Indian River

System
GEOGRAPHY

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Indian River System

In this topic, we are going to know about the drainage system of India in detail and also
know about the flow of rivers, their directions, river projects and dams, etc.

Drainage System of India

 Water drains in two directions of the main water divide line of India.
 90% of land water drains into the Bay of Bengal and the rest drains into the Arabian
Sea.
 Those Himalayan Rivers, which originated before the formation of Himalaya, are
known as Antecedent Rivers, such as-Indus, Brahmaputra, and Sutlej.
 India is blessed with hundreds of large and small rivers, which drains the length and
breadth of the country.
In India, the rivers can be divided into two major groups for better understanding are:
 Himalayan rivers
 Peninsular rivers
Before studying them in detail, we should first know about the River basins in India and
its types in brief.

River Basins
A river basin is a region of land drained by a river and its tributaries. River basins have
typical features, these include:

 Tributaries - smaller rivers flowing into a

larger river.
 A Watershed - an area of highland
surrounding the river basin.
 A confluence - where a river joins
another river.
 Source - the starting point of a river.
 Mouth - Where a river meets a lake, the sea or an ocean.

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The river basins have been divided into three parts such as:

Major Medium Minor

 River basin with a  River basin with the  River basin with a
catchment area of 20,000 Catchment area between catchment area below
sq. km and above. 2000 and 20,000 sq. km. 2000 sq. km.
 It accounts for 85% of the  It accounts for 7% of the  It accounts for 8% of the
total run off the rivers. total runoff. total runoff.

Himalayan Rivers
The Himalayan river system is divided into mainly three major river systems:

The Indus River System

 The Indus, also known as Sindhu, is the Westernmost of Himalayan Rivers in India.
 It is one of the largest river basins of the world covering an area of 11, 65,000 sq.
km (in India it is 3, 21,289 sq. km) and a total length of 2880 km (in India 1,114 km.
 It originates from a glacier near Bokar Chu in the Tibetan region near Mansarover
Lake.
 In Tibet, it is known as the Singi Kham ban or Lion’s mouth.
 In Jammu and Kashmir, its Himalayan tributaries are Zaskar, Dras, Gartang, Shyok,
Shigar, Nubra, Gilgit etc.
 It’s most important tributaries, which join Indus at various places, are Jhelum,
Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej.
 According to the Indus Water Treaty signed between India and Pakistan in 1960,
India can utilize only 20% of the total discharge of Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab.

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The following table gives clear information about the source, length, and falls into the
source in detail:

River Source Length (KM) Falls into

Indus Near Mansarover 2880 Arabian Sea

lake

Jhelum Verinag 724 Chenab

Chenab Bara Lacha pass 1180 Indus

Ravi Near Rohtang Pass 725 Chenab

Beas Near Rohtang Pass 460 Sutlej

Sutlej Mansarover-Rakas 1450 Chenab

Lake

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Gives a better understanding of rivers merger point

The Ganga River System

 The Ganga system is the second major drainage system in India.
 It rises in the Gangotri glacier near Gaumukh (3900 m) in the Uttarakhand.
 Here, it is known as the Bhagirathi, meets the Alaknanda, hereafter, it is known as
the Ganga.
 The Alaknanda consists of the Dhauli and the Vishnu Ganga which meet at
Joshimath or Vishnu Prayag.
 The other tributaries of Alaknanda such as the Pindar joins it at Karna Prayag, while
Mandakini or Kali Ganga meets it at Rudra Prayag.
 It is 2525 km long of which 1450 km is in Uttarakhand and U.P., 445 km in Bihar,
and 520 km in West Bengal.
 The left bank tributaries of Ganga are kali or Sharda, Gandhak, Kosi, Mahanadi.
 The right bank tributaries of Ganga are Yamuna and Son.
 Yamuna joins the Ganga at Allahabad (Prayagraj).
 Kosi is called Sorrow of Bihar while Damodar is called Sorrow of Bengal as these
cause floods in these regions.
 Hooghly is a distributary of Ganga flowing through Kolkata.

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The following table gives clear information about the source and length in detail:

River Source Length (KM)

Ganga Gangotri Glacier 2525

Yamuna Yamunotri Glacier 1376

Chambal Near Mhow 960

Rāmgangā Garhwal district 596

Ghaghara Near Gurla, Mandhata peak, South of Mansarover 1080

Son Amarkantak Plateau 780

Damodar Chhotanagar Plateau 541

Gandak Tibet-Nepal border 425 (length in India)

Kosi Sikkim-Nepal-Tibet 730 (length in India)

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The Brahmaputra River System

 It is one of the largest Rivers of the world.

