Complete information about the drainage system of India(Rivers)

The energy of the country gets new energy from the system of rivers. On the one hand, if the irrigation facilities are provided by the water of the rivers, on the other hand, the power received by the industries through hydropower projects plays its part in the prosperity of the country. Therefore it is very important to know the drainage system of India.

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The drainage system is an integrated system of the main river and tributaries that collects surface water and provides direction to the sea, lake, or any other water body. Physically, the country has developed peninsular and peninsular river systems, which are known as the Himalayas and the south plateau respectively.

The drainage system of rivers in India can be mainly divided into two parts:

Himalayan drainage system
Peninsular drainage system

Three main river systems flow through the Himalayas. These rivers originate from the southern slope of the Tibetan Upper Territory and after flowing in longitudinal ranges parallel to the axis of the Himalayas, they reach the plains and suddenly turn south to reach the plains. Rivers originating from the Himalayas are examples of earlier runoff.

The broad, shallow and almost balanced valleys of the peninsular rivers point to the fact that these rivers have been flowing much longer than the Himalayan rivers and have attained a mature state. The slope of the river bed is very slow at all places except some fault areas. Most of the peninsular rivers except west Narmada, Tapi, etc. flow from west to east.

Difference between Himalayan and Peninsular rivers

The rivers of the Himalayan Mountains are longer while peninsular rivers are shorter.
The number of Himalayan rivers is more and the number of peninsular rivers is less.
The catchment areas of the Himalayan rivers are quite large, but the catchment areas of the peninsula's rivers are small.
Himalayan rivers receive water from melting snow and rain, but peninsular rivers depend on rain only.
Depends only on rain, so dries up in summer.
Himalayan rivers change their course, but peninsular rivers do not change their course.
The rivers of the Himalayas are favorable for shipping and irrigation, but the rivers of the peninsula are not favorable for shipping and irrigation.
The Himalayan rivers form large deltas, while the peninsular rivers form relatively small deltas. She makes.

Himalayan drainage system

The rivers of the Himalayas have the following three drainage systems - the Indus, the Ganges, and the Brahmaputra runoff.

Indus runoff (Sindhu)

The Indus and its tributaries drain over a wide area in the northwestern part of India. There are Sutlej, Vyas, Ravi, Chenab, and Jhelum main rivers in this system. The Jhelum in these rivers originates from Pirpanjal while the others originate from the Himalayas.

Indus(Sindhu)

The river originates from an elevation of 5180 m from the Chemayungdung Glacier near Mansarovar Lake in Tibet. The length of this river of 2880 km is 709 km in India. And its storage area is 11.65 lakh sq km (3.21 lakh sq km in India). Under Indus Water Agreement (India-Pakistan), India can use 20% of Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab water. Sutlej, Vyas, Ravi, Chenab, and Jhelum are the main rivers originating from the left side of the Indus River which form the Panchanad region and meet the mainstream of the Indus near Mithankot. Zaskar, Syang, Shigar, Gilgit also originate from the left. The rivers originating from the right include the rivers Shyok, Kabul, Kurram, Gomal, etc. These rivers form very large deltas before falling into the Arabian Sea (south of Karachi).

Jhelum

It rises to a height of 4900 m near Berinag in the southeast of the Kashmir valley. Its tributaries are Kishanganga, Liddar, Karves, Poonch. The river joins Chenab near Trimmu and after Muzaffarabad, it forms a 170 km long border between India and Pakistan.

Chenab (Chandrabhaga, Askini)

This river is formed by the joining of two rivers called Chandra and Bhaga. Its point of origin lies on either side of Baralapcha rates in the Lahaul district of Himachal Pradesh. Salal and Dulahsti Dam are built on this river. It is the longest tributary of the Indus River.

Raavi

The origin of the river Ravi is near the Rohtang Pass in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. The river joins the Chenab near Sarai Indus in Pakistan. Thein dam is built on this river.

Vyas

This river originates from Vyas Kunda situated at an elevation of 4330 m near Rohtang rates in the Himalayas. Parvati, Sainj, Tirthan, and Uhaul are its major tributaries. It meets Sutlej near Harike.

Sutlej

It originates from a height of 5000 m from Raktasal near Mansarovar Lake in Tibet. Spiti is its major tributary. The famous Bhakra-Nangal dam in the form of Punjab is built on this river. The Sutlej River is 1050 km long in India. The river enters Himachal Pradesh near Shipkila pass.

