MAXFORT SCHOOL, DWARKA

Recognised Senior Secondary School

Affiliated to CBSE
 SOCIAL SCIENCE
CLASS IX

CONTEMPORARY INDIA- I
(GEOGRAPHY)

CHAPTER – 3

DRAINAGE
 CONTENTS:
 DRAINAGE SYSTEMS IN INDIA  LAKES
 THE HIMALAYAN RIVERS  ROLE OF RIVERS IN THE ECONOMY
 THE PENINSULAR RIVERS  RIVER POLLUTION
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The term drainage describes the river system of an
area. If you look at the physical map of India, you will
notice that small streams flowing from different
directions come together to form the main river, which
ultimately drains into a large water body such as a
lake or a sea or an ocean.
The area drained by a single river system is called a
drainage basin.
A closer observation on a map will indicate that any
elevated area, such as a mountain or an upland,
separates two drainage basins.
Such an upland is known as a water divide.

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1. DRAINAGE SYSTEMS IN INDIA
The drainage systems of India are mainly
controlled by the broad relief features of the
subcontinent. Accordingly, the Indian rivers
are divided into two major groups:
• the Himalayan rivers; and
• the Peninsular rivers.
The Himalayan rivers have long
Apart from originating from the two major courses from their source to the sea.
physiographic regions of India, the
They perform intensive erosional
Himalayan and the Peninsular rivers are
different from each other in many ways. activity in their upper courses and
Most of the Himalayan rivers are perennial.
carry huge loads of silt and sand. In
It means that they have water throughout
the year. the middle and the lower courses,
these rivers form meanders, oxbow
The two major Himalayan rivers, the Indus
and the Brahmaputra originate from the lakes, and many other depositional
north of the mountain ranges. They have cut
features in their floodplains. They
through the mountains making gorges.
also have well developed delta.
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THE HIMALAYAN The major Himalayan rivers are the
RIVERS Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra.

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 THE INDUS RIVER SYSTEM THE GANGA RIVER SYSTEM THE BRAHMAPUTRARIVER
SYSTEM
The river Indus rises in Tibet, near Lake The Ganga is joined by many tributaries from the The Brahmaputra rises in Tibet east of Mansarowar
Mansarowar. Flowing west, it enters India in the Himalayas, a few of them being major rivers, such lake very close to the sources of the Indus and the
Ladakh. Several tributaries, the Zaskar, the Nubra, as the Yamuna, the Ghaghara, the Gandak and the Satluj. It flows eastwards parallel to the Himalayas.
the Shyok and the Hunza, join it in the Kashmir Kosi. The river Yamuna flows parallel to the Ganga On reaching the Namcha Barwa (7757 m), it takes a
region. The Indus flows through Baltistan and Gilgit and as a right bank tributary meets the Ganga at ‘U’ turn and enters India in Arunachal Pradesh
and emerges from the mountains at Attock. The Allahabad. The Ghaghara, the Gandak and the Kosi through a gorge. Here, it is called the Dihang and it
Satluj, the Beas, the Ravi, the Chenab and the rise in the Nepal Himalaya. The main tributaries, is joined by the Dibang, the Lohit, and many other
Jhelum join together to enter the Indus near which come from the peninsular uplands, are the tributaries to form the Brahmaputra in Assam. In
Mithankot in Pakistan. Beyond this, the Indus flows Chambal, the Betwa and the Son. Enlarged with Tibet, the river carries a smaller volume of water
southwards eventually reaching the Arabian Sea, the waters from its right and left bank tributaries, and less silt as it is a cold and a dry area. In India, it
east of Karachi. The Indus plain has a very gentle the Ganga flows eastwards till Farakka in West passes through a region of high rainfall. The
slope. With a total length of 2900 km, the Indus is Bengal. This is the northernmost point of the Brahmaputra has a braided channel in its entire
one of the longest rivers of the world. Ganga delta. The river bifurcates here; the length in Assam and forms many riverine islands.
Bhagirathi-Hooghly (a distributary) flows Unlike other north Indian rivers, the Brahmaputra
southwards through the deltaic plains to the Bay of is marked by huge deposits of silt on its bed
Bengal. The length of the Ganga is over 2500 km. causing the riverbed to rise. The river also shifts its
channel frequently.

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THE PENINSULAR
RIVERS
The main water divide
in Peninsular India is
formed by the
Western Ghats, which
runs from north to
south close to the
western coast. Most
of the major rivers of
the Peninsula, such as
the Mahanadi, the
Godavari, the Krishna
and the Kaveri flow
eastwards and drain
into the Bay of Bengal.

