RIVER SYSTEM

The Indus River System

•    Rising near Lake Mansarovar in Tibet, the Indus enters India in the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir.

•    Zaskar, the Nubra, the Shyok are the tributaries in Kashmir.

•    Rivers Satluj, Beas, Ravi, Chenab and Jhelum join Indus near Mithankot, Pakistan and flow southwards to fall into the Arabian Sea, east of Karachi.

•    With a total length of 2900 km, the Indus is one of the longest rivers of the world.

•    India and Pakistan have distributed Indus river water according to Indus Water Treaty in 1960.

The Ganga River System

•    The headwaters of the Ganga are called ‘Bhagirathi’ is fed by the Gangotri Glacier and joined by the Alaknanda at Devprayag in Uttarakhand.

•    Ganga meets the tributaries from the Himalayas such as Ghaghara, Gandak and Kosi.

•    A major river Yamuna, arising from Yamunotri Glacier in the Himalayas, joins Ganga at Allahabad.

•    Other tributaries — Chambal, Betwa and Son — come from Peninsular uplands to join Ganga.

•    Farukka in West Bengal is the northernmost point of the Ganga Delta.

•    Ganga is joined by Brahmaputra and forms river Meghna which flows through Bangladesh to reach the Bay of Bengal.

•    The delta formed when the Ganga and the Brahmaputra flow into the Bay of Bengal is known as the Sunderban Delta.

•    The length of the Ganga is over 2500 km and it develops large meanders in the downstream plain areas.
 

The Brahmaputra River System

•    Originating in Tibet, very close to the sources of Indus and Satluj, Most of its course lies outside the India.

•    On reaching Namcha Barwa it takes a ‘U’ turn and enters in Arunachal Pradesh to flow to Assam joined by many tributaries.

•    The tributaries that join Brahmaputra are Dibang, Lohit, and Kenula.

•    The Brahmaputra has a braided channel in its entire length in Assam to form many riverine islands. World’s largest riverine island is found in Brahmaputra.

•    Unlike other north Indian rivers, the Brahmaputra is marked by huge deposits of silt on its bed, causing the riverbed to rise.

The Peninsular Rivers

•    Western Ghats form the main water divide in peninsular India.

•    The major rivers of the peninsula — Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri — flow eastwards to drain into the Bay of Bengal.

•    The Tapi and Narmada are the only rivers which flow west to make estuaries and drain into the Arabian Sea.

•    The drainage basins of the peninsular rivers are comparatively small in size.

Lakes

•    Most lakes are permanent while other contain water only during the rainy season.

•    Some lakes are result of the glacial action and ice sheets and some may have been formed by wind, river action and human activities.

•    A river meandering across a floodplain forms cut-offs that later develop into oxbow lakes.

•    Glacial lakes are formed when glaciers dig out a basin which is later filled with snowmelt.

•    Some lakes like Wular Lake in Jammu and Kashmir result from tectonic activity.