On the basis of origin and flow the river system of India can be broadly divided into two groups. They are.
1. The Himalayan Rivers or North Indian Rivers
2. The Peninsular Rivers or South Indian rivers.
A. The Himalayan Rivers: These rivers take birth in Himalayan Mountains by glaciers and flows throughout the year (perennial). There are three main river systems in the Himalayan rivers. They are the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra.
1. The Indus river system: The Indus is one of the most important river systems of India. It rises near Mt. Kailash (6714m), has a length of 2880km, of which 709 km lies in India. It flows through narrow gorges between Ladakh and Zaskar ranges in the North West direction in Jammu & Kashmir. It is one of the oldest river systems of the world. Major part of its course and catchment area are in Pakistan. The main tributaries are Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutluj.
2. The Ganga: The Ganga is the longest (2500Km) and the largest river system of the country. It is generally called, the ‘National river’ of India. The Ganga has two head streams-the Bhagirathi and the Alakananda. The Bhagirathi takes it is birth in Gangothri and Alakananda rises near Badrinath in Garhwal Himalayas. These two meet at Devaprayag, and continue to flow as the Ganga, after flowing across the Himalayas; the Ganga enters the Great Plains at haridwar. From Haridwar it flows towards south an south east up to Mirzapur.
It continues to flow eastwards in the Gangetic plains of Bihar and West Bengal and enters Bangladesh, where it joins the Brahmaputra and become padma, and finally flows into Bay of Bengal. The important tributaries of Ganga are Ramganga, Ghagra, Gandak, Gomati, Bagmati, Kosi, Yamuna, Chambal, Betwa, sone, ken, damodar etc.
3. The Brahmaputra river system: It rises at Manasarovar lake (chanmyandung). In Tibet it is known as Tsangpo. It enters Aruncal Pradesh and is known as Brahmaputra. It joins Ganga at Golunde (Bangladesh). The total length it flows is 2900km. and only 885km. in India. In Bangladesh it is called Meghana.
B. Peninsular Rivers: The peninsular plateau of India has the largest network of river systems in the country. Most of the south Indian rivers rise in the Western Ghats and central highland regions. On the basis of the direction of flow the rivers are grouped into two types.
1. The East flowing rivers.
2. The west flowing rivers.
B. 1 The East flowing rivers: These rivers rise in Peninsular region, flow in eastern direction and Finally join the Bay of Bengal. The important east flowing rivers are:
The Mahanadi: It rises in sihawa or simhava region of Chattisharh and is the most important river of Odisha and Chattishgarh. The river flows to a length of 885 km and joins the Bay of Bengal ear Cuttack. The main tributaries of Mahanadi are Seonath, hasdeo, Mand and Jonk. The Hirakud, Naraj, Tikarapara dams are built across this river.
The Godavari: it is the longest and largest river of Peninsular India. It rises at Triambakeshwar in Nasik district of Maharashtra. It flows though Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh to length of 1465km and joins the Bay of Bengal near Kakinada. The main tributaries of Godavari are the Puma, Penganga, Pranhita, Sabri, Indravathi and Manjra.
The Krishna: The Krishna is the second longest and largest east flowing river of peninsular India. It rises near Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra, flows to a length of 140-0 km before joining the Bay of Bengal near Divi point. The koyna, Yerla, Panchaganga, Dudhganga, Bhima, Ghataprabha, malaprabha, Tungabhadra and the Musi are the main tributaries.
The Kaveri: The kaveri is a sacred river like the Ganga. It rises Talcauvery region in the Brahmagiri range of Coorg district in Karnataka state. If flows for a length of 805 kms before falling into the Bay of Bengal near Kaveripattinam. It drains an area of 87,900 sq.kms. Its main tributaries are Arkavathi, Hemavathi, Harangi, Lokapvani, Shimsa, Lakshmanathirtha, Kabini, Suvarnavathi, Bhavani, and Amaravathi.
B.2 West flowing rivers: These rivers rise in the peninsular region, flow in western direction and join the Arabian Sea. These are short and swift rivers are the luni, sabrmati, mahi, Narmada, Tapi, Mandovi, Zuari, kali, sharavvathi, Gangavati, Bedthi, Netravathi, and Periyar etc.
