such as the
Purna, the Wardha, the Pranhita, the Manjra, the Wainganga and
the Penganga.
Owing to its length and the area it covers, it is also known as
the Dakshin Ganga.
4) The Mahanadi Basin
The Mahanadi rises in the highlands of Chhattisgarh.
The length of the river is about 860 km.
Its drainage basin is shared by Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh,
Jharkhand, and Odisha.
5) The Krishna Basin
It rises from a spring near Mahabaleshwar.
The length of the river is about 1400 km.
Its drainage basin is shared by Maharashtra, Karnataka and
Andhra Pradesh.
6) The Kaveri Basin
The Kaveri rises in the Brahmagri range of the Western Ghats.
The total length of the river is about 760 km.
Its basin drains parts of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Besides these major rivers, there are some smaller rivers flowing
towards the east. Some of them are:
The Damodar
The Brahmani
The Baitarni
The Subarnrekha