 It is known as Tsangpo in Tibet, Dihang or Siang in Arunachal Pradesh, Brahmputra
in Assam, and Jamuna in Bangladesh.
 Brahmputra forms the largest number of riverine islands Majuli is the largest river
time Islands in the world.
 The combined stream of Ganga and Brahmputra forms the biggest delta in the
world, the Sundarbans, covering an area of 58752 sq. km.
 Its major part is in Bangladesh.
 Brahmputra is the volume-wise largest river of India, whereas lengthwise Ganga is
the longest in India.

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The following table gives clear information about the source and length in detail:

Name Source Total Length Information

Mariam La pass separates it from

Rises in
Mansarover Lake.
Brahmputra Chemayungdung
2900 km Important Tributaries are:
or Tsangpo glacier in the
Subansiri, Karmeng, Dhansiri, Dihang,
Kailash range.
Lohit, Tista, Manas, Dihing etc.

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Himalayan Rivers
Peninsular river system can be divided into two groups:
 East Flowing rivers:
 These rivers form delta therefore they are also known as Delta forming rivers.
 These rivers fall in the Bay of Bengal.
 West Flowing rivers:
 These rivers form estuaries, therefore, known as Estuaries forming rivers.
 These rivers fall in the Arabian Sea.

East Flowing Rivers

 These are those rivers that flow towards the east and fall into the Bay of Bengal.
 They make Delta in between their passage.
 The following table shows the different aspects of rivers of east flowing in a tabular
manner:

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Rivers Source Length Tributaries

 Seonath
 Hasdeo
 Ib
North foothills of
Mahanadi 857 km  Mand
Dandakamaya
 Tel
 Ong
 Jonk

 Penganga
 Wardha
Triambak plateau of
1465 (longest river of  Wainganga
Godavari North Sahyadri near
Nashik
Peninsular India)  Indrāvati
 Sabari
 Manjira

 Bhīma
 Tungabhadra
North of
 Ghat Prabha
Krishna Mahabaleshwar in 1400 km
the Western Ghat  Malaprabha
 Musi
 Koyna

 Herongi
 Hemavati

Rise in Brahmgiri  Shimsa

Cauvery range in western 800 km  Arkavati
Ghat
 Kabani
 Bhavani
 Amravati

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West Flowing Rivers

 These are those rivers that flow towards the west and fall into the Arabian Sea.
 They make estuaries in between their passage.
 The following table shows the different aspects of rivers of west-flowing in tabular
manner:

River Source Length Tributaries

It falls into the Gulf of Khambat and
Mewar in Aravali
Sabarmati 371 km its tributaries are Hathmati, Sedhi,
range
and Wakul.
Flows in Madhya Pradesh,
Rises from
Mahi 583 km Rajasthan, and Gujarat.
Vindhayan range
It cuts the Tropic of cancer twice.

Tributaries:
 Hiran
 Tawa
 Banjar
 Shar
 Shakkar
 Burhner
Narmada Amarkantak plateau 1312 km  It flows into the Gulf of
Khambat.
 It flows through Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra, and
Gujarat.
 Famous waterfalls Dhaundhar
and Kapildhara are located on
this river.

Also known as Twin or handmaid

Rises near Multai on
Tapi 724 km of Narmada Tributaries are Purna,
the Satpura range
Betul, Arunavati, Ganjal, etc.
Also called Salt River.
It is finally lost in the marshy
Luni Rises from Aravalis 495 km
grounds at the head of the Rann of
Kachch.

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Difference between Himalayan river system and peninsular

river system
The following table shows the main difference of the Himalayan rivers and the
Peninsular rivers which an aspirant should know while attempting short as well
as long questions:

Himalayan Rivers Peninsular Rivers

 They have large basins and catchment  They have small basins and catchment
areas. areas.
 They are the example of antecedent  They are the example of consequent
drainage. drainage.
 They are perennial, i.e. the water flows  They are seasonal and receive water only
throughout the year. from rainfall.
 These rivers are still in their youthful  These rivers have already reached their
stage. maturity stage.

Delta and Estuaries

 Delta:
 It is the triangular deposition of alluvium at the mouth of the river at its fall into
the sea.
 Excess deposition of silt and soil forms a delta.
 It is more fertile land.

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 Estuary:
 It is the funnel-shaped mouth of the river.
 High tidal actions form an estuary.
 Tidal waves drudge the silt out and an estuary is formed.
 It is useful for navigation.

