C.2. The Peninsular Drainage System

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C.2. The Peninsular Drainage System

About

- Broad, largely-graded shallow valleys
- The Western Ghats running close to the western coast act as the water divide between the major Peninsular Rivers, discharging their water in the Bay of Bengal and as small rivulets joining the Arabian Sea.
Most of the major Peninsular rivers except Narmada and Tapi flow from west to east.

The Chambal, the Sind, the Betwa, the Ken, the Son, originating in the northern part of the Peninsula belong to the Ganga river system.
The other major river systems of the Peninsular drainage are – the Mahanadi the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri.
Peninsular rivers are characterised by fixed course, absence of meanders and non- perennial flow of water.
The Narmada and the Tapi which flow through the rift valley

The Evolution of Peninsular Drainage System

Three major geological events in the distant past have shaped the present drainage systems of Peninsular India:
Subsidence of the western flank of the Peninsula leading to its submergence below the sea during the early tertiary period.
Generally, it has disturbed the symmetrical plan of the river on either side of the original watershed.
Upheaval of the Himalayas when the northern flank of the Peninsular block was subjected to subsidence and the consequent trough faulting.
The Narmada and The Tapi flow in trough faults and fill the original cracks with their detritus materials.
Hence, there is a lack of alluvial and deltaic deposits in these rivers.
Slight tilting of the Peninsular block from northwest to the south- eastern direction gave orientation to the entire drainage system towards the Bay of Bengal during the same period

River Systems of the Peninsular Drainage

The Mahanadi rises near Sihawa in Raipur district of Chhattisgarh and runs through Odisha to discharge its water into the Bay of Bengal.
53% of the drainage basin of this river lies in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, while 47% lies in Odisha.
The Godavari is the largest peninsular river system.
It is also called the Dakshin Ganga.
It rises in the Nasik district of Maharashtra and discharges its water into the Bay of Bengal.
Its tributaries run through the states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
Tributaries- Penganga, the Indravati, the Pranhita, and the Manjra
The river after Rajamundri splits into several branches forming a large delta.
The Krishna is the second largest east- flowing Peninsular river which rises near Mahabaleshwar in Sahyadri.
The Koyna, the Tungabhadra and the Bhima- major tributaries.
Of the total catchment area of the Krishna, 27 per cent lies in Maharashtra, 44 per cent in Karnataka and 29 per cent in Andhra Pradesh.
The Kaveri rises in Brahmagiri hills of Kogadu district in Karnataka.
Since the upper catchment area receives rainfall during the southwest monsoon season (summer) and the lower part during the northeast monsoon season (winter), the river carries water throughout the year with comparatively less fluctuation than the other Peninsular Rivers.
Kaveri basin- Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Tributaries- Kabini, the Bhavani and Amravati.
The Narmada originates on the western flank of the Amarkantak plateau
Flowing in a rift valley between the Satpura in the south and the Vindhyan range, Dhuandhar waterfall near Jabalpur.
It meets the Arabian sea south of Branch forming estuary.
Sardar Sarovar Project
The Tapi is the other important westward flowing river.
It originates from Multai in the Betul district of Madhya Pradesh.
basin lies in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat