GRADE IX
SOCIAL SCIENCE NOTES
GEOGRAPHY: CH-3:-DRAINAGE
2025-2026
• Drainage:- Describes the river system of an area or region.
• Drainage Basin :-The area drained by a single river system is called a Drainage Basin.
Eg :- The largest drainage basin in India is from the Ganges River.
• River system :-A river along its tributaries is called river system.
• Tributary:- The small river which joins a large river is called the tributary of the large river.
Eg. Yamuna, Kosi, Gandak etc. are the tributaries of Ganga River.
• Water divide :- Any elevated area, such as a mountain or an upland, separates two drainage basins. Such an upland is known as
a water divide. Eg :- Ambala.
• Perennial river :- The river which is filled with water throughout the year is called Perennial river.
• INLAND DRAINAGE:-
• A drainage system in which the waters of the rivers do not reach the oceans but fall into an inland sea or lake.
THE DRAINAGE SYSTEMS OF INDIA :-
The drainage systems of India are mainly controlled by the broad relief features of the subcontinent. The Indian rivers are divided into
two major groups :-
1]The Himalayan Rivers 2] The Peninsular Rivers
THE HIMALAYAN RIVERS :-
• Most of the Himalayan rivers are perennial. It means that they have water 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.
• They perform intensive erosional activity in their upper courses and carry huge loads of silt and sand.
• In the middle and the lower courses, these rivers form meanders, oxbow lakes, and many other depositional features in their
floodplains.
• They also have well- developed deltas.
THE 3 PRIME HIMALAYAN RIVERS :-
✓ The Indus
✓ The Ganga
✓ The Brahmaputra
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.
I] THE INDUS RIVER SYSTEM :-
• The river Indus rises in Tibet, near Lake Mansarowar.
• Flowing west, it enters India in the Ladakh.
• It forms a picturesque gorge in this part.
• The Indus flows through Baltistan and Gilgit and emerges from the mountains at Attock.
• Tributaries :-Zaskar, Nubra, Shyok and Hunza, join it in the Kashmir region.
• Total length:- 2900 km. Indus is one of the longest rivers of the world.
• Indus flows southwards eventually and drains into the Arabian Sea,
THE INDUS WATER TREATY (1960) :-
• According to the regulations of the Indus Water Treaty (1960), India can use only 20 % of the total water carried by Indus river
system.
• This water is used for irrigation in the Punjab, Haryana and the southern and western parts of Rajasthan.
II] THE GANGA RIVER SYSTEM-
• Total length:- The length of the Ganga is over 2500 km.
• Tributaries :- Yamuna, Ghaghara,Gandak and Kosi.
• The headwaters of the Ganga :- “Bhagirathi’ is fed by the Gangotri Glacier and joined by the Alaknanda at Devaprayag in
Uttarakhand.
• At Haridwar, the Ganga emerges from the mountains on to the plains.
• The river bifurcates at Farakka, West Bengal.
• The Bhagirathi-Hooghly (a distributary) flows southwards through the deltaic plains to the Bay of Bengal.
• The other one, Padma flows southwardst o, Bangladesh and is joined by the Brahmaputra and is known as the Meghna.
III] THE BRAHMAPUTRA RIVER SYSTEM:-
• Origin :-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.
• Tributaries :- Dibang, the Lohit, and many other tributaries to form the Brahmaputra in Assam.
• Brahmaputra is known as the Tsang Po in Tibet and Jamuna in Bangladesh.
THE SUNDERBAN DELTA:-
• The Sundarban Delta derived its name from the Sundari tree, which grows well in marshland.
• It is the world’s largest and fastest growing delta.
• It is also the home of Royal Bengal tiger.
PENINSULAR RIVER SYSTEM:-
• The main water divide is formed by western ghats.
• Major rivers are Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri drains into Bay Of Bengal. These rivers make deltas.
• Narmada and Tapi are the only big river which flows west and make estuaries.
1] NARMADA BASIN:-
Source Features
Amarkantak Hills in Madhya a) Flows west in a rift valley
Pradesh. b) Narmada flows through a deep gorge (location : marble rocks).
c) Dhuadhar falls is created by this river
d) Tributaries are very short and join river at right angle.
e) It covers the parts of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
NOTE:-
The Narmada river conservation mission has been undertaken by the government of Madhya
Pradesh by a scheme named ‘Namami Devi Narmade’
2] TAPI BASIN:-
Source Features
Satpura Ranges in Betul district a) Flows in rift valley parallel to Narmada.
of Madhya Pradesh b) Shorter than Narmada.
c) It covers the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
3] GODAVARI BASIN:-
Source Features
Rises from the slopes of western a) Largest Peninsular River.
ghats in Nasik district of b) Also known as Dakshin Ganga.
Maharastra. c) Its length is about 1500km.
d) It drains into Bay of Bengal.
e) Its tributaries are Purna, Wardha, Manjra, Wainganga, Penganga etc.
f) It covers the states of Madhya Pradesh, Odhisha, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
4] MAHANADI BASIN:-
Source Features
Rises in highlands of a) It flows through Odhisha.
Chhattisgarh. b) It drains into Bay of Bengal
c) The length is 860km.
d) It covers the states of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and odisha.
