Drainage:

Drainage basin: ​
An area drained by a river system is called a drainage basin.
A river along with all its tributaries and distributaries is called a river system.

Water divide:
Any elevated area such as a mountain or upland that separates two drainage basins is
known as a water divide.

Himalayan Rivers Peninsular Rivers

●​ Most rivers are perennial [All year ●​ Have shorter and shallower
water] courses in comparison

●​ Rivers have longer courses. ●​ Seasonal as they are fed by rainfall

●​ Even the large rivers have reduced

●​ Perform high erosion activities in flow in dry seasons.
upper courses and carry a lot of
silt and sand. ●​ Less erosional activity

●​ Fed by melting glaciers and rain ●​ Most peninsular rivers In India

originate in western ghats towards
●​ In the middle/lower courses, BOB.
these rivers form meanders,
oxbow lakes and many other ●​ Some of them originate in the
depositional features in their central highlands and flow towards
the west.
floodplains.
●​ Main rivers: Godavari, Kaveri,
●​ Well developed deltas Mahandi, Krishna , Narmada ,
Tapti
●​ Main rivers: Ganga, Indus,
Brahmaputra
Indus River System:

●​ Indus rises in Tibet, near Lake Mansarovar

●​ Flowing west it enters India in Ladakh. Forms a beautiful gorge
●​ Several Tributaries [ Zaskar, Nubra, Shyok, Hunza which join in the Kashmir
region]
●​ Flows through Baltistan and Gilgit and emerges from mountains at Attock
●​ Satluj, Beas, Ravi, Chenal, and Jhelum join together to enter the Indus near
Mithakhot in Pakistan
●​ Beyond this industry flows southwards eventually reaching the Arabian sea
●​ Indus Plain has a very gentle slope
●​ Length is 2900 KM and is one of the world's longest rivers
●​ The Indus Basin located in India is in the states of J&K, Himachal Pradesh,
and Punjab and the rest is in Pakistan.

Ganga river system:

●​ The river starting point is called Bhrathi and is fed by the Gangotri glacier
and joined by Alok Nanda at Devaprayag in Uttarakhand
●​ At Haridwar, the Ganga emerges from mountains on the plains
●​ It is joined by many tributaries from the Himalayas, a few of them being major
rivers like Yamuna and Ghaghra, Kasi.
●​ The rivers Yamuna River rises from the Yamunotri glaciers in the Himalayas.
It flows parallel to the Ganga and as a right bank tributary meets the Ganga
at Allahabad.
●​ The Ghagra, Kasi and Gandak rise in Nepal Himalaya.
●​ The main tributaries that come from the peninsular uplands are the Chambal,
the Beta and the Son. These rise from semi-arid areas have shorter courses
and less water.
●​ With water from its right and left tributaries, Ganga flows eastwards till
Farkka in West Bengal. This is the northernmost point of the Ganga delta.
●​ River biforcates at farakka. Bhaigirithi - hooghly [Distributary] flows
southwards through the deltaic plains into BOB
●​ Mainstream flows southward into Bangladesh and is joined by the
Brahmaputra.
●​ Further down it is known as Meghna. The mighty river with water from
Ganga and Brahmaputra flows into BOB.
●​ Delta formed by rivers is called Sunderban Delta [Ganga, Brahmaputra,
Meghna]
●​ The Ganga is over 2500 km long.
Brahmaputra River System:

●​ The Brahmaputra rises from Tibet, east of Manosarowar Lake close to

sources of the Indus and the Satluj
●​ Slightly longer than the Indus and most of its course lies outside of India
●​ It flows eastwards parallel to the Himalayas
●​ On reaching the Namcha Barwa [7757M], It takes a U-turn and enters India in
Arunachal Pradesh through a gorge
●​ Here it is called the Dihang Gorge. It is joined by Dibag, Rohit and 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/dry area.
●​ In India, it passes through a region of higher rainfall. So the river carries a lot
of water and silt
●​ The Brahmaputra has a braided channel in its entire length assam and
forms many riverine islands.
●​ Every year during the rainy season the river overflows causing destruction in
Assam and Bangladesh. The Brahmaputra is marked by huge deposits of
silt on its bed causing the river bed to rise.
●​ This river also shits channels frequently.