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Indus drainage system

River Name	Source	Length (km)
Indus(Sindhu)	Near Mansarovar Lake in Tibet	2880 (709 in India only)
Jhelum	4900 m elevation from Lake Berinag	724 in India
Chenab	Baralappcha	1180
Raavi	Near Rohtang Pass	725
Vyas	Rohtang Pass	460
Sutlej	Sheshnag Lake	1450 (1050 in India)

Ganga runoff

The extension of Ganga runoff is found in about a quarter of the area of the country. This creates the Fertile Plain area, which is the granary and most populous region of India. One of the tributaries of the Ganges is one that originates from the snow-covered regions of the Himalayas. Such as Yamuna, Gomti, Gandak, Ghaghra, etc., and on the other hand are those rivers that come in the peninsula region, like Chambal, Betwa, Cane, Son, etc.

Ganga

The river originates from the Gangotri glacier (near Gomakh), located at an altitude of 7010 m north of the Kedarnath peak in the Garhwal Himalayas of Uttarakhand, where it is called 'Bhagirathi'. In Devprayag, when Alaknanda and Bhagirathi combined. This combined current is known as 'Ganga'. The Ganges enters the plains near Haridwar. The two streams of Alaknanda meet Dhauliganga and Vishnu Ganga near Vishnuprayag, later the Pinder river near Karnaprayag and Mandakini near Rudraprayag.

The Yamuna near Allahabad in Ganga, Gomti near Ghazipur, Ghaghra near Chhapra, Gandak near Sonepur, and Son near Patna. The direction of Ganga is from Haridwar to Allahabad to the south and south-east, from Allahabad to Farakka to the east, and from Farakka. It is further south-east and finally enters Bangladesh, where it is known as 'Padma'.

River	Origin	Length (km)	Confluence	Tributaries
Ganga	Gomukh Himani near Gangotri	2525	Bay of Bengal	Yamuna, Gandak, Ghaghra, Son, Ramganga, Bagmati, Kosi
Yamuna	Yamunotri glacier near Bandar tail	1376	Allahabad	Toss, Giri, Asan, Betwa, Kali Sindh, Cane, Chambal
Chambal	Located near Mhow on the Malwa plateau	965	Etawah	Kali Sindhu, Banas, Paryati, Kshipra
Betwa	Vindhya Mountains (Raisen District)	480	From the Yamuna in Hamirpur
Ramganga	In Almora district Dwarahat	602	From the Ganga near Kannauj
Ghaaghara	Mapuche Chung Glacier (Nepal)	1080	Ganga at Chapra border	Sharda, Rapti, Chhoti Ganga, Chowkiya, Chhoti Gandak
Gandak	Great Himalaya (Nepal)	425	Near Patna Ganga	Kali Gandak, Trishul Ganga
Kosi	Gosai Than (Sapta Kaushiki region) Nepal	730	Ganga River
Son	Amarkantak Hills	780	पटना के समीप गंगा से	रिहन्द, कुन्हड़
Damodar	Chhotanagpur Plateau	541	Hooghly	Konar, Lamunia, Barakar

Yamuna

It is the most prominent tributary of the Ganges whose origin is located at an altitude of 6315 m from the Himani to Yamunotri glacier on the western slope of the Bandar tail. According to geologists, Yamuna has acquired the waters of the legendary river Saraswati.

Ghaaghara

Also known as Saryu, this river originates from the Mapachachung glacier in the Tibetan plateau and enters India after flowing into Nepal. In Nepal, it is known as Manch or Karnali. It is found in the Ganges near Chhapra. This river often changes its course.

Kosi

Its initial flow is in seven streams and the mainstream is known as Aruna. It originates from Gosai Thanh near Mount Everest. After flowing in several streams, it joins the Ganges at a place called Karagola in Bhagalpur district. this river. It is notorious for its diversion, causing extensive public money loss. Therefore, it is called the mourning of Bihar.

Gandak

It originates from the Dhauladhar mountain range on the Nepal-China border and enters the Champaran district of Bihar after flowing into Nepal. This river is called Saligram in the hilly part of Nepal and Narayani in the plains. Its length in India is 425 km.

Damodar

This river originates from Palamu in Jharkhand. It joins the Hooghly River near Phulata. Barakar is its major tributary. Dhanbad and Durgapur are cities on its banks. Earlier this river was called the mourning of Bengal. It is the most polluted river in India.

Brahmaputra runoff

The Brahmaputra runoff extends into the north-east region of India. Brahmaputra Latha his. Tributaries affect the region. The Brahmaputra This river originates from a glacier named Chimayangdang, situated at a height of 5150 m near Manasarovar lake. This river is called Sangpo in Tibet. It turns south near Namcha Barwa and enters Arunachal Pradesh in India and flows into Assam and enters Bangladesh, where it is known as Jamuna. This river, together with the Ganges's Padma, forms the world's largest delta. Manas, Mateli, Subansidi, Lohit, Teesta, Surma, etc. are the tributaries of Brahmaputra. Guwahati and Dibrugarh on the banks of this river. Is located The total length of this river is 2900 km, of which 1346 km is in India. Majuli Island formed from the Brahmaputra is the largest riverine island in the world, which is 190 km long and 20 km wide.