5] KRISHNA BASIN:-
Source Features
Rises from spring near a) It covers an area of 1400km.
c) Its tributaries are Tungabhadra, Koyana, Ghatprabha, Musi, Bhima.
d) It covers the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
6] KAVERI BASIN:-
Source Features
Rises in Brahmagiri range of a) It drains in Bay of Bengal
Western ghats b) Total length is 760 km.
c) Tributaries are : Amravati, Bhavani, Hemavati and Kabini.
d) It drains through the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
NOTE:-
• Kaveri makes the second biggest waterfall in India known as SIVASAMUDRAM.
• It is used to generate hydroelectricity which is supplied to Mysore, Bangalore and
Kolar gold fields.
Some East flowing small rivers :-
• Damoder,
• Brahmani,
• Baitarni,
• Subarnrekha.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HIMALYAN AND PENINSULAR RIVERS:-
THE HIMALAYAN RIVERS THE PENINSULAR RIVERS
These rivers are perennial that is they have water throughout the These rivers are seasonal.
year.
These rivers obtain water from rain as well as from melted snow The flow of these rivers is based on rainfall.
from high mountains.
These rivers have large river basin These rivers have a smaller basin as compared with the
Himalayan rivers
The rivers are mainly running in their youth stage These rivers are considered as old rivers
Two major Himalayan rivers, the Indus and the Brahmaputra Most rivers of peninsular region originate in the Western Ghats
originate from the north of the mountain ranges. and flow towards the Bay of Bengal. Godavari and Narmada are
the main river system of peninsular rivers.
The main source is from glaciers of the Himalayan Mountain The main source of the river is the peninsular plateau and the
range central highland
The Himalayan rivers have long duration courses from their These rivers have shorter and shallower courses as compared to
source to the sea Himalayan rivers.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF LAKES IN INDIA:-
• OX BOW LAKE:-A meandering river across a flood plain forms cut off that later develop into ox bow lake.
• LAGOON:-Spits and bars form lagoon in coastal regions. Example: Chilika lake, Kolleru lake, Pulicat lake
• SEASONAL LAKE:-Lakes in the region of inland drainage are sometimes seasonal. Example – Sambhar lake in Rajasthan.
• SALT WATER LAKE:- Lake which has high salt content. Example: Chilika lake and Sambhar lake.
• FRESH WATER LAKE:- It is mostly found in Himalayan region. They are formed by melting of glacier. Example: Wulnar lake
in Jammu and Kashmir( largest fresh water lake in India), Bhimtal, Nainital, Loktak and Barapani.
• MAN– MADE LAKES:-Damming of rivers for the generation of hydel power has led to formation of lakes. Example: Guru
Gobind sagar (Bhakra Nangal Project on satluj river in Himachal Pradesh).
NOTE:- • Lakes of large extent are called the seas, like the Caspian, the Dead and the Aral seas.
USES OF LAKES:-
• It helps to regulate the flow of river.
• During heavy rainfall it prevents flooding.
• During dry season it helps to maintain even flow of water.
• Used for developing hydel power.
• Moderate the climate of the surrounding areas.
• Maintain aquatic ecosystem.
• Enhance natural beauty.
• Helps in developing tourism and Provides recreation.
ROLE OR RIVERS IN THE INDIAN ECONOMY:-
• Water is a basic natural resource and is therefore important for various human activities.
• River banks provide excellent site for human settlement. These sites are now big cities.
• Rivers are used for irrigation.
• Rivers are used for navigation.
• Rivers are used for generating hydroelectricity.
• Our agricultural economy is dependent on rivers.
NATIONAL RIVER CONSERVATION PLAN (NRCP) :-GANGA ACTION PLAN (GAP):-
• Ganga water has self-cleansing capacity. It dilutes and assimilates pollution loads within 20kms of large cities.
• But due to increasing urbanization and industrialization pollution level has increased tremendously.
• Concern of rising pollution led to adoption of various plans. Eg:- Ganga Action Plan.
• The Ganga Action Plan was expanded to cover other rivers under the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) in the year 1995.
• Two objective of the NRCP:-
➢ to improve the water quality of the rivers, which are major water sources in the country,
➢ through implementation of pollution reduction work.
• The Namami Gange Programme:-is an Integrated Conservation Mission approved as a ‘flagship programme’.
• It has been started by the Union Govt. in June 2014.
• Twin objectives of Namami Gange:-
➢ Effective abatement of pollution,
➢ Conservation and rejuvenation of the national river, Ganga.
RIVER POLLUTION:-
• Growing domestic, municipal, industrial and agricultural demand affects the quality of water.
• As a result, more and more water is drained out from rivers reducing their volume.
• Heavy load of untreated sewage and industrial effluents are emptied into rivers leading to river pollution.
• All these not only affect the quality but also self-cleansing property of rivers.
NOTE:-
• 71 %of the world’s surface is covered with water, but 97 %of that is salt water.
• Only 3 % of that is available as freshwater, three quarters of it is trapped as ice.
MAP:-MAJOR RIVERS AND LAKES OF INDIA:-
RIVERS:-
➢ 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
