• The term drainage describes the river system of an area.

DRAINAGE. • The area drained by a single river system is called a drainage basin.
Drainage basin & • Any elevated area, such as a mountain or an upland, separates two
drainage basins is known as a water divide
Water divide
Classification
• The drainage systems of India are mainly controlled by the broad relief
features of the subcontinent. Accordingly, the Indian rivers are divided into
two major groups:
• the Himalayan rivers; and
• the Peninsular rivers.
Most of the Himalayan rivers are perennial. Flow throughout the year. These
rivers receive water from rain as well as from melted snow from the lofty
mountains.
The two major Himalayan rivers, the Indus and the Brahmaputra originate
from the north of the mountain ranges. They have cut through the
mountains making gorges.
The Himalayan rivers have long courses from their source to the sea.
Rivers MAP WORK
Rivers: (Identification only)
• The Himalayan River
Systems-The Indus, The
Ganges, and The Satluj
• The Peninsular Rivers-The
Narmada, The Tapi, The
Kaveri, The Krishna, The
Godavari, The Mahanadi
• Lakes: Wular, Pulicat,
Sambhar, Chilika
The Himalayan Rivers
• The major Himalayan rivers are the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra.
• These rivers are long, and are joined by many large and important tributaries. A
river along with its tributaries may be called a river system.
The Indus River System :
The river Indus rises in Tibet, near Lake Mansarowar.
Flowing west, it enters India in the Ladakh.
The Satluj, the Beas, the Ravi, the Chenab and the Jhelum join together to enter the
Indus near Mithankot in Pakistan.
Beyond this, the Indus flows southwards eventually reaching the Arabian Sea, east of
Karachi.
The Indus plain has a very gentle slope. With a total length of 2900 km, the Indus is
one of the longest rivers of the world.
A little over a third of the Indus basin is located in India Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir,
Himachal Pradesh and Punjab and the rest is in Pakistan.
 Himalayan Rivers- Ganga river system
• The Ganga is joined by many tributaries from the Himalayas, a few of them being major rivers, such as the
• Yamuna, the Ghaghara, the Gandak and the Kosi.
• The river Yamuna rises from the Yamunotri Glacier in the Himalayas.
• It flows parallel to the Ganga and as a right bank tributary meets the Ganga at Allahabad.
• The Ghaghara, the Gandak and the Kosi rise in the Nepal Himalaya. They are the rivers, which flood parts of the
northern plains every year, causing widespread damage to life and property, whereas, they enrich the soil for
agricultural use.
• The main tributaries, which come from the peninsular uplands, are the Chambal, the Betwa and the Son.
• These rise from semi-arid areas, have shorter courses and do not carry much water in them. Find out where
and how they ultimately join the Ganga.
• The Ganga flows eastwards till Farakka in West Bengal. This is the northernmost point of the Ganga delta.
• The river bifurcates here; the Bhagirathi-Hooghly (a distributary) flows southwards through the deltaic plains to
the Bay of Bengal.
• The mainstream, flows southwards into Bangladesh and is joined by the Brahmaputra.
• Further downstream, it is known as the Meghna. This mighty river, with waters from the Ganga and the
Brahmaputra, flows into the Bay of Bengal.
• The delta formed by these rivers is known as the Sundarban Delta.
• The length of the Ganga is over 2500 km. Ambala is located on the water divide between the Indus and the
Ganga river systems. The plains from Ambala to the Sunderban stretch over nearly 1800 km.
 The Brahmaputra River System
• The Brahmaputra rises in Tibet east of Mansarowar lake very close to the sources
of the Indus and the Satluj.
• It is slightly longer than the Indus, and most of its course lies outside India. It
flows eastwards parallel to the Himalayas.
• On reaching the Namcha Barwa (7757 m), it takes a ‘U’ turn and enters India in
Arunachal Pradesh through a gorge.
• Here, it is called the Dihang and it is joined by the Dibang, the Lohit, and many
other tributaries to form the Brahmaputra in Assam
• The Brahmaputra has a braided channel in its entire length in Assam and forms
many riverine islands.
• The world’s largest riverine island formed by the Brahmaputra-
• Every year during the rainy season, the river overflows its banks, causing
widespread devastation due to floods in Assam and Bangladesh.
• Unlike other north Indian rivers, the Brahmaputra is marked by huge deposits of
silt on its bed causing the riverbed to rise. The river also shifts its channel
frequently
 The Peninsular Rivers
• The main water divide in Peninsular India is formed by the Western Ghats.
• Most of the major rivers of the Peninsula, such as the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the
Krishna and the Kaveri flow eastwards and drain into the Bay of Bengal.
• These rivers make deltas at their mouths. There are numerous small streams flowing
west of the Western Ghats.
• The Narmada and the Tapi are the only long rivers, which flow west and make
esturies.
Narmada Basin
• The Narmada rises in the Amarkantak hills in Madhya Pradesh.
• It flows towards the west and on its way to the sea, the Narmada creates many
picturesque locations.
• The ‘Marble rocks’, near Jabalpur, where the Narmada flows through a deep gorge.
• All tributaries of the Narmada are very short and most of these join the main stream
at right angles.
 Tapi- Godavari- Mahanadi- Krishan- Kaveri Basin
• The Tapi rises in the Satpura ranges in Madhya Pradesh.
• The coastal plains between Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea are very narrow.
Hence, the coastal rivers are short. The main west flowing rivers are Sabarmati,
Mahi, Bharathpuzha and Periyar.
The Godavari Basin
The Godavari is the largest Peninsular river. It rises from the slopes of the Western
Ghats in the Nasik district of Maharashtra. Its length is about 1500 km. It drains into
the Bay of Bengal. Because of its length and the area it covers, it is also known as the
Dakshin Ganga.
The Mahanadi Basin :
The Mahanadi rises in the highlands of Chhattisgarh. It flows through Odisha to
reach he Bay of Bengal. The length of the river is about 860 km
The Krishna Basin Rising from a spring near Mahabaleshwar, the Krishna flows for
about 1400 km and reaches the Bay of Bengal.
The Kaveri Basin The Kaveri rises in the Brahmagri range of the Western Ghats and it
reaches the Bay of Bengal in south of Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu. The total length of the
river is about 760 km.