DRAINAGE
DRAINAGE
•The river system of an area
called drainage.
•The area drained by a
single river along with
its tributaries system is
called a drainage basin.
• Any elevated area,
such as a mountain or
an upland, separates
two drainage basins is
known as a water
divide
INDIAN RIVERS
According to relief features the Indian
rivers are divided into two major groups:
• The Himalayan rivers
• The Peninsular rivers.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PENINSULAR RIVER &
HIMALAYAN RIVERS
Himalayan Rivers Peninsular rivers
• Himalayan rivers are
• A large number of the
perennial.
Peninsular rivers are
• The Himalayan rivers have seasonal
long courses from their
• The Peninsular rivers have
source to the sea.
shorter and shallower
• Their flow is dependent on courses.
rainfall and melting of
• Their flow is dependent on
snow and ice
rainfall.
• They perform intensive
• They do not carry huge
erosional activity in their
loads of silt and sand.
upper courses and carry
huge loads of silt and sand.
COURSE OF THE RIVER
A Young Stage
B Mature Stage
C Old Stage
THE HIMALAYAN RIVERS
GANGA-BRAHMAPUTRA
Indus RIVER SYSTEM
• INDUS RIVER
SYSTEM
• GANGA -
BRAHMAPUTRA
RIVER SYSTEM
JHELUM
CHENAB
INDUS
BEAS
MITHANKOT
SATLUJ MANSAROVER LAKE
RAVI
INDUS RIVER SYSTEM
Origin The river Indus rises in Tibet, near Lake
Mansarowar.
Tributaries The Zaskar, the Nubra, the Shyok and the Hunza,
join it in the Kashmir region. The Indus flows
through Baltistan and Gilgit and emerges from the
mountains at Attock. The Satluj, the Beas, the Ravi,
the Chenab and the Jhelum join together to enter
the Indus near Mithankot in Pakistan.
Length With a total length of 2900 km, the Indus is one of
the longest rivers of the world.
Area The Indus basin is located in India in the Jammu
and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and the Punjab
and the rest is in Pakistan.
GANGA-BRAHMAPUTRA RIVER SYSTEM
ALAKNANDA & BHAGIRATHI
BRAHMAPUTRA
GHAGHRA GANDAK
YAMUNA
KOSI
MEGHNA
SON
HOOGHLY
Origin The headwaters of the Ganga, called the
‘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.
Tributaries Originate from Himalaya -the Yamuna, (Rises
from Yamunotri, right bank tributary) the
Ghaghara, the Gandak and the Kosi
( rises in Nepal- Left bank tributary).
Tributaries from the peninsular uplands, are
the Chambal, the Betwa and the Son.
Length The length of the Ganga is over 2500 km.
Area The plains from Ambala to the Sunderban
stretch over nearly 1800 km, but the fall in
its slope is hardly 300 meters.
Few more features of River Ganga
1. The mainstream is joined by the Brahmaputra.
2. Further down stream, it is known as the
Meghna.
3. The Ganga and the Brahmaputra, flows into the
Bay of Bengal. The delta formed by these rivers
is known as the Sunderban delta.
4. The river develops large meanders
5. The Ganga flows eastwards till Farakka in West
Bengal.
6. This is the northernmost point of the Ganga delta
7. The river bifurcates here; the Bhagirathi-Hooghly (a
distributary) flows southwards through the deltaic
plains to the Bay of Bengal.
The Brahmaputra River
System
T – Sang Po NAMCHA BARWA
BRAHMAPUTRA
DIHANG
Write a note on the
Brahmaputra River System.
a) The Brahmaputra rises in Tibet east of Mansarowar lake
very close to the sources of the Indus and the Satluj.
b) It is slightly longer than the Indus, and most of its
course lies outside India.
c) 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.
d) 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.
In Tibet the river carries a smaller volume of water and
less silt as it is a cold and a dry area.
