Indian Physical Environment

CHAPTER 3 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’.

Important Drainage

Patterns

(i) The drainage pattern resembling the branches of a tree is known as “dendritic”
the examples of which are the rivers of northern plain.
(ii) When the rivers originate from a hill and flow in all directions, the drainage
pattern is known as ‘radial’. The rivers originating from the Amarkantak range
present a good example of it.
(iii) When the primary tributaries of rivers flow parallel to each other and secondary
tributaries join them at right angles, the pattern is known as ‘trellis’.
(iv) When the rivers discharge their waters from all directions in a lake or
depression, the pattern is know as ‘centripetal’.

A river drains the water collected from a specific area, which is called its ‘catchment

area’. The catchments of large rivers are called river basins while those of small rivulets

and rills are often referred to as watersheds. Watersheds are small in area while the

basins cover larger areas.

River basins and watersheds are marked by unity. What happens in one part of the

basin or watershed directly affects the other parts and the unit as a whole.

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Indian drainage system may be divided on various bases. On the basis of discharge of

water (i) the Arabian Sea drainage; and (ii) the Bay of Bengal drainage. They are

separated from each other through the Delhi ridge, the Aravalis and the Sahyadris

On the basis of the size of the watershed, the drainage basins of India are grouped into

three categories: (i) Major river basins with more than 20,000 sq. km of catchment area.

(ii) Medium river basins with catchment area between 2,000-20,000 sq. km. (iii) Minor

river basins with catchment area of less than 2,000 sq. km

The Narmada and Tapi are two large rivers which are exceptions. They along with

many small rivers discharge their waters in the Arabian Sea.

1. DRAINAGE SYSTEMS OF INDIA

1.1 THE HIMALAYAN DRAINAGE

It mainly includes the Ganga, the Indus and the Brahmaputra river basins. These rivers

form V-shaped valleys, rapids and waterfalls in their mountainous courses While

entering the plains, they form depositional features like flat valleys, ox-bow lakes, flood

plains, braided channels, and deltas near the river mouth.

River Kosi is also know as the ‘sorrow of Bihar’,

 EVOLUTION OF THE HIMALAYAN DRAINAGE

Geologists believe that a mighty river called Shiwalik or Indo-Brahma traversed the

entire longitudinal extent of the Himalaya from Assam to Punjab and onwards to Sind,

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and finally discharged into the Gulf of Sind near lower Punjab during the Miocene

period. Brahma river was dismembered into three main (i) the Indus and its five

tributaries in the western part; (ii) the Ganga and its Himalayan tributaries in the

central part; and (iii) the stretch of the Brahmaputra in Assam and its Himalayan

tributaries in the eastern part. The dismemberment was probably due to the Pleistocene

upheaval in the western Himalayas, including the uplift of the Potwar Plateau (Delhi

Ridge), which acted as the water divide between the Indus and Ganga drainage

systems. Likewise, the down- thrusting of the Malda gap area which diverted Ganga

and Brahamputra into Bay of Bengal.

 THE RIVER SYSTEMS OF THE HIMALAYAN DRAINAGE

i. The Indus System

The Indus also known as the Sindhu, is the westernmost of the Himalayan rivers in

India. It originates from a glacier near Bokhar Chu in the Tibetan region in the Kailash

Mountain range. In Tibet, it is known as ‘Singi Khamban; or Lion’s mouth. It cuts across

the Ladakh range, forming a spectacular gorge near Gilgit in Jammu and Kashmir. It

enters into Pakistan near Chillar in the Dardistan region. The river flows southward and

receives ‘Panjnad’ a little above Mithankot. The Panjnad is the name given to the five

rivers of Punjab, namely the Satluj, the Beas, the Ravi, the Chenab and the Jhelum. It

finally discharges into the Arabian Sea The Indus flows in India only through the Leh

district in Jammu and Kashmir.

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The Jhelum, an important tributary of the Indus, rises from a spring at Verinag situated

at the foot of the Pir Panjal in the south-eastern part of the valley of Kashmir.

The Chenab is the largest tributary of the Indus. It is formed by two streams, the

Chandra and the Bhaga, which join at Tandi near Keylong in Himachal Pradesh.

Hence, it is also known as Chandrabhaga.

The Ravi is another important tributary of the Indus. It rises west of the Rohtang pass

in the Kullu hills of Himachal Pradesh and flows through the Chamba valley of the

state.

