Peninsular Rivers

Categories of Peninsular Rivers

East Flowing Rivers

• Flow into Bay of Bengal
• Mostly form Delta

Reason

• Flow direction due to tilt of Deccan Plateau

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West Flowing Rivers

• Flow into Arabian Sea
• Mostly form Estuary

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East Flowing Rivers

Damodar River

• Originates from Chota Nagpur Plateau
• Flows through rift valley

Important Facts

• Tributary of Hugli River
  • Hugli is a distributary of Ganga
• Called “Sorrow of Bengal”

Tributaries

• Bokaro
• Barakar
• Konar

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Subarnarekha River

• Gold particles found in river bed
• Origin → Chota Nagpur Plateau (Ranchi Plateau)

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Baitarani River

• Important east-flowing river of eastern India

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Brahmani River

• Formed by confluence of:
  • Sankha
  • South Koel

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Vamsadhara River

• Nesting ground for Olive Ridley Turtles

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Mahanadi River

Features

• Length → 850 km
• Called “Sorrow of Odisha”

Origin

• Sihawa Hills, Chhattisgarh

Flow

• Mainly through:
  • Chhattisgarh
  • Odisha

Basin Spread

• Jharkhand
• Maharashtra
• Madhya Pradesh

Dam

• Hirakud Dam

Tributaries

• Tel
• Jonk
• Ong
• Hasdeo
• Mand

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Godavari River

Features

• Length → 1450 km
• Largest river of South India
• Called “Dakshin Ganga”

Origin

• Trimbakeshwar Plateau, Nashik (Maharashtra)

Flow

• Maharashtra → Telangana → Andhra Pradesh
• Forms Delta

Basin Spread

• Chhattisgarh
• Odisha
• Madhya Pradesh
• Karnataka

Tributaries

• Penganga
• Wainganga
• Wardha
• Purna
• Manjra
• Indravati
• Pranhita
• Sabri

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Krishna River

