The rivers of the Peninsular India

The rivers of the Peninsular India

The rivers of Peninsular India are rain fed rivers and do not carry water during the summer season. Most of the rivers either originate in the Western Ghats or the Eastern Ghats. The most significant feature of these rivers is that they make a fertile delta at their mouth. Most of the rivers drain into the Bay of Bengal. This is mainly because the region they drain, the Deccan Plateau has a gentle slope towards the east. The rivers of the Peninsular India can be classified into west flowing rivers and east flowing rivers.

(a) The West flowing rivers:

The Narmada, the Tapti and the Sharavati are the important west flowing rivers of the Peninsular India. These rivers either drain into the Gulf of Kambhat or the Arabian Sea. They do not form a large delta at their mouths.

1. The Narmada and the Tapti: The Rivers Narmada and Tapti have their source at Amarkantak hills in Madhya Pradesh and flow westwards. These rivers cut deep gorges and drain into the Gulf of Kambhat creating estuaries. The Narmada is 1290 km long and the Tapti is 644 km long.

2. The Sharavati: The Sharavati is an important west flowing river in Peninsular India. The river has its source in the Western Ghats and drains entirely in Karnataka. This river makes a fall at a place called Jog in Karnataka. The powerhouse constructed at Jog supplies ^. ^ctricity to the neighbouring regions. The river finally drains in the Arabian Sea.

(b) The East flowing rivers:

Most of the east flowing rivers rise in the Central Highlands or Ghats of Deccan plateau. All these rivers make fertile deltas at their mouth helping people to earn their livelihood through agriculture. The major east flowing Peninsular rivers are the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Cauvery.

1. The River Mahanadi: The river Mahanadi is a major river in the Peninsular India. The river originates in the Amarkantak plateau in Madhya Pradesh and flows eastwards through Orissa. The river makes a large delta at its mouth and finally empties into the Bay of Bengal.

2. The Godavari River: The river Godavari is the largest river in the Peninsular India. The river originates at Nasik in Maharashtra and flows eastwards through Andhra Pradesh. The river carries a alluvium to its delta at its mouth and finally empties into the Bay of Bengal.

3. The Krishna River: The river Krishna is an important river in the Peninsular India. The river originates in Mahabaleshwar hill in Maharashtra and flows eastwards through Andhra Pradesh. The river makes a fertile delta at its mouth and finally empties into the Bay of Bengal. The Bhima, and the Tungabhadra are the tributaries of the river Krishna.

4. The Cauvery River: The river Cauvery is a river of the most religious significance in south India. The river is also known as the Ganga of the South. The river originates from a spring in Coorg district in Karnataka and flows eastwards through Tamil Nadu for a distance of 800 kms. The river makes a fertile delta at its mouth and finally empties into the Bay of Bengal. The Amaravati, the Noyyal, the Bhavani are the important tributaries of the river Cauvery.

5. The Vaigai River: The Vaigai river originates in the Cardamom hills in the Western Ghats and flows eastwards through Madurai and Ramanathapuram districts in Tamil Nadu. The river drains into the Palk Strait at Rameshwaram. The Periyar. the Tamiraparani are some of the minor rivers of the Peninsular India.