The Beas is another important tributary of the Indus, originating from the Beas Kund

near the Rohtang Pass

The Satluj originates in the Rakas lake near Mansarovar at an altitude of 4,555 m in

Tibet where it is known as Langchen Khambab. It is a very important tributary as it

feeds the canal system of the Bhakra Nangal project.

ii. The Ganga System

It rises in the Gangotri glacier near Gaumukh in the Uttarkashi district of Uttaranchal.

Here, it is known as the Bhagirathi. At Devprayag, the Bhagirathi meets the Alaknanda;

hereafter, it is known as the Ganga. The Alaknanda has its source in the Satopanth

glacier above Badrinath. The other tributaries of Alaknanda such as the Pindar join it at

Karna Prayag while Mandakini or Kali Ganga meets it at Rudra Prayag. At the end

before the ganga spilts into the Bhagirathi and the Hugli.

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The Son is its major right bank tributary. The important left bank tributaries are the

Ramganga, the Gomati, the Ghaghara, the Gandak, the Kosi and the Mahanada.

The Yamuna, the western most and the longest tributary of the Ganga, has its source in

the Yamunotri glacier on the western slopes of Banderpunch range . It joins the Ganga

at Prayag (Allahabad). It is joined by the Chambal, the Sind, the Betwa and the Ken on

its right bank

The Chambal rises near Mhow in the Malwa plateau of Madhya Pradesh. It flows

through Kota in Rajasthan, where the Gandhisagar dam has been constructed. The

Chambal is famous for its badland topography called the Chambal ravines.

The Kosi is an antecedent river with its source to the north of Mount Everest in Tibet. It

forms Sapt Kosi after uniting with the river Arun.

The Damodar occupies the eastern margins of the Chotanagpur Plateau where it flows

through a rift valley and finally joins the Hugli. Once known as the ‘sorrow of Bengal’,

the Damodar has been now tamed by the Damodar Valley corporation, a multipurpose

project.

The Sarda or Saryu river rises in the Milan glacier in the Nepal Himalayas where it is

known as the Goriganga.

iii. The Brahmaputra System

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The Brahmaputra, one of the largest rivers of the world, has its origin in the

Chemayungdung glacier of the Kailash range near the Mansarovar lake. It flows

eatward with the name Tsangpo which means “the purifier”. It emerges as a turbulent

and dynamic river after carving out a deep gorge in the Central Himalayas near

Namcha Barwa. Flowing southwest, it receives its main left bank tributaries, viz.,

Dibang or Sikang and Lohit; thereafter, it is known as the Brahmaputra. In Bangladesh,

the Tista joins it on its right bank from where the river is known as the Yamuna. It

finally merges with the river Padma, which falls in the Bay of Bengal.

1.2 THE PENINSULAR DRAINAGE SYSTEM

The Peninsular drainage system is older than the Himalayan one.

 River Systems of the Peninsular Drainage

The Mahanadi rises near Sihawa in Raipur district of Chhattisgarh

The Godavari is the largest Peninsular river system. It is also called the Dakshin

Ganga. It rises in the Nasik district of Maharashtra and discharges its water into the Bay

of Bengal. The Penganga, the Indravati, the Pranhita, and the Manjra are its principal

tributaries.

The Krishna is the second largest east- flowing Peninsular river which rises near

Mahabaleshwar in Sahyadri. The Koyna, the Tungbhadra and the Bhima are its major

tributaries.

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The Kaveri rises in Brahmagiri hills (1,341m) in Karnataka.

The Narmada originates on the western flank of the Amarkantak plateau. Flowing in a

rift valley between the Satpura in the south and the Vindhyan range in the north, it

forms a picturesque gorge in marble rocks and Dhuandhar waterfall near Jabalpur. The

Sardar Sarovar Project has been constructed on this river.

The Tapi is the other important westward flowing river. It originates from Multai in the

Betul district of Madhya Pradesh.

Luni is the largest river system of Rajasthan, west of Aravali. It originates near Pushkar

in two branches, i.e. the Saraswati and the Sabarmati, which join with each other at

Govindgarh.

Find out the name of the river on which the Gersoppa (Jog) fall is found.

The Periyar is the second largest river of Kerala.

The pattern of flow of water in a river channel over a year is known as its regime. . It is

measured either in cusecs (cubic feet per second) or cumecs (cubic metres per second).