DRAINAGE

Drainage means the river system of an area.

Drainage basin

An area drained by a single river system is called a drainage basin. World's largest drainage basin is Amazon rivers.

Water divide

Any elevated areas such as mountain which separate two drainage basin. Such uplands are known as water divides.

The drainage system in India:
The two major group of drainage system:

• The peninsular rivers
• The Himalayan rivers

The peninsular river

The following are characteristics:

• Seasonal river: flow is dependent on rainfall.
• The shallow and shorter course
• Most are originated in western Ghats.

The Himalayan rivers:

The following are characteristics:

• Perennial river:
• Water flows throughout the years and gets water from rain and glaciers.
• Landform features:
• deep gorges
• Meanders
• Oxbow lake
• Flood plains
• Delta
• Intensive erosion in the upper course; carry a huge load of silt and sand.
• Indus, Brahmaputra, and Satluj originated in the North of Himalayan.

The Indus river system:

• Origin: near lake Mansarovar in Tibet
• Enter India through Ladakh Union territory
• In Kashmir: Zaskar, Nubra, Shyok, and Hunza join the Indus River.
• Total length: 2900 km
• 1/3rd of the Indus river basin is located in India and the rest is in Pakistan.

Brahmaputra river basin:

• Origin: east of Mansarovar lake close to Sources of Indus and Satluj.
• On Yamaha Barwa, it takes U-turn and enters India in Arunachal Pradesh.
• From Tibet, a smaller volume of water and less Silt from Tibet.
• The huge large amount of silt and water receive from India causes the river base to rise.
• Dibang and lohit are important tributaries.
• It has different names:
• Tsang Po in Tibet.
• Dihang in Arunachal Pradesh
• The Brahmaputra in Assam
• Jamuna in Bangladesh

The Ganga  river system:

• Origin: in Gangotri, Glaciers join by Alaknanda in Devprayag, Uttrakhand.
• At Haridwar, the Ganga emerged from mountain to plains.
• The Yamuna rises Yamunotri glacier in Himalayan.
• Ghaghra, Gandak, Kosi rises in Nepal Himalayas.
• Ganga  distributors :
• Bhagirath
• Hoogali
• Length: 2500 km.

Peninsular rivers:

Water divides of the peninsular river is western Ghats.
Two major groups of the peninsular river:

• West flowing rivers
• Narmada basin
• Tapi river
• East flowing rivers
• Govadary
• Mahanadi
• Krishna
• Kavery

West Flowing rivers

Narmada basin:

• Origin: Amarkantak hills in MP.
• Flow to west in rift valleys formed due to faulting.
• Many pictures location:
• Marble rocks near Jabalpur
• Dhauladhar falls
• States: Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat

Tapi basin:

• Origin: Satpura range, Betul district Mp.
• It flows parallel to the Narmada but covers a very shorter distance.
• Others west-flowing rivers:
• Sabarmati, Mahi, Periyar

East flowing rivers

Godavari basin:

• Origin: Nasik  district of Maharashtra
• Length: 1500 km
• Largest drainage basin in peninsular rivers.
• Cover: Maharashtra ( 50 %)
• MP, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh.
• Tributaries:
• Purna, wardha, pranhita, manjara, wasnganga, penganga.

The Mahanadi basin

• Origin: highlands in Chhatisgarh
• Cover: Chhatisgarh and Odisha
• Length: 860 Km.
• Drainage basin in Maharashtra, Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand, and Odisha

The Krishna river:

• Origin: Mahabaleshwar
• Flow: 1400 km
• Tributaries: Tungbhandra, Koyama, Ghatprabha, Bhima, and Musi
• States: Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh

Kaveri river basin:

• Origin: Brahmagir hills in Karnataka.
• Length: 760 km
• Tributaries:
• Amravati, Bhavani, Kabini, Henavati
• Waterfalls: Shiva Sundaram falls, second largest in India.

What are the uses of lakes:

The following are uses:

• Prevent flooding when heavy rains
• Source of water in dry times
• Used for hydel power
• Moderate the climate of the surrounding
• Maintain aquatic ecology
• Makes natural beauty and attracts tourism

Role of rivers:
Rivers are essential for various human activities such as irrigation, navigation, and hydropower generation

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