Delhi Public School
Name-
Vipanshu
Class –10th
G
Summited to-Manish Pusholao Sir
River system
TOPIC:
• Introduction
• Drainage system (of India)
• River system
• Indus water treaty(IWT)
• More about river system
• River functions a lot for humans, environmental process, soil, etc.
Like it circulate water for humans , performs nitrogen cycle and
Increase soil fertility.
• 25.3 lakh km^2 of area is covered by rivers in India.
• The state which occupy the largest area by river in India
Is Jammu and Kashmir.
5
Drainage System
• The flow of water through well-defined channels is
known as drainage and the network of such channels is
called a “drainage system”. The area drained by a single
river system (river and its tributaries) is called its
drainage basin. An elevated area (mountain or an
upland) that separates two drainage basins is called a
“water divide”. The world’s largest drainage basin is of
the Amazon river and in India, the river Ganga has the
largest river basin.
• Different Drainage Patterns
• Dendritic – The drainage system resembling the
branches of a tree is known as dendritic. For example,
the rivers of the northern plains.
• Radial – When the rivers originate from a hill and flow in
all directions, the drainage pattern is known as radial.
For example, rivers originating from the Amarkantak
range.
• Trellis – When the primary tributaries of a river flow
parallel to each other and secondary tributaries join
them at right angles, the pattern is known as trellis.
• Centripetal – When the rivers discharge their waters
from all directions in a lake or depression, the pattern is
known as centripetal.
• Different Drainage Systems of India
The Indian drainage system can be grouped into two based on the discharge of water (orientation to the sea).
The Arabian Sea drainage
The Bay of Bengal drainage
These two drainage systems are separated from each other through the Delhi ridge, the Aravallis and the Sahyadris.
About 77% of the drainage is oriented towards the Bay of Bengal while 23% discharge their water into the Arabian Sea.
On the basis of mode of origin, nature and characteristics, the Indian drainage may be classified into the Himalayan
drainage and the Peninsular drainage. The Himalayan and the Peninsular rivers originate from the two major
physiographic regions of India and are different from each other in many ways.
• River system
of India
Major rivers in
India
• The Himalayan rivers
• Most of the Himalayan rivers are perennial and have water throughout the year. These rivers receive
water from rain as well as from melted snow from the lofty mountains.
• These rivers pass through the giant gorges carved out by the erosional activity carried on
simultaneously with the uplift of the Himalayas. Besides deep gorges, these rivers also form V-shaped
valleys, rapids and waterfalls in their mountainous course (upper course).
• In the middle and the lower courses (plains), these rivers form meanders, oxbow lakes and many other
depositional features in their floodplains. These rivers have the tendency to shift their courses
frequently e.g, river Kosi (“sorrow of Bihar”), is known for changing its course frequently. The river
carries a huge quantity of sediments from its upper reaches and deposits it in the plains. The course
gets blocked and consequently, the river changes its course.
• The Peninsular rivers
• The Peninsular drainage system is older than the Himalayan
one.
• Most of the Peninsular rivers are seasonal, as their flow
depends largely on the rainfall of the region.
• The Peninsular rivers have shorter and shallower courses
as compared to the Himalayan rivers.
• Most of the major Peninsular rivers, except Narmada and
Tapi, flow towards the Bay of Bengal (west to east). The
Chambal, the Sindh, the Betwa, the Ken and the Son
originating in the northern part of the Peninsula belong to
the Ganga river system. The other important rivers of the
Peninsular drainage are the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the
Krishna and the Kaveri.
• The Western Ghats act as a water divide between the major
Peninsular rivers, discharging their water in the Bay of
Bengal and the small rivulets joining the Arabian Sea.
• The Indus River System
• Area – It covers a total area of 11,65,000 sq.km. In India, it covers an area of 3,21,289 sq.km.
• Length – Its total length is 2,880 km and in India, its length is 1,114 km.
• It is also known as “Sindhu” and is the westernmost of the Himalayan rivers in India.
• Origin and its course – It originates from a glacier near Bokhar Chu (31°15′ N latitude and 81°41′
E longitude) in the Tibetan region at an altitude of 4,164 m in the Kailash mountain range. It
moves in the north-west direction and enters India in Ladakh (Leh). It forms a picturesque gorge
in this part. Several Himalayan tributaries like the Shyok, the Gilgit, the Zaskar, the Hunza and
the Nubra join it. The Indus flows through Baltistan and Gilgit and emerges from the mountains
at Attock where it receives the Kabul river on its right bank. The river flows southwards and
receives Panjnad near Mithankot in Pakistan. The Panjnad is the name given to the Satluj, the
Beas, the Ravi, the Chenab and the Jhelum. The river eventually reaches the Arabian Sea.
• In Tibet, it is known as “Singi Khamban” or “Lion’s mouth”.
•Origin – “Rakas tal” near Mansarovar in Tibet.
•This is an antecedent river called Langechen Khambab in Tibet.
•Course – it runs almost parallel to the Indus river for about 400 km before enter
Satluj India. It passes through the Shipki La on the Himalayan ranges and enters the Pu
plains. It meets the Beas river in Hari-ke-Patan in Amritsar, Punjab. After the
confluence, the combined river enters Pakistan.
