RIVERS IN INDIA :
·
In India the rivers can be divided into two main group
–
1.
Himalayan Rivers
2.
Peninsular Rivers
· HIMALAYAN RIVERS :
In this three major river system are there :
a.
The Indus Drainage System
b.
The Ganga Drainage System
c.
The Brahmaputra
Drainage System
a.
THE INDUS DRAINAGE SYSTEM :
NAME OF THE RIVER >> SOURCE >> LENGTH (IN
K.M)
·
INDUS – Near Mansarovar Lake at an elevation of 5180 m
– 2880, in India 709 (Its most important tributaries, which joins Indus at various places, are –
Sutlej, Ravi, Jhelum, Chenab & Beas).
·
SUTLEJ – Mansarovar _ Rakas Lakes in Western Tibet at
4570 m altitude – 1450 (in India 1050).
·
RAVI – from Kullu Hills near Rohtang Pass in Himachal
Pradesh – 725.
·
JHELUM – Verinag, South Easst Kashmir at 4900m
altitude – 724.
·
CHENAB – Bara Lacha pass (Lahaul-Spiti, Himachal
Pradesh) – 1180.
·
BEAS – from a place near Rohtang Pass at a height of
4062m – 460.
b.
THE GANGA DRAINAGE SYSTEM :
·
The Ganga, the head stream is constituted of two main
rivers – Bhagirathi & Alokananda, which combine at Devprayag to form Ganga.
Before Alokananda meets Bhagirathi at Devprayag, Mandakini meets Alokananda at
Rudraprayag.
·
Yamuna is its most important tributary on right bank.
Important tributaries of Yamuna are – Chambal (1050 km), Beywa (480 km), Sind
& Ken all from South.
·
Apart from Yamuna, others tributaries are Son (780
km), Kosi (730 km), Gomti (805 km), Damodar (541 km), Ghaghra (1080 km), Gandak
(425 km). Damodar is infamous as “Sorrow of Bengal”, while Kosi gets the name
“Sorrow of Bihar” as these cause floods in these regions.
·
Ganga – Gangotri Glacier – 2525.
·
Yamuna – Yamunotri – 1375.
·
Bhagarathi – Gaumukh – 205.
·
Alokananda – Confluence of Satopanth Glacier &
Bhagirathi Kharak Glacier – 195.
·
Ramganga –
Garhwal District – 596.
·
Chambal – Near Mhow – 1050.
·
Kosi – Sikkim _ Nepal _ Tibet Himalayas – 730(in
India)
c.
THE BRAHMAPUTRA DRAINAGE SYSTEM :
·
Brahmaputra rises from Chemayungdung Glacier, where it
is called Tsangpo, and enters the Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh under
the name Dihang. It has a total length of 2900 km.
·
In Bangladesh,
Brahmaputra is known by the name of Jamuna while Ganga gets the name Padma.
Their combined stream is known as Padma only. Meghna is the most important
distributory before it enters the Bay of Bengal.
·
The combined stream of Ganga & Brahmaputra forms
the biggest delta in the world, the Sundarbans, covering an area of 58,752 sq.
km. Its major part is in Bangladesh.
·
On Brahmaputra is the river island, Majuli in Assam,
the biggest river island in the world.
·
PENINSULAR
RIVERS :
a.
East Flowing Rivers
b.
West Flowing Rivers
a.
EAST FLOWING RIVERS :
Name of the
River >> Source >> Length (in km)
·
Godavari – Trimbak Plateau near Nasik in Maharashtra –
1465 (It is the longest peninsular river. Main tributaries – Manjra, Penganga,
Wardha, Indravati, Wainganga, Sabari etc).
·
Kaveri – Talakaveri on the Brahmagiri hills of the Western Ghats at an elevation of
1341m – 805 (In maximum amount of water it is the largest peninsular river.
Also known as the “Ganga of South”. Main tributaries – Lokpawni, Hemavati,
Shimsa).
·
Mahanadi – Northern foothills of Dandakaranya near Sihawa in Raipur
District of Madhya Pradesh – 857 (Main
tributaries – Hasdo, Mand, Jonk, Seonath, Tel etc).
·
Krishna – In the Western Ghats near Mahabaleshwar –
1400 (Main tributaries – Konya, Bhima, Dudhganga, Panchganga, Malprabha,
Ghatprabha, Musi, Tungabhadra etc).
b.
WEST FLOWING RIVER :
·
Narmada (1057 km) – Rises in Amarkantak Plateau & flows into Gulf
of Khambat. Main tributaries are – Banjar, Shar, Tawa, Hiran, Burhner etc. It
forms the famous Dhuan Dhar Falls near Jabbalpur.
·
Luni (450 km) – Rises from Aravallis. Also called
“Salt River”.
·
Tapti (724 km) – Rises Sacred tank of Multai in the
Satpura Plateau. Also known as “Twin” or “Handmaid of Narmada”. Main
tributaries are - Betul, Arunavati,
Purna, Ganjal etc.
·
Sabarmati (416 km) – Rises from Aravallies in
Rajasthan.
·
Sharavati – it is a west flowing river the Sahyadris.
It forms the famous Jog or Gersoppa or Mahatma Gandhi Falls (289m), which is
the highest waterfall in India.
·
Mahi (560 km) – Rises from Vindhyas in Madhya Pradesh.
