Aspirant Academy

Geography

The Peninsular River Systems

Drainage Pattern, Rivers of India

Paper II · Unit 3 Section 4 of 11 0 PYQs 27 min
Topic Preview Subject Inventory

Public Section Preview

The Peninsular River Systems

3.1 East-Flowing Peninsular Rivers

These rivers drain the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats and the Peninsular Plateau, flowing into the Bay of Bengal. They are rain-fed (seasonal), form major deltas, and support intensive agriculture.

Godavari River System

  • Origin: Trimbakeshwar (Nashik district, Maharashtra; Western Ghats), elevation ~1,067 m
  • Length: 1,465 km — longest peninsular river; sometimes called India's 2nd largest river system by basin area
  • Basin area: 3.13 lakh sq km (Maharashtra, Telangana, AP, Chhattisgarh, Odisha)
  • Major tributaries: Pravara, Manjra (right); Pranhita, Indravati, Sabari (left) — Pranhita is its largest tributary
  • Forms a large delta in Andhra Pradesh; empties into Bay of Bengal via multiple distributaries
  • Polavaram Project: Under construction multipurpose dam on Godavari — national project status

Krishna River System

  • Origin: Mahabaleshwar (Satara district, Maharashtra; Western Ghats), elevation ~1,337 m
  • Length: 1,400 km; Basin area: 2.58 lakh sq km (Maharashtra, Karnataka, AP, Telangana)

PYQ 2023 — Q28: Eight tributaries of Krishna River:

  1. Bhima (long, originates Bhimashankar, 861 km) — right tributary
  2. Tungabhadra (Tunga + Bhadra confluence; Hampi on its banks) — right tributary
  3. Ghataprabha — right tributary; Almatti dam area
  4. Malprabha — right tributary; Navilu Teertha Falls
  5. Musi (flows through Hyderabad) — right tributary
  6. Koyna (Koyna Dam — major hydropower) — left tributary
  7. Yerla — left tributary
  8. Muneru — left tributary (smallest)
  • Tungabhadra is the largest Krishna tributary; Hampi (UNESCO World Heritage) is on Tungabhadra
  • Nagarjunasagar Dam on Krishna — one of India's largest dams; irrigation canals across AP & Telangana

Mahanadi River System

  • Origin: Sihawa (Raipur district, Chhattisgarh), elevation ~442 m
  • Length: 858 km; Basin area: 1.42 lakh sq km (Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand)
  • Hirakud Dam (Sambalpur, Odisha) — when built in 1956, India's longest dam (4.8 km); one of Asia's largest earthen dams
  • Chilika Lake (1,100 sq km) — Asia's largest brackish lagoon, near Mahanadi delta

Kaveri River System

  • Origin: Brahmagiri Hills (Talakaveri), Kodagu district, Karnataka, elevation ~1,341 m
  • Length: 800 km; Basin area: 0.81 lakh sq km (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry)
  • "Dakshina Ganga of the South" — sacred; Cauvery water dispute between Karnataka-Tamil Nadu is India's longest inter-state river water dispute (1892–2018 Supreme Court final order)
  • Tributaries: Hemavathi, Kabini, Shimsha (left); Arkavathi, Lakshmantirtha (right)
  • Shivanasamudra Falls (98 m) — where Kaveri splits into two streams around Shivanasamudra Island; India's 2nd largest waterfall
  • Forms the "Granary of South India" delta (Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu)
  • Mettur Dam (Tamil Nadu) — critical for Tamil Nadu's agricultural calendar

3.2 West-Flowing Peninsular Rivers

Unusually for peninsular rivers (which normally flow east), the Narmada and Tapi flow westward into the Arabian Sea. This is because they flow through rift valleys (grabens) — tectonic fault depressions — rather than following the general eastward slope of the plateau.

Narmada River System

  • Origin: Amarkantak (MP-Chhattisgarh border), elevation ~1,057 m; specifically from Narmada Kund at Amarkantak
  • Length: 1,312 km — longest west-flowing peninsular river; 5th largest in India
  • Basin area: 0.98 lakh sq km (MP, Maharashtra, Gujarat)
  • Flows between Vindhya Range (north) and Satpura Range (south) through a rift valley
  • Forms Dhuandhar Falls (marble gorge, Bhedaghat, Jabalpur) and Kapildhara Falls
  • Sardar Sarovar Dam (Kevadiya, Gujarat) — one of India's most controversial large dams; completed 2017; height 163 m; 30 Mm³ capacity; displaced over 3 lakh people; water to Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, MP
  • The river has no delta — forms an estuary at Gulf of Khambhat

Tapi (Tapti) River System

  • Origin: Multai (Betul district, MP; Satpura range), elevation ~752 m
  • Length: 724 km; flows through MP, Maharashtra, Gujarat
  • Enters sea at Surat (Gulf of Khambhat)
  • Parallel to Narmada (~80 km south); also flows through a rift valley