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The Narmada The Tapi Basin The Godavari The Mahanadi The Krishna The Kaveri
Basin Basin Basin Basin Basin

The Narmada rises The Tapi rises in the The Godavari is the The Mahanadi Rising from a spring The Kaveri rises in
in the Amarkantak Satpura ranges, in largest Peninsular rises in the near the Brahmagri range
hills in Madhya the Betul district of river. Its length is highlands of Mahabaleshwar, the of the Western
Pradesh. It flows Madhya Pradesh. It about 1500 km. It Chhattisgarh. It Krishna flows for Ghats and it
towards the west in also flows in a rift drains into the Bay flows through about 1400 km and reaches the Bay of
a rift valley formed valley parallel to the of Bengal. Its Odisha to reach reaches the Bay of Bengal in south of
due to faulting. On Narmada but it is drainage basin is the Bay of Bengal. Bengal. The Cuddalore in Tamil
its way to the sea, much shorter in also the largest The length of the Tungabhadra, the Nadu. The total
the Narmada length. Its basin among the river is about 860 Koyana, the length of the river is
creates many covers parts of peninsular rivers. km. Its drainage Ghatprabha, the about 760 km. Its
picturesque Madhya Pradesh, The Godavari is basin is shared by Musi and the Bhima main tributaries are
locations. All Gujarat and joined by a number Maharashtra, are some of its Amravati, Bhavani,
tributaries of the Maharashtra. The of tributaries, such Chhattisgarh, tributaries. Its Hemavati and
Narmada are very coastal plains as the Purna, the Jharkhand, and drainage basin is Kabini. Its basin
short and most of between Western Wardha, the Odisha. shared by drains parts of
these join the main Ghats and the Pranhita, the Maharasthra, Karnataka, Kerala
stream at right Arabian Sea are Manjra, the Karnataka and and Tamil Nadu.
angles. The very narrow. Hence, Wainganga and the Andhra Pradesh.
Narmada basin the coastal rivers are Penganga. Because
covers parts of short. The main west of its length and the
Madhya Pradesh flowing rivers are area it covers, it is
and Gujarat. Sabarmati, Mahi, also known as the
Bharathpuzha and Dakshin Ganga.
Periyar.
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 LAKES
India has many lakes.
These differ from each other in
size and other characteristics.
Most lakes are permanent; some
contain water only during the
rainy season, like the lakes in the
basins of inland drainage of
semi-arid regions. There are
some lakes which are the result
of the action of glaciers and ice
sheets, while others have been
formed by wind, river action and
human activities. 13
A meandering / twisting river across a floodplain forms cut-offs that
later develops into ox-bow lakes.
Spits and bars form lagoons in the coastal areas, e.g. the Chilika
lake, the Pulicat lake and the Kolleru lake.
Lakes in the region of inland drainage are sometimes seasonal; for
example, the Sambhar lake in Rajasthan, which is a salt water lake.
Its water is used for producing salt. Most of the freshwater lakes are
in the Himalayan region. They are of glacial origin.
The Wular lake in Jammu and Kashmir, in contrast, is the result of
tectonic activity. It is the largest freshwater lake in India. The Dal
lake, Bhimtal, Nainital, Loktak and Barapani are some other
important freshwater lakes.

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Lakes are of great value to human beings.

• A lake helps to regulate the flow of a

river.
• During heavy rains, it prevents flooding
and during the dry season, it helps to
maintain an even flow of water.
• Lakes can also be used for developing
hydel power.
• They moderate the climate of the
surroundings; maintain the aquatic
ecosystem, enhance natural beauty,
help develop tourism and provide
recreation.
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 ROLE OF RIVERS IN THE
ECONOMY
• Water from rivers is a basic natural resource,
essential for various human activities.

• Therefore, riverbanks have attracted settlers from

ancient times.

• These settlements have now become big cities.

Make a list of cities in your state which are located
on the bank of a river.

• Using rivers for irrigation, navigation, hydro-power

generation is of special significance — particularly
to a country like India, where agriculture is the
major source of livelihood of the majority of its
population. 16
RIVER POLLUTION
• The growing domestic, municipal, industrial and agricultural demand
for water from rivers naturally affects the quality of water.
• As a result, more and more water is being drained out of the rivers
reducing their volume. On the other hand, a heavy load of untreated
sewage and industrial effluents are emptied into the rivers.
• This affects not only the quality of water but also the self-cleansing
capacity of the river.
• For example, given the adequate streamflow, the Ganga water is able to
dilute and assimilate pollution loads within 20 km of large cities.
• But the increasing urbanisation and industrialisation do not allow it to
happen and the pollution level of many rivers has been rising. Concern
over rising pollution in our rivers led to the launching of various action
plans to clean the rivers.
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THANK YOU