In India it passes through a region of high rainfall. Here the
river carries a large volume of water and considerable amount
of silt.
The Peninsular Rivers
NAME OF THE ORIGIN TRIBUTARIES AREA OTHER Features
RIVER
Narmada The Amarkantak hills All the tributaries of the Narmada The Narmada basin covers -Rift valley.
in Madhya Pradesh. are very short and most of these parts of Madhya Pradesh and -The ‘Marble rocks’, near
join the main stream at right Gujarat. Jabalpur where the Narmada
angles. flows through a deep gorge.
-Form ‘Dhuadhar
falls’
Tapi The Tapi rises in the Its basin covers parts It also flows
Satpura ranges, in the -___ of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat in a rift valley parallel to the
Betul district of and Maharashtra. Narmada but it is
Madhya Pradesh. much shorter in length.
Godavari It rises from the The Godavari is joined by a number The basin covers parts of -The Godavari is the largest
slopes of the Western of tributaries such as the Purna, Maharashtra (about 50 Peninsular river.
Ghats the Wardha, per cent of the basin area lies -Its length is about 1500 km.
in the Nasik district of the Pranhita, the Manjra, the in Maharashtra), -Because of its length and the
Maharashtra. Wainganga and the Penganga. The Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and area it covers, it is also known
last three tributaries are Andhra as the
very large. Pradesh. ‘Dakshin Ganga’.
Mahanadi The Mahanadi rises in Its drainage basin is shared by It flows through Odisha to
the highlands of __ Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, reach
Chhattisgarh. Jharkhand, the Bay of Bengal. The length
and Odisha. of the river is
about 860 km.
Krishna Rising from a spring The Tungabhadra, the Its drainage basin covers The Krishna flows for about
near Mahabaleshwar Koyana, the Ghatprabha, the Musi Maharasthra, Karnataka and 1400 km and reaches
and the Andhra Pradesh. the Bay of Bengal.
Bhima are some of its tributaries.
Why are rivers important for
the country’s economy?
• Water from the rivers is a basic
natural resource, essential for
various human activities.
• The riverbanks have attracted
settlers from ancient times.
• Using rivers for irrigation,
navigation, hydro-power
generation is of special
significance – particularly to a
country like India.
What are the causes of water pollution?
• The growing domestic,
municipal, industrial and
agricultural demand for
water from rivers naturally
affects the quality of water.
• A heavy load of untreated
sewage and industrial
effluents are emptied into
the rivers.
• This affects not only the
quality of water but also
the self-cleansing capacity
of the river.
Lakes are of great value to human
beings.
•A lake helps to regulate the flow
of a river.
•During heavy rainfall, it prevents
flooding and during the dry season,
it helps to maintain an even flow of
water.
•Lakes can also be used for
developing hydel power.
•They moderate the climate of the
surroundings.
•Maintain the aquatic ecosystem.
•It enhance natural beauty.
•It helps to develop tourism and
provide recreation.
What is a lake?
A lake is surrounded by land. It is a body of water
which is formed in the hollow part of the land.
The lakes are formed naturally as well as man-
made.
Explain the different types of lakes.
Natural lakes are formed because of the following
reasons:
1. Glacial activity, as
a result of tectonic
activity. They are
found in the
Himalayan region,
known as
freshwater lakes, for
example, Dal lake
( glacial activity),
Wular lake
(tectonic activity).
2. Some lakes
are formed
because of the
action of wind
and rivers. The
meandering
rivers form ox-
bow lakes.
3. Bars and
splits form
lagoons in the
coastal regions,
for example,
Pulicat lake,
Chilka lake.
1
2 11
The Indian
Rivers: 10
3
1. Indus
2. Satluj 4
3. Yamuna
4. Chambal
5
5. Narmada
6. Kaveri
9
7. Krishna
8. Godavari 8
9. Mahanadi 7
10. Ganga
6
11. Brahmaputra
