The Peninsular Plateau of India is marked by a large number of east-flowing rivers and a few west-flowing rivers.
Most of the major rivers of Peninsular India such as the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri and their tributaries flow eastwards. They rise from the Western Ghats, the highlands of the Deccan Plateau, flow towards east and drain into the Bay of Bengal.
There are only two big rivers, the Narmada and the Tapi, with long courses flow westwards in Peninsular Plateau region. They rise fromSatpura range and Amarkantak hills, flow westwards through faults and drain into the Arabian Sea.
The coastal plains between Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea are very narrow. Hence, the west-flowing coastal rivers are short and swift flowing. The Sabarmati, Mahi, Bharathpuzha and Periyar are the west-flowing rivers. The Sabarmati and the Mahi originate in the Central highlands and flow into the Arabian Sea.
The Western Ghats form the main water divide in Peninsular India. The east-flowing rivers have wide basins. They have dendritic drainage pattern with many tributaries joining them. They form large deltas at their mouths.
The west-flowing rivers flow between highlands and have elongated courses. They have trellis and rectangular drainage pattern. They flow through rift valleys and are fault guided rivers. They form estuaries at their mouths. The west-flowing rivers do not form deltas
