River system of North India: It comprises of three types of river systems namely:
1. The Indus river system
2. The Ganga river-system
3. The Brahmaputra river system.
(1) The Indus river system: The rivers of this system originate from the western Himalayas, flow upwards and drain into the Arabian Sea. It includes the Indus and its tributaries, i.e. Satluj, Beas, Chenab, Ravi and Jhelum. The upper drainage course of these rivers is in India and the lower drainage course is in Pakistan. The river Satluj originates from the Rakshastal near Mansarovar lake in the southern slope of the Kailash mountain. It is on this river that Bhakra Nangal dam has been constructed near Ropar in Punjab. The famous tourist city, Srinagar is situated on the bank of river Jhelum.
(2) The Ganga river system: This system includes the rivers originating from the North, i.e. Ganga and its tributaries namely Yamuna, Ghagra, Gandak, Kosi, etc. and the rivers originating from Plateau, i.e. Chambal, Betwa, Kalisindh and Son. The Ganga is the most significant river of India. It originates from the Gangotri glacier. It is in fact, formed at a point where both the Bhagirathi and the Alaknanda meet and this meeting point is known as Devprayag. The river Ganga enters the plain area near Haridwar. It is joined by Yamuna near Prayag, Gomti near Gajipur, Ghaghra near Chhapra. Yamuna is its main tributary. It originates from Yamunotri. Chambal, Betwa, Ken, etc. merge in it. The river Ganga enters Bangladesh near Farakka. Here it is called Padma. Before falling into the Bay of Bengal it forms a delta with the river Brahmaputra. Chambal is the tributaiy of the Yamuna and it is the only perennial river of Rajasthan. Its tributaries are the Banas, Parvati, Kalisindh, etc.
(3) The Brahmaputra river system: Brahmaputra is the longest river of India. It originates in a place near Mansarovar lake of the Kailash mountain in Tibet. It flows eatwards parallel to the Himalayas. When it reaches eastern end of the Himalayas, it is called the river Tsangpo’. Then it takes turn to the south and then towards west and flowing through Assam enters Bangladesh and then joins river Ganga. Its tributaries are Dibang, Lahit, Dihang, Tista, Janjhi, Kulsi, Manas and Kapil. Many islands are found in between this river. It is known for the occurrence of horrible floods.