Peninsular drainage system

The peninsular plateau is an ancient and stable plot. Thus, the rivers of the peninsula are much older than the Himalayas. Its normal gradient is eastward, so most of the rivers originate from the Western Ghats and fall into the Bay of Bengal.

Major rivers falling in the Bay of Bengal

Mahanadi

This river originates from Sihawa in the Amarkantak Range of Chhattisgarh and flows into the Bay of Bengal flowing in Orissa. Its tributaries are Ib, Maand, Hasado, Cane, etc. Its 141600 sq km drainage area includes the states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Orissa, and Maharashtra. The famous Hirakud Dam is built on this river.

Godavari

It is the longest river in the peninsular plateau. Its total length is 1465 km. It originates in Triambak in Nashik district of Maharashtra. 50% of its drainage is in Maharashtra, the rest is in Karnataka, Orissa, and Andhra Pradesh. Pravada, Purna, Penganga, Venganga are its major tributaries. Its runoff area is 312812 sq km. The Godavari river is also known as Vridhganga and the Ganges of the south.

Krishna

It rises near Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra from a height of 1337 m. Thereafter, it flows into Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and joins the Bay of Bengal near Vijayawada. It is the second-largest river in peninsular India. Satara and Vijayawada are cities located on the banks of this river. Srisailam, Nagarjunasagar, and Ghom dams are built on this river. Koyna, Yerla, Varsha, Panchganga, Dudhganga, Ghatprabha, Malprabha, Bhima, Tungabhadra, and Musi Krishna are its tributaries. Tungabhadra is the smallest tributary of Krishna.

Cauvery

It originates in the Western Ghats from a height of 11 m from Bahagirimala in Kurg district. It flows through the states of Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry, and Sankhilnar. It falls in the Bay of Bengal near Kaveripatnam. Tiruchirapalli Magar is situated on the banks of this river. Before entering Tamil Nadu, Kaveri is known as Meka Datu, Thandam Kaveri etc.

Cauvery tributaries

Hemavati, Lokpavali from the north side. Shimsa, Arkavati
Lakshmanathirtha, Kabbini, Suvarnavati, Bhavani, Amravati from the southside

Major rivers falling in the Arabian Sea

Narmada, It rises from the mountains called Amarkantak near the border of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and falls in the Khambhat, Gulf of Arabian Sea near Bhadoch. It has Vindhyachal in the north and Satpura mountain in the south. The lack of tributaries is a major feature of the Narmada drainage area. Narmada is the largest river among the rivers flowing west.

Peninsular river system

River	Source	Length
Mahanadi	Amarkantak Hill in Chhattisgarh	857
Godavari	Near Nashik in Maharashtra	1465
Krishna	Near Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra	1400
Cauvery	Brahmagiri Mountains in the Western Ghats	800
Taamraparnee	The slope of Annamalai in Shadri	163
Penar	Kolar district of Karnataka	178
Subarnarekha	From southwest of Ranchi	395
Narmada	Amarkantak Hill	1300
Tapi	Mahadev hill in Madhya Pradesh	730
Maahee	Vindhyachal Mountains	533
Sabarmati	Aravali Hills	300
Looney	South-west of Ajmer	320

Tapi (Tapti)

Its origin is a 792 m high Multai in Betal district. It is the second-largest river in the western flow to the peninsula. Its catchment area is about 64750 sq km. Lavada, Patco, Ghazal Ambhora, Kapra, Sierra. Isauli, Purna, Suki Harki, Manko, Arunavato, Pajhra, etc. are the tributaries of Tapti.

Sabarmati

Its origin is the Jaisamand Lake located on the Aravalli Mountains in the Udaipur district of Rajasthan. It is the third-largest river with a western flow. Sabar and Hathmati are its major subsidiaries. Is the river Its total catchment area is 21674 sq km.

Looney

The origin of this river is the presence of the Aravalli mountain in the southwest of Ajmer district in Rajasthan. Sarsuto is its main tributary originating from the Pushkar Lake in Ajmer. This river ends north of the Rann of Kutch.

Maahee

It originates in the Gwalior district of Madhya Pradesh and flows across Ratlam and some parts of Gujarat and finally merges into the Gulf of Khambhat.