West flowing rivers East flowing rivers

-​ Shorter courses -​ Longer courses

-​ Form Estuaries (An estuary is a
partially enclosed coastal body of -​ Form extensive deltas on the east
brackish water with one or more coast.​
rivers or streams flowing into it.
-​ Main rivers : Narmada , Tapi -​ Main rivers: Godavari, Krishna,
Kaveri
The Narmada Basin:
●​ Rises in Amarkantak hills in MP
●​ Flows towards the west in a rift valley formed due to faulting
●​ Creates many picturesque locations on the way to the sea [Like marble rocks
near Jabalpur / Dhuadar Falls]
●​ Tributaries are very short
●​ Covers MP and Gujurat
The Tapi Basin:
●​ Rises in Satpura ranges, in the Betul district of MP
●​ Also flows in Rift Valley parallel to Narmada but is much shorter in length
●​ Covers parts of MP, Gujarat, Maharashtra
●​ The coastal plain between the western ghats and the Arabian Sea is narrow thus
coastal rivers are short.
●​ The main flowing rivers are Sabarmati, Mahi, Brahmaputra and Periyar.

The Godavari Basin:

●​ Largest peninsular river
●​ Rises from slopes of western ghats in Nasik district of Maharashtra
●​ Length is about 1500 KM
●​ It drains into BOB. The drainage basin is the largest among peninsular rivers.
●​ The basin covers parts of Maharashtra, MP, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
●​ Joined by number of tributaries such as the Purna, the Wardha, the Pranhita, the
manjra , the wainganga and the penganga. [The last three are very large]
●​ Because of its length and area, it is also known as the “Dakshin Ganga”

The Mahanadi Basin:

●​ Rises in the highlands of Chhattisgarh
●​ Flows to Odisha to reach the Bay of Bengal
●​ Length → 860km
●​ The drainage basin is shared by Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and
Odisha.

The Krishna Basin:

●​ Rising from a spring near Mahabaleshwar
●​ Length → 1400km
●​ The Tunga Bhadra, the Koyama, the Ghatprabha, the Musi and the Bhima are
some of its tributaries.
●​ The drainage basin is shared by Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh.

The Kaveri Basin:

●​ The Kaveri rises in the Brahmachari range of western ghats and it reaches the
bay in Bengal south of Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu
●​ Length → 760km
●​ Tributaries are Amravati, Bhavani, hematite and Kabini
●​ Basin drains in parts of Karnataka, Kerala Tamil Nadu.
→ Besides these major rivers, some smaller rivers flow towards the east such as
Damoder, brahmani, baitrani and Subarnrekha.

Lakes:
●​ The valley of Kashmir, Dal Lake, houseboats, and shikaras attract thousands of
tourists yearly.
●​ Damming of rivers for the generation of hydropower has led to the formation of
Guru Gobind Sagar.

●​ Pros of lakes:
●​ Lakes are of great value to human beings
●​ Help regulate the flow of a river
●​ Prevents flooding during heavy rains and maintains the flow of water during the
dry season
●​ Used for developed hydel power
●​ The moderate climate of the surroundings maintains the aquatic ecosystem and
enhances the natural beauty.
●​ Help develop tourism and provide recreation.

●​ Types of lakes:
●​ Permanent or seasonal
●​ Natural or man-made
●​ Oxbow lake: A meandering river across a floodplain forms cut-offs which later
develop into oxbow lakes.

Role of rivers in the economy:

●​ Water from rivers is a basic natural resource, essential for human activities.
●​ Irrigation, Navigation and Hydropower generation.

●​ River pollution:
●​ Growing domestic, municipal, industrial and agricultural demand for water from
rivers affects the quality of water.
●​ More water drained leads to less volume and more industrial affluents (like
untreated sewage) which are dumped in rivers.
●​ This affects the quality and self-cleaning ability of water.