KALYANSIR.NET
THE
INDIAN RIVER SYSTEMS:
According to
the size of the rivers the Indian rivers may be classified as:
MAJOR
RIVERS:
ü These
are the rivers with catchment area of over 20,000 sq km.
ü There
are 14 such basins, having high rainfall (i.e., 63 million cum per 100 sq km)
MEDIUM
RIVERS:
ü These
are the rivers with a catchment area of 2,000 - 20,000 sq km.
ü In
India 44 rivers fall in this category.
ü These
rivers receive a medium rainfall (i.e., 45 million cum per 100 sq km)
MINOR
RIVERS:
ü These
are the rivers with a catchment area of less than 2,000 sq km.
ü There
are a large number of such rivers.
ü These
have low rainfall (i.e., 25 million cum per 100 sq. km.)
On the basis of their origin, the river systems of
the Indian subcontinent can be divided into two classes
ü The
Himalayan Rivers
ü The
Peninsular Rivers.
The Himalayan Rivers
ü The
Himalayan Rivers fall into four broad groups.
ü The
Pre – Himalayan Rivers like the Arun, Indus, the Satluj and the Brahmaputra.
ü The
Great Himalayan Rivers like the Ganga, Kali, the Ghagra, Gandak and Teesta.
ü The
Lesser Himalayan Rivers like Beas, Ravi, Chenab and Jhelum.
ü The
Shiwalik Rivers like the Hindon and the Solani.
ü The
Indus river system it is one of the world’s largest river systems.
 |
| INDUS RIVER SYSTEM |
ü The
Indus (Sanskrit: Sindhu) The Indus River is the western most of the Himalayan
rivers. Famous peaks on banks of Indus
are Masherbrum, Nanga Parbat, Rakaposhi, Tirich Mir, rising in Tibet (Near the
Mansarovar Lake).
ü At
Attock, it receives the Kabul tributary flowing in from Afghanistan and then
flows due South.
ü Below
Attock, the Haroh and Sohan (Soan) rivers join the Indus. It falls into the
Arabian Sea near Karachi.
ü There
are five Indus tributaries
|
·
Jhelum
·
Chenab
·
Ravi
·
Beas
·
Sutlej
|
THE JHELUM:
ü The ancient name of Jhelum river is Vitasta.
ü The River Jhelum Rises
in Verinag at the foot of the Pir Panjal range.
ü It
enters the Wular Lake.
 |
| WULAR LAKE |
ü Below
Srinagar it is joined by the Sind River.
ü The
Jhelum is an important river in Kashmir for it is the main waterway.
THE CHENAB:
ü The ancient name of Chenab is Askini.
 |
| CHENAB RIVER |
ü The Askini or Chenab River is also called
Chandrabhaga.
ü The
Chenab River is the largest of the Indus tributaries.
ü The
two tributaries at the source are Chandra and Bhaga which rise on the opposite
sides of Bara lapcha Pass in Lahul.
ü They
join at Tandi and then flow through Chamba state.
THE RAVI:
ü The ancient name of the River Ravi is Parushni.
ü The River Ravi or Parusini is also called Iravati.
ü The
River Ravi is the smallest river of Punjab.
ü This
is also known as the river of Lahore.
ü The
River Ravi raises near the Rohatang Pass in the Kulu hills of Himachal Pradesh.
THE BEAS:
ü The ancient name of the River Beas is Vipas.
ü The River Beas or the Vipas is also called Argikiya.
ü The River Beas
rises on the southern face of the Rohatang Pass in Kulu Hills.
ü This
is not far from the source of the River Ravi.
ü The
Beas cuts through the Dhauladhar range then flows through Kulu, Mandi and
Kangra.
THE SUTLEJ:
ü The ancient name of the River Sutlej is Satudri.
ü The River Satudri is also called Satudru.
ü The
River Sutlej is the most important of the Indus tributaries in India.
ü The
Sutlej rises from the Rakas Lake in Tibet at a height of 4,630 m.
ü The
River Sutlej in Tibet is called Langchen Khambab.
THE SARASWATI:
ü The River Saraswati
rises in the Shiwalik Hills of Sirmur on the borders of the Ambala district and
enters the plains of Adhbadri.
ü The
River Saraswati disappears in the sands after passing by Bhawanipur.
ü The
river Saraswati is also called the Hakra or Sotar.
ü The
Saraswati has been described in Vedic literature as a river greater even than
the Indus and the Ganges.
THE GANGA:
ü The
Ganga or Ganges River System is India’s most important river system.
ü The
upper course of Ganga is popularly known as Bhagirathi.
ü The
Gangotri glacier of Gomukh is considered as the source of this river.
ü Another
stream from the Alaka glacier flowing southward is known as Alakananda.
ü The
Ganga is formed by these two head streams when they meet at Devaprayag.
ü In
Bangladesh the Ganga river is known as Padma.
THE YAMUNA:
ü The Yamuna River rises
at the Yamunotri glacier.