The major cities on the banks of the rivers

City	River	City	River
Sambalpur	Mahanadi	Patna	Ganga
Srirangapatna	Cauvery	Srinagar	Jhelum
Varanasi	Ganga	Surat	Tapti
Ludhiana	Sutlej	Vijayawada	Krishna
Hyderabad	Musi	Pandharpur	Bhima
Mathura	Yamuna	Bareilly	Ramganga
Jamshedpur	Svarnarekha	Orchha	Betwa
Ahmedabad	Sabarmati	Ujjain	Kshipra
Ayodhya	सरयू	Agra	Yamuna
Kolkata	Hooghly	Badrinath	Alaknanda
Lucknow	Gomti	Allahabad	Ganga, Yamuna
Dibrugarh	Brahmaputra	Delhi	Yamuna
Guwahati	Brahmaputra	Firozpur	Sutlej
Jabalpur	Narmada	Haridwar	Ganga
Kota	Chambal	Kanpur	Ganga
Cuttack	Mahanadi	Kurnool	Tungabhadra
Nashik	Godavari	Sokova Ghat	Brahmaputra

Other major rivers

Chambal

It rises from an elevation of 616 m from the Janapav hill near Mau in Madhya Pradesh. It flows from Dhar, Ujjain, Ratlam, Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh towards north-east, Kota of Rajasthan, flows from Bundi and forms the border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, and finally in Etawah district. She joins the Yamuna.

Sharda

This Milam glacier originates from the northeastern Kumaon (frontier of Tibet) region. This river is also known as the Kali River. At the exit, it is called Kali Ganga.

Apart from these, Rapti, Betwa, Kshipra, Tawa, Indravati, Kali Sindh, Son, Banas, Ghaggar, Pennar, Parvati, Bedach, Kantali, etc. are other major rivers of India.

Endocrine rivers

There are some rivers that cannot reach the ocean and disappear on the way. These are called the 'interstitial rivers'.

Ghaggar River

This is a prime example. It is a seasonal river that originates from the lower slopes of the Himalayas (near Kalka) and disappears in Hanumangarh (Rajasthan). Ghaggar is considered to be the Saraswati of the Vedic period. Other examples are Luni, Kantali, Savi, Kakani, etc.

Smart facts

Jhelum River is the smallest of the tributaries of Indus.
The last tributary on the left side of the Ganga is the Mahananda.
Narmada, Tapi, Sabarmati, Mahi, and Luni are rivers flowing from east to west.
Mandvi and Zuari are the two major rivers of Goa.
Indus river passes through Leh, the only district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Major River Projects:

Project	River	Beneficiary State
Bhakra Nogal Project	Sutlej	Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan
Diameter project	Diameter	Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh
Damodar Valley Scheme	Damodar	Jharkhand, West Bengal
Hirakud Chand Project	Mahanadi	Orissa
Chambal Project	Chambal	Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh
Tungabhadra Project	Tungabhadra	Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka
Mayurakshi Project	Mayurakshi	West Bengal
Nagarjuna Sagar Project	Krishna	Andhra Pradesh
Kosi Project	Kosi	Bihar and Nepal
Gandak River Project	Gandak	Bihar, Nepal
Farakka Project	Ganga, Bhagirathi	West Bengal
Kakrapara Project	Tapti	Gujarat
Rana Pratap Sagar Project	Chambal	Rajasthan
Jawahar Sagar Project	Chambal	Rajasthan
Sirhind Canal Project	Sutlej	Haryana
Tulbul Project	Jhelum	Jammu Kashmir
Duplication project	Chenab	Jammu Kashmir
Tilaiya Project	Barakar	Jharkhand
Sardar Sarovar Project	Narmada	Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan
Sharavati project	Sharavati	Karnataka
Panchet Dam Project	Damodar	Jharkhand, West Bengal
Ganga Sagar Project	Chambal	Madhya Pradesh
Bansagar Project	Son	Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh
Narmada Sagar Project	Narmada	Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat
Hidkal project	Ghatprabha	Karnataka
Sutlej Project	Chenab	Jammu Kashmir
Naphtha-Jhaki Project	Sutlej	Himachal Pradesh
Panama Project	Panama	Gujarat
Coal dam project	Sutlej	Himachal Pradesh
Kangasavati Project	Kangsawati	West Bengal
Parambikulam Aliyar Project	18 small rivers	Tamil Nadu and Kerala
Muchkund Project	Muchkund	Orissa and Andhra Pradesh
Fall project	Drop	Maharashtra
Sharda Project	Sharda	Uttar Pradesh
Indira Gandhi Canal Project	Gomti	Rajasthan, Punjab, and Haryana
Ukai project	Sutlej	Gujarat
Pochampada Project	Tapti	Karnataka
Malprabha Project	Godavari	Karnataka
Mahanadi Delta Project	Maalaprabha	Orissa
Rihand Scheme	Mahanadi	Uttar Pradesh
Ace project	Rihand	Kerala
Tehri Dam Project	Periyar	Uttarakhand
Matatila Project	Bhagirathi	Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh
Koyna Project	Betwa	Maharashtra
Ramganga Project	Koyna	Uttar Pradesh
Upper Krishna Project	Krishna	Karnataka
Ghatprabha Project	Ghatprabha	Karnataka
Bhima Project	Pavana	Maharashtra
Bhadra Project	Bhadra	Karnataka

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