Important Waterfalls in India

 The following are the important waterfalls of India which are mainly asked by the as-
sessors in the different examinations:

Waterfall Height (m) River State

Kunchikal 455 Varani Karnataka

Jog/Gersoppa 260 Sharavati Karnataka

Rakim kund 168 Gaighat Bihar

Chachai 127 Bihad Madhya Pradesh

Keoti 98 Mahanadi (Mahona) Madhya Pradesh

Shivasamudram 90 Cauvery Karnataka

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Important Indian Towns on Rivers

The following are the important Indian towns which resides by the rivers which are
mainly asked by the assessors in the different examinations:

Town River Town River

Jamshedpur Subarnarekha Ahmedabad Sabarmati
Delhi Yamuna Patna Ganga
Kanpur Ganga Kota Chambal
Surat Tapti Jabalpur Narmada
Ferozpur Sutlej Panji Mandavi
Allahabad At the Confluence of
(Prayagraj) the Ganga and Ujjain Kshipra
Yamuna
Varanasi Ganga Guwahati Brahmaputra
Haridwar Ganga Kolkata Hooghly
Badrinath Alaknanda Cuttack Mahanadi
Ludhiana Sutlej Hyderabad Musi
Srinagar Jhelum Nashik Godavari
Ayodhya Saryu Lucknow Gomti

Important River Projects and their

Beneficiary States
The following are the important river projects of India which are mainly asked by the as-
sessors in the different examinations:

Project River Purpose Beneficiary States

Bhakra Nangal Punjab, Himachal
Project Sutlej Power and Irrigation Pradesh, Haryana
and Rajasthan
Damodar Valley Damodar Power, irrigation and Jharkhand and West
Flood control Bengal

Hirakud Mahanadi Power and Irrigation Odisha

Tungabhadra Tungabhadra Power and Irrigation Andhra Pradesh and

Karnataka

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Project River Purpose Beneficiary States

Nagararjunasagar Andhra Pradesh,
Krishna Power and Irrigation
project Telangana
Bihar, Uttar Pradesh,
Gandak River project Gandak Power and Irrigation Nepal (Joint venture
of India and Nepal)
Flood control, Power
Kosi project Kosi Bihar and Nepal
and Irrigation
Power, irrigation,
avoid accumulation
Farakka project Ganga, Bhagirathi West Bengal
of slit to improve
navigation
Rajasthan, Haryana,
Beas project Beas Power and Irrigation Punjab and Himachal
Pradesh
Indira Gandhi canal
Rajasthan, Punjab
project (Rajasthan Sutlej, Beas and Ravi Irrigation
and Haryana
canal project)
Madhya Pradesh and
Chambal project Chambal Power and Irrigation
Rajasthan
Kakrapara project Tapti Irrigation Gujarat

Ukai project Tapti Power and Irrigation Gujarat

Tawa project Tawa (Narmada) Irrigation Madhya Pradesh

Poochampad project Godavari Irrigation Telangana

Malaprabha project Malaprabha Irrigation Karnataka

Karnataka, West
Irrigation and
Durgapur project Damodar Bengal and
navigation
Jharkhand
Mahanadi Delta
Mahanadi Irrigation Odisha
project
Idukki project Periyar Hydroelectricity Kerala

Rāmgangā Chui sot Stream near

Power and Irrigation Uttarakhand
Multipurpose project Kalagarh
Multipurpose power Uttar Pradesh and
Matatilla project Betwa
and Irrigation Madhya Pradesh
Bhilangana,
Tehri Dam project Hydroelectricity Uttarakhand
Bhagirathi

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Project River Purpose Beneficiary States

Rihand project Rihand Hydroelectricity Uttar Pradesh

Hydroelectricity and
Kundah project Kundah Tamil Nadu
Irrigation
Mandi project Beas Irrigation Himachal Pradesh
Shivasamudram
Cauvery Irrigation Karnataka
project
Tata Hydel project Bhīma Hydroelectricity Maharashtra

Mahi project Mahi Irrigation Gujarat

Thein project Ravi Irrigation Punjab

Main Canal Network on Indus River System

The following diagram shows the detailed view of different canal networks in Northern
India:

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Canal and Irrigation System of India

These map show about the different irrigation and canal streams:

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Source of Irrigation
 The 'sources of water for irrigation' can include grey-water sources, groundwater
sources, surface water sources, industrial process waste-waters, groundwater
sources, municipal water supplies, and other water sources used in agriculture.
 Surface water sources contain flowing water supplies and standing or stored
supplies water supplies.
 Example of flowing water: streams, canals, and creeks
 Example of stored supplies: reservoirs, ponds, and lakes
 Groundwater sources: wells and springs.
 Grey-water sources: drainage, washing machine or bathwater

 These are the sources of irrigation in India are shown below in map:

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