ü The
important tributaries are Chambal, Sind, Betwa and the Ken.
THE CHAMBAL:
ü The
Chambal River rises near Mhow in the Vindhyan range
THE SON:
ü The
Son River Originates from the Amarkantak plateau.
ü It
joins the Ganga River near Ramnagar.
THE GHANDAK:
ü The
Ghandak River rises near the Nepal - China border.
ü The
Gandak River enters Bihar in Champaran district.
THE
KOSI:
ü The
Kosi River Rises in the peaks of Nepal, Tibet and Sikkim.
ü The
Kosi drains into eastern Nepal and enters Sahasra district in Bihar through
numerous channels.
THE
DAMODAR:
ü The
Damodar River rises in the Chhotanagpur plateau near Tori in the Palamau
district of Jharkhand.
 |
| DAMODAR RIVER |
ü Its
tributaries are the Garhi, Konar, Jamunia and the Baraker.
THE
BRAHMAPUTRA:
ü The
Brahmaputra River is called Tsangpo in Tibet.
ü This
river is also called Dihang in the Assam Himalaya
ü It
has its source at Tamchok Khambt Chorten in the Chemayangdung glacier
(Manasarovar).
ü The
Brahmaputra river system is one of the country’s most important river systems
PENINSULAR
RIVERS:
ü Most
of the peninsular rivers are the East flowing rivers.
THE
MAHANADI:
ü The
Mahanadi River rises near Sihawa in Raipur district of Chhattisgarh.
ü It
forms many distributaries at Cuttack before entering the sea.
ü The
river Mahanadi Flows through Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand and
Maharashtra.
THE
GODAVARI:
ü The
Godavari River is the largest river of the peninsula.
ü This
is the second largest river in India.
ü The
river Godavari is also called the ‘Vridha Ganga’ or ‘Dakshina Ganga’.
ü It
rises in the Traimbak of Nasik district in the Western Ghats.
THE
KRISHNA:
ü This
is the second largest east flowing river of the peninsula.
ü The
river Krishna raises North of Mahabaleswar in the Western Ghats.
ü The
rivers like Koyana, Malaprabha, Ghataprabha, Bhima, Yerla, Varna, Musi,
Panchganga, Dudhganga and Tungabhadra
are the main tributaries of the river Krishna. .
THE
TUNGABHADRA:
ü This
is the largest tributary of the river Krishna.
ü This
is formed by the Tunga and Bhadra.
ü The
Tungabhadra joins the river Krishna near Kurnool town.
ü The
delta region of the river Krishna forms after the city of Vijayawada in Andhra
Pradesh.
THE
BAITARNI:
ü This
originates in Orissa.
ü It
drains in to the Eastern part of the peninsula.
THE
PENNER:
ü The
Pennar River rises in the Kolar district of Karnataka.
ü The
chief tributaries of the river Pennar are the Chitravati and the Papaghanga.
THE
CAUVERY:
ü The
river Cauvery raises in the Brahmagirit hills in the Coorg district of
Karnataka.
ü The
river flows through Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
ü The
Bhavani, Noyil, Amaravati, Arkavati, Hemavati, Shimsa and Kabbani are the chief
tributaries.
ü At
Srirangam, it divides in the northern Coleroon (Kollidam) and a southern branch
that retains its name.
THE
TAMBRAPANI:
ü This river originates
on Agastyamalai’s slopes in the Western Ghats.
ü This
drains into the Gulf of Mannar.
THE WEST FLOWING RIVERS:
THE
NARMADA:
ü This
river rises from Amarkantak plateau in Madhya Pradesh.
ü This
is the largest of the west flowing peninsular rivers.
ü It
flows along Ramnagar and Mandla,
ü It
forms ‘Marble Rocks’ (Dhuandhara falls).
ü The
Narmada basin is confined mostly to Madhya Pradesh.
ü The
beautiful gorge of the Narmada in the marble rocks of Madhya Pradesh is well
known.
ü None
of the Narmada tributaries flow for more than 200 km.
THE
TAPTI:
ü This river is also called Tapi.
ü It
rises near Multi of Betul district.
ü It
runs through Berar.
ü The
Purna tibutary meets the Tapti before the latter enters Khandesh.
ü It
falls into the Gulf of Cambay after forming an estuary below Surat.
THE
LUNI:
ü The
river Luni originates in Annasagar in the Aravallis.
ü It
ends in the Sahni marshes North of the Rann of Kutch.
ü The
Luni has several tributaries.
ü The
important tributary is Sarsuti that rises in the Pushkar Lake at Ajmer.
THE
SABARMATI:
ü The
Sabarmati River originates from the lake of Jai Samudra in Udaipur district.
ü It
enters the sea at the head of the Gulf of Cambay after a course of 300 km.
ü The
major tributaries are the Sabar and the Hathmati coming from idar and
Mahikantha respectively.
THE
MAHI:
ü This
river rises in the East of Udaipur.
ü It
flows through Dhar, Ratlam and Gujarat and finally joins the Gulf of Cambay.
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