•It feeds the canal system of the Bhakra Nangal project.
•Origin – Beas Kund near Rohtang Pass (Himachal Pradesh).
•Course – It flows through the Kullu valley (Himachal Pradesh) and forms gorges
Beas river in and Largi in the Dhauladhar range. It enters the Punjab plains where it meets the
near Harike (Punjab).
•The Beas river flows entirely within India.
•Origin – West of Rohtang Pass, Killu Hills (Himachal Pradesh).
•Course – It flows through the Chamba valley (Himachal Pradesh) of the state. It
Ravi the area lying between the south-eastern part of Pir Panjal and the Dhauladhar r
It enters the plains of Punjab and runs along the Indo-Pakistan border for some
distance. It then enters Pakistan and joins the Chenab river near Sarai Sidhu.
•Origin – Baralacha Pass (Himachal Pradesh).
•It is formed by two streams – the Chandra and the Bhaga which meet at Tandi n
Chenab Keylong in Himachal Pradesh. It is also known as Chandrabhaga.
•It is the largest tributary of the Indus and flows for about 1180 km before enterin
• Indus Water Treaty (IWT)
• This treaty was signed between India and Pakistan on 19th September
1960, regarding the sharing of water of the Indus and its tributaries. It
was essentially a confidence-building measure between the two
countries. The treaty divides the Indus river system into two segments,
eastern rivers – Satluj, Beas and Ravi and western rivers – Chenab,
Jhelum and Indus. According to this treaty, India has been given rights
to use the waters of the eastern rivers while Pakistan is entitled to use
western rivers. The treaty gives India 20% of the water from the Indus
river system and the rest 80% to Pakistan.
• The Brahmaputra River System
• The Brahmaputra originates from Mansarovar Lake, which is also a source of the Indus and Sutlej.
• It is 3848kms long, a little longer than the Indus River.
• Most of its course lies outside India.
• It flows parallel to the Himalayas in the eastward direction. When it reaches Namcha Barwa, it takes a U-turn around it and
enters India in the state of Arunachal Pradesh.
• Here it is known as the Dihang River. In India, it flows through the states of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam and is connected
by several tributaries.
• The Brahmaputra has a braided channel throughout most of its length in Assam.
• The river is known as the Tsangpo in Tibet. It receives less volume of water and has less silt in the Tibet region. But in India,
the river passes through a region of heavy precipitation, and as such, the river carries large amounts of water during rainfall
and a significant amount of silt. It is considered one of the largest rivers in India in terms of volume. It is known for creating
calamities in Assam and Bangladesh.
• Similar to major river systems in India, you can check more static GK topics for UPSC exams on the linked page.
• Ganges River System
• The major rivers in this system are (in order of merging, from west to east)
• Ganges - 2,525 kilometres (1,569 mi)[8] Starting from Gangotri Glacier, Uttarakhand, India
• Chambal - 1,024 kilometres (636 mi) Flows through Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and merges into Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh
• Betwa - 676 kilometres (420 mi) Not Himalayan river, covers Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh before merging Yamuna
• Yamuna - 1,376 kilometres (855 mi) Yamuna runs its most of the course parallel to Ganga before contributing its water to Ganga
at Prayagraj. Largest of Ganga's southern tributaries
• Gomti - 529 kilometres (329 mi) Starts near the junction of three borders viz. Nepal, Uttarakhand and UP
• Ghaghra - 1,156 kilometres (718 mi) Starts in Nepal near Uttarakhand
• Son - 784 kilometres (487 mi) Not Himalayan river, covers MP, UP, Jharkhand and Bihar. Second Largest of Ganga's southern
tributaries
• Gandak - 652 kilometres (405 mi) Starts from Nepal
• Kosi - 725 kilometres (450 mi) Starts from Nepal
• Brahmaputra - 3,969 kilometres (2,466 mi) Merges with Ganga in Bangladesh. By now, flow velocity of both rivers slow down to
considerable extent as they are in plains now.
• Before entering Bangladesh, near Farakka in Malda District, Ganga leaves a distributary Hoogly, 450 kilometres (280 mi) which
provides water for irrigation in West Bengal
• The Tapi Basin
• The Tapi rises in the Satpura ranges, in the Betul district of Madhya Pradesh. Its basin covers parts of
Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The main west rivers flowing west are Sabarmati, Mahi,
Bharathpuzha and Periyar.
• The Narmada Basin
• The Narmada river rises in the Amarkaantak hills in Madhya Pradesh. It flows towards the west in a rift
valley. On its way to the sea, it forms many picturesque locations like the ‘Marble rocks’ and the
‘Dhuadhar falls’.The tributaries of the Narmada are very short. This basin covers parts of Madhya
Pradesh and Gujarat.
• 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. The length of the river Godavari is about 1500 km. It drains into the Bay of
Bengal. It also has the largest drainage basin. The basin covers parts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh,
Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. The tributaries that join the Godavari are the Purna, the Wardha, the
Pranhita, the Manjra, the Wainganga and the Penganga.
