Geography
Chap 3 Drainage
Q1 Explain the major features of the Himalayan and peninsula rivers.
Ans: Himalayan Rivers-
The Indus River System:
• The river Indus originates in Tibet; near Lake Mansarowar. It enters India in the
Ladakh district of Jammu & Kashmir.
• Zaskar, Nubra, Shyok and Hunza are the main tributaries which join the Indus in
Kashmir region.
• After flowing through Baltistan and Gilgit, the Indus emerges from the mountains
at Attock.
• Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Chenab and Jhelum join together and enter the Indus
near Mithankot in Pakistan.
• After that, the Indus flows southwards and finally reaches the Arabian Sea, east of
Karachi.
• Indus is 2900 km long.
• The Indus river basin covers parts of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and
Punjab. The rest of the portion is in Pakistan.
(a) The Ganga River System:
• The river Ganga in its origin state is known as Bhagirathi. It is fed by the Gangotri
Glacier.
• The total length of river Ganga is 2500 km.
• Bhagirathi is joined by Alaknanda at Devprayag in Uttarakhand. Ganga emerges from
the mountains on to the plains at Haridwar.
• Yamuna, Ghaghara, Gandak and Kosi, Chambal, Betwa and Son are the major
tributaries of Ganga. River Yamuna meets Ganga at Allahabad.
• After taking waters from various tributaries, Ganga flows towards east
till Farakka (West Bengal). The river bifurcates at Farakka. The Bhagirathi-Hooghly (a
distributary) flows towards south to the Bay of Bengal.
• The mainstream flows southwards into Bangladesh; where it is joined by the
Brahmaputra. It is known as Meghna.
• Finally, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra flow into the Bay of Bengal forming
the Sunderban Delta.
The Brahmaputra River System:
The Brahmaputra rises in Tibet; east of Mansarowar lake.
River Brahmaputra is a little longer than the river Indus.
Most of the course of the Brahmaputra lies outside India, popularly known
as Tsangpo . It flows eastwards parallel to the Himalayas.
After reaching Namcha Barwa, it takes a "U" turn and enters India in Arunachal
Pradesh through a gorge. In this region the river is known as Dihang.
It is joined by Dibang, Lohit, Kenula and many other tributaries and finally forms
the Brahmaputra in Assam.
Majuli (in Assam) is the largest riverine island in the world.
River Brahmaputra is known by different names in different regions: (Tsangpo in
Tibet, Brahmaputra in India & Jamuna in Bangladesh).
Peninsular Rivers
The Narmada River System:
• The Narmada raises in the Amarkantak hills (Maikal Range) in the Madhya Pradesh.
• The river flows towards the west through rift valleys. The Narmada basin covers parts
of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
• All the tributaries of the Narmada are very short. Most of the tributaries join the
Narmada at right angles.
• The river travels a distance of 1,312 km.
• The major tributaries of the Narmada River are the Banjar River, the Barna River, the
Tawa River.
The Tapi Basin:
The Tapi rises in the Satpura ranges, in Betul district of Madhya Pradesh.
The basin of Tapi covers parts of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
The river flows towards the west through rift valleys parallel to river Narmada.
The river travels a distance of 724 km.
Tributaries of the Tapti River are
the Mindhola River, Girna River, Panzara River, Waghur River, Bori
River and Aner River.
The Godavari River System:
• It originates from the slopes of the Western Ghats in Nasik district of Maharashtra and
drains into the Bay of Bengal.
• This is the longest Peninsular River. This river is popularly known as "Dakshin Ganga".
• The Godavari is about 1500 km long.
• The Godavari basin covers parts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Telangana
and Andhra Pradesh.
• The Purna, the Wardha, the Pranhita, the Manjra, the Wainganga, the Penganga, etc.
are the main tributaries of Godavari River.
The Krishna Basin:
The Krishna originates near Mahabaleshwar and drains into the Bay of Bengal.
It is about 1400 km long.
Tungbhadra, Koyana, Ghatprabha, Musi and Bhima are some of its tributaries.
The Krishna basin covers Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
The Kaveri Basin:
The Kaveri originates in the Brahmagiri range of the Western Ghats and drains
into the Bay of Bengal.
It is about 760 km long.
Amravati, Bhavani, Hemavati and Kabini are its main tributaries.
The Kaveri basin covers Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. .
The Mahanadi Basin:
This river originates in the highlands of Chhattisgarh and drains into the Bay of
Bengal.
It is about 860 km long.
The Mahanadi basin covers Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa.
Lakes:
• A large water body which is surrounded by land is called a lake.
• Most of the lakes are permanent, while some contain water only during the
rainy season.
• Lakes are formed by the action of glaciers and ice sheets, by wind, river action
and by human activities.
Types of Lakes:
1. Ox-bow Lake: A lake formed when a meandering river is cut off from the
mainstream. The shape of this lake resembles an ox-bow.
2. Lagoon: When the lake is formed by spits and bars in coastal areas, it is called
a lagoon. Chilika lake, Pulicat lake, Kolleru lake, etc. are examples of lagoon.
3. Glacial Lake: A lake formed by melting of glacier is called a glacial lake. Most
of the lakes in the Himalayan region are glacial lakes. Wular lake (Jammu &
Kashmir) is the largest freshwater lake in India. It was formed by tectonic
activity.
4. Man Made Lakes: These lakes are created by human activities. Gobind Sagar
is a man-made reservoir situated in Bilaspur District, Himachal Pradesh.
Benefits of a Lake:
1. A lake helps in preventing flood by regulating the flow of river.
2. During dry seasons, a lake helps to maintain an even flow of the river.
3. Lakes can also be used for generating hydel power.
4. Tourism development.
5. Maintain aquatic ecosystem.
Role of rivers in the economy:
Rivers have been the centre of human civilization since ancient times.
Even today, many big cities are situated on the bank of a river.
River water is used for irrigation, navigation, hydroelectricity, fisheries, etc.
River Pollution:
The growing domestic, municipal, industrial and agricultural demand for water
from rivers naturally affects the quality of water.
As a result, more and more water is being drained out of the rivers reducing their
volume.
On the other hand, 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.
National River Conservation Plan (NRCP)
The National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD) in the Ministry of
Environment, Forests and Climate Change is implementing the Centrally Sponsored
Schemes of National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) for conservation of rivers,
lakes and wetlands in the country.
The objective of the River Action Plans is to improve water quality of rivers through
implementation of pollution abatement schemes in identified polluted stretches of
rivers.
NPCA aims at conserving aquatic ecosystems (lakes and wetlands) through
implementation of sustainable conservation plans, and governed with application
of uniform policy and guidelines.
Ganga Action Plan (GAP)
Ganga Action Plan (GAP) Phase-I was launched in the year 1985 to improve the
water quality of river Ganga and was completed in March 2000.
Phase-II of the programme was approved in stages from 1993 onwards which
included tributaries of the river Ganga namely, Yamuna, Gomti, Damodar and
Mahananda.
Pollution abatement works undertaken include, interception and diversion of
raw sewage, setting up of sewage treatment plants, creation of low
cost sanitation facilities, setting up of electric/improved wood crematoria and
river front development.
GAP Phase–II is currently under implementation.
An expenditure of Rs. 896.05 crore has been incurred so far on Ganga under GAP
and sewage treatment capacity of 1064 mld (million litres per day) has been
created.
