Rivers play an important role in the water cycle, providing fresh water for life on Earth. There are many different types of rivers, each with its unique characteristics. River basins are large watersheds that drain into a common body of water, such as a lake or ocean.
The world’s river basins are home to a variety of plant and animal life and provide humans with food, water, transportation routes, and energy. With so much dependence on rivers, it is important to protect these vital resources.
The rivers of India can be classified into four groups Himalayan rivers, Deccan rivers, Coastal rivers, and Rivers of the inland drainage basin.
Himalayan River: This type of river flows perennially from the Himalayas Higher ranges to the Ocean of Bay of Bengal or Indian Ocean. Some important Himalayas Rivers are Ganga, Brahmaputra, Barak, Teesta, Mahananda etc.
Peninsular River: This type of Rivers is non-perennial and flows across on the plain land of India. Some major peninsular rivers of India are Godavari, Krishna, Mahanadi and Kaveri. Usually these rivers flow from north to south across the plain land and finally meet to Bay of Bengal. Other hand the Narmada River is flowing to the Arabian Sea.
Costal River: This type of river is also non-perennial and flow through the costal areas of Arabian and Bay of Bengal as for example the Tâpti, Pennar and Ajay river. Costal Rivers are small in size but it has a very important role in the agriculture system of India. Draining system of more than ten percent land area in India depends on costal rivers.
Inland drainage basin: This type of rivers found in Rajasthan. Usually, these rivers of India are small in length and finally meet to Indian Ocean. Luni River is an example of drainage basin which runs across the Rann of Kutch, Gujarat.
List of 8 major rivers in india :
- Indus. 2,900 km .
- Brahmaputra. 2,900 km.
- Ganga. 2,510 km.
- Godavari. 1,450.
- Narmada. 1,290 km.
- Krishna. 1,290 km.
- Mahanadi. 890 km.
- Kaveri 760 km.
The Brahmaputra river origin from the east side of Tibet of the Manasarovar Lake region, north of the Kailash ranges of the Himalayas having an elevation of 5,150m. The majority of its course lies outside India, however, it is still significantly longer than Indus. According to its length, it is the second-largest river in the world after the Amazon river.
The Brahmaputra course flows a distance of 2,900 km through four countries named Tibet, Bhutan, India, and Bangladesh before entering the Bay of Bengal. This river flows eastwards parallel to the Himalayas and it enters India in Arunachal Pradesh through a gorge. It is joined by the Dibang, the Lohit, and many other tributary rivers in Assam, and for that reason, the Brahmaputra forms huge deposits of silt on its bed, and this is the main cause of the river bed rise. Several tributaries join the Brahmaputra river as it runs through Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in India.
Ganga River :
The Ganga originates as the Bhagirathi from the Gangotri glacier.Before it reaches Devprayag in the Garhwal Division, the Mandakini, Pindar, the Dhauliganga and the Bishenganga rivers merge into the Alaknanda and the Bheling drain into the Bhagirathi.
The Pindar River rises from East Trishul and Nanda Devi unite with the Alaknanda at Karan Prayag. The Mandakini meets at Rudraprayag.The water from both Bhagirathi and the Alaknanda flows in the name of the Ganga at Devprayag.
For most of its course the Ganges flows through Indian territory, although its large delta in the Bengal area, which it shares with the Brahmaputra River, lies mostly in Bangladesh. The general direction of the river’s flow is from northwest to southeast. At its delta the flow is generally southward.
The Ganges river in India is more than 2,500km long and has the most populated river basin in the world.
Hundreds of millions of people and a huge range of wildlife rely on the river Ganges. But pollution, dams and removal of too much water (mostly for agriculture) have affected the flow and health of this vital river.
One of the river’s most at-risk animals is the Ganges river dolphin. There used to be tens of thousands of them, but now only around 1,200-1,800 are left in the river. Biggest threats to them include fishing (they’re targeted for their oily blubber), as well as toxic pollution, dams and barrages in the river.
Godavari :
Godavari is also called the Dakshin Ganga due to its largest length among the Peninsular rivers. The origin of the river is from the Nasik district of Maharashtra and discharges its water into the Bay of Bengal. Its tributaries run through the several states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, and Andhra Pradesh.
The principal tributaries of these rivers are Penganga, the Indravati, the Pranhita, and the Manjra. Due to the formation of the picturesque gorge in the lower belt, Godavari is responsible for heavy floods. Finally, after Rajamundri, it splits into several branches and forms a large delta.
Its total length is about 910 miles (1,465 km), and it has a drainage basin of some 121,000 square miles (313,000 square km).
- The Godavari basin extends over the states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha, as well as smaller parts of Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and the Union Territory of Puducherry (Yanam).
- The Godavari basin is bounded by:
- Satmala Hills,
- Ajanta Range,
- Mahadeo Hills on the North,
- Eastern Ghats on the South and the East, and
- Western Ghats on the West.
Rajahmundry is the largest city on the banks of Godavari.
– The Sri Ram Sagar Project, which was constructed on this river (1964-69), serves the irrigation needs of: Adilabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Warangal districts.
Below Rajahmundry, the river divides itself into two main streams:
a. The Gautami Godavari on the east and
b. The Vashishta Godavari is on the west and forms a large delta before it pours into the Bay of Bengal.
The delta of the Godavari is of lobate type with a round bulge and many distributaries.
Narmada :
Located in central India, the Narmada River drains out into the Arabian sea from the Bharuch region of Gujarat.It originates in Madhya Pradesh, from the Amarkantak Hills, and runs to Gujarat and Maharashtra.Narmada lines the traditional frontier between southern and Northern India.Narmada flows from east to west along with the Mahi and Tapti rivers.Like the Yamuna, the Narmada River drains out from the Bharuch district of Gujarat into the Arabian Sea.
It forms the traditional boundary between North India and South India and flows mainly through Central India. Narmada River has 41 tributaries.
Of these, some major tributaries of the Narmada river are Kolar, Uri, Hiran, Dudhi, Tawa, Sher, etc. Sardar Sarovar Dam, Indira Sagar Dam, and Kolar Dam are the three major dams constructed on the Narmada River.
Mahanadi :
This is an important river of Odisha and it is a major river among the rivers of East-central India, after rising near Sihawa in the Raipur district of Chhattisgarh. Firstly, it flows towards the northern and then turns towards the East direction, in this way it runs through Orissa before discharging its water into the Bay of Bengal. The length of the river is 900 km.
Hirakud Dam Project, Ravishankar Sagar Project, and The Dudhawa Reservoir Project are the three major projects constructed on the Mahananda River. Its estimated drainage area of 1.42 lakh sq. km. and some navigation is also carried on in the lower course of the river. 48 percent of the drainage basin of this river lies in Orissa while resting in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. It flows through the cities of Sambalpur, Cuttack, and Banki.
Kaveri :
Kaveri or Cauvery is a major river in Southern India and originates from Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats. The length of the Kaveri river is 805 km. It is also known as the Ganges of the South, it is one of the holiest rivers in South India. The catchment area of the Kaveri basin is estimated to be 81,155 square kilometers and it has many tributaries such as Hemavati, Moyari, Shimsha, Arkavati, Honnuhole, Kabini, Bhavani, Noyyal, and Amaravati.
It flows about 800 km across Karnataka, Kerala, Tamilnadu, and Pudducherry and it flows southeast to enter the Bay of Bengal. Krishna Raja Sagar Dam is one of the major multipurpose projects on Cauvery in Karnataka State For centuries, it has supported irrigated agriculture and served as the lifeblood of the ancient kingdoms and most of the modern cities of South India.
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