Peninsula River System Of India For UPSC

Peninsula River System Of India For UPSC

Those days River system is favourite tropic for eteacher, more over two or three question is must to come in exams like ssc and state psc. And in this time with exam pattern chronology south indian & peninsula river and their dam's was being asked more then north indian rivers in exams. Although Peninsula rivers also divided into two parts - East flowing rivers (Bay of Bengal) and West flowing rivers (Fall into Arabian Sea).

In this blog only East flowing Peninsula Rivers are discussed. Let's watch out - 

🔰 PENINSULAR RIVER SYSTEMS

• Rivers that drain into the Bay of Bengal: Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery.
• Rivers that drain into the Arabian Sea: Narmada, Tapti, Mahi.
• Rivers that drain into the Ganges: tributaries of the ganga and the Yamuna such as the Chambal, Betwa, Ken, the son and Damodar flow in the north-easterly direction.Much older than the Himalayan rivers. 
• Mainly concordant except for few rivers in the upper peninsula region.They are non-perennial. 
• Reached a mature stage and have almost reached their base level. 
• Characterized by broad and shallow valleys. Water divide is formed by the Western Ghats. Load carrying capacity of the streams is low due to a low gradient.
• Eastern flowing rivers make deltas at their mouths. 
• West flowing rivers make estuaries in place of deltas.
• There are few places where rivers form waterfalls.

PENINSULAR RIVER SYSTEMS

EAST FLOWING PENINSULAR RIVERS

1. Mahanadi River
2. Godavari River
3. Krishna River
4. Kaveri (Cauvery) River
5. Pennar River
6. Subarnarekha River
7. Brahmani River
8. Sarada River
9. Ponnaiyar River
10. Vaigai River

WEST FLOWING PENINSULAR RIVERS

1. Narmada 
2. River
3. Tapti River
4. Sabarmati River
5. Mahi River

 

👉 Mahanadi River

• Basin extends over states of Chhattisgarh and Odisha and smaller portions of Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

• It is bounded by the central India hills on the north, by the Eastern Ghats on the south and 

east and by the Maikal range on the west.

• Source in the northern foothills of Dandakaranya in Raipurdistrict of Chhattisgarh. 

• Basin is covered with agricultural land

• Most-active silt-depositing streams in the 

Indian subcontinent. 

• After receiving the Seonath River, it turns east and enters Odisha state. 

• At Sambalpur, the Hirakund dam. 

• It enters the Odisha plains near Cuttack. 

• Puri, at one of its mouths, is a famous 

pilgrimage site.

• Tributaries of Mahanadi river

• Left bank tributaries: Seonath, Hasdeo, Mand and Ib.

• Right bank tributaries: Ong, Tel and the Jonk.

• It forms a delta complex along with Brahmani and Baitarani rivers. This delta is part of Utkal Plain.

• The Hirakud dam on the river has reduced flood intensity of river.

👉 Godavari River

• Largest river of peninsular India (Dakshin 

Ganga) 

• Rises from Trimbakeshwar in the Nashik district  (Maharashtra).

• It is the most extensive river system of peninsular India with catchment area in Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, MP, Odisha, Karnataka, and Puducherry (Yanam).

• The left bank tributaries are more than the right bank tributaries. 

• The Manjra (724 km) is the important right bank tributary, which joins the Godavari after passing through the Nizam Sagar reservoir. 

• In Andhra Pradesh, Godavari splits into several tributaries and merges into the Bay of Bengal by forming a lobate shaped delta. Lake Kolleru is located in between deltas of Krishna and Godavari.

• It is famous for coal, natural gas, petroleum reserves and massive floods in the lower course.

• Left bank tributaries: Dharna, Penganga, 

Wainganga, Wardha, Pranahita, Pench, Kanha, Sabari, Indravati

• Right bank tributaries: Pravara, Mula, Manjra, Maner etc.

👉 Krishna River

• The Krishna is the second largest east flowing river of the peninsula. 

• It is bounded by Balaghat range on the north, by the Eastern Ghats on the south and Western Ghats on the west. 

• The Krishna River rises from the Western Ghats near Jor village of Satara district of Maharashtra north of Mahabaleshwar. 

• Krishna River basin catchment area is spread in Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

• The Krishna forms a large delta with a shoreline of about 120 km.

• The Krishna delta appears to merge with that formed by the Godavari.

• Tributaries of Krishna River:

Right bank: Ghatprabha, Malprabha and 

Tungabhadra.

Left bank: Bhima, Musi and Munneru.

👉 Cauvery River

• Rises from Talakaveri on the Brahmagiri range, Coorg district of Karnataka. 

• The Nilgiris divide the basin into two natural regions, i.e., Karnataka plateau in the north and the Tamil Nadu plateau in the south. 

• Physiographically, the basin has three parts –

The Western Ghats, The Plateau of Mysore and The Delta. 

• The delta area is the most fertile tract in the 

basin.

• Red soils occupy large areas in the basin.

• It is relatively a perennial river. Because its upper catchment area receives water from south-west 

monsoon while its lower catchment area receives water from retreating north-east monsoon. 

• Thus, it is an essential source of irrigation and hydroelectricity.

• The river descends from South Karnataka plateau to Tamil Nadu plains through famous Sivasamudram waterfall.

• The Kaveri has formed lobate delta in the Bay of Bengal.

• Tributaries of the Cauvery River:

Left bank: the Harangi, Hemavati, 

Shimsha and Arkavati.

Right bank: Lakshmantirtha, Kabbani, 

Suvarnavati, Bhavani, Noyil and 

Amaravati

👉 Pennar River

• Rises in the Chenna Kesava Hill of the 

Nandidurg Range of Karnataka. 

• The total length of the river from origin to its 

outfall in the Bay of Bengal is 597 km. 

• Located in peninsular India, the pennar basin 

extends over states of Andhra and Karnataka.

• Hill ranges in the basin to the south of the river 

are the Seshachalam (famous for red sanders) 

and Paliconda ranges. 

• Left bank: the Jayamangali, Kunderu and 

Sagileru. 

• Right bank: Chiravati, Papagni and Cheyyeru. 

👉 Subarnarekha

• The Subarnarekha originates from the Ranchi plateau.

• Forms boundary between West Bengal and 

Odisha in its lower course. 

• It joins the Bay of Bengal forming an estuary 

between the Ganga and Mahanadi deltas. 

• Its total length is 395 km.

• Hundru Falls is created on the course of the 

Subarnarekha.

👉 Brahmani River

• The Brahmani River comes into existence by the 

confluence of the South Koel and the Sankh 

rivers near Rourkela.

• The basin is bounded in the North by 

Chhotanagpur plateau, in the West and South 

by the Mahanadi basin and in the east by the Bay of Bengal. 

• Rengali dam is a dam located in Odisha, India constructed across the Brahmani River.

👉 Sarada River

• The river Sarada, an east flowing medium-sized river, lies in the district of Visakhapatnam of Andhra Pradesh.

• The basin is surrounded by River Nagavali in the north, River Gosthani, Gambiramgedda, 

Megadrigedda in the east Bay of Bengal in the 

South and Machhkund sub-basin of the River 

Godavari in the west.

👉 Ponnaiyar River

• Also called Dakshina Pinakini.

• Confined to the coastal area only. 

• It covers a small area in the state of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. 

👉 Vaigai River

South of the Cauvery delta, there are several streams, of which the Vaigai is the longest. 

The vaigai basin is an important basin among the 12 basins lying between the Cauvery and Kanyakumari. The Vattaparai Falls are located on this river.

🔘 Read More About:

• Classical Dance of India
• INC Session 
• Government Schemes of India
• River System of India