GEOGRAPHY – RIVER / DRAINAGE SYSTEM OF INDIA

The flow of water through channels is called drainage. The network of such channels is known as drainage system. On the basis of origin, Indian drainage system is divided into – Himalayan rivers and Peninsular rivers.

I. HIMALAYAN RIVERS

• The major Himalayan rivers are the Ganga, the Indus and the Brahmaputra.
• These rivers are very long compared to the rivers of South India.
• They are called perennial rivers as they are fed by both rainfall and the melting of snow.

A. INDUS RIVER SYSTEM

• It is also known as Sindhu river.
• Total length is 2880 km.
• Source – Kailash Range, Tibet near Mansarovar Lake.
• Destination – Arabian Sea.
• Panchnad – Jhelum (Vitasta), Chenab (Chandrabhaga), Ravi (Iravati), Beas (Bipasha) and Sutlej (Satadru).

RIVER	SOURCE	DAMS/ HYDRO PROJECT
Jhelum	Verinag	Uri
Chenub	Bara Lacha Pass	Dul Hasti
Ravi	Rohtang Pass
Beas	Rohtang Pass
Sultuj	Near Mansarovar	Govind Sagar/ Bhakra Nangal Dam

B. GANGA RIVER SYSTEM

• Source – Gangotri glacier near Gomukh, Uttrakhand in the Kumaon Himalaya.
• It is named as Bhagirathi here. At Devprayag, Alakananda joins Bhagirathi and becomes Ganga.
• In Allahabad it is joined by Yamuna, the largest tributary of Ganga, rising from Yamunotri glacier.
• Left bank tributaries – Ramganga, Gandak, Kosi, Gharghara, Gomati.
• Right bank tributaries – Son.
• Kosi, a tributary, is flood prone. So it is known as “Sorrow of Bihar”.
• Ganga flows through Uttrakhand, UP, MP, Chattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and WB.
• It bifurcates into Bhagirathi and Hooghly in WB and Padma-Meghna in Bangladesh.
• Ganga-Brahmaputra delta is the largest delta in the world.
• Total length of Ganga – 2530 km.
• Ganga Basin area is 9,51,600 sq. km.
• The plain area from Haridwar to Ganga’s mouth is fertile with alluvial soil.

C. BRAHMAPUTRA

• Source – Chemayung-Dung glacier near Mansarovar in Tibet.
• In Tibet it is known as Tsangpo.
• It turns SW near Namcha Barwa in Arunachal Pradesh and enters India as Dihang
• Near Sadiya, Dihang enters into India where Dibang and Lohit join it to make Brahmaputra.
• Finally it enters into Bangladesh as Jamuna and meets Padma to drain into Bay of Bengal.
• Right bank tributaries – Subansiri, Kameng, Manas.
• Left bank tributaries – Buri Dihang, Kameng.
• Majuli is a large riverine island of Brahmaputra.
• Total length of Brahmaputra is 2900 km.

II. PENINSULAR RIVER SYSTEM

• Peninsular rivers are both west and east flowing.
• Narmada and Tapi drain into Arabian Sea where Mahanadi, Godavari, Cauvery and Krishna drain into Bay of Bengal.
• East flowing rivers form delta where west flowing rivers don’t form delta.
• Narmada and Tapi are rift valleys.

RIVER	ORIGIN	DAMS/ HYDRO PROJECT	IMPORTANT  NOTES
Mahanadi	Dandakaranya, Raipur, Chattishgarh	Hirakud	Largest and longest river of Odisha
Godavari	Trimbak plateau, Nasik, Maharashtra		Largest river of South India. Known as South Ganga.
Krishna	Mahabaleswar in Maharashtra	Nagarjuna Sagar	Tributaries – Tungabhadra, Koyna, Ghatprabha, Bhima, Dudhganga.
Kaveri	Tala Cauvery, Western Ghat		Shivasamudram waterfalls
Narmada	Amarkantak Plateau, MP	Narmada Valley project	Duan Dhar falls. Flows through rift valley between Vindhayan and Satpura range
Tapi	Multai in Betul district, MP	Ukai	Known as the twin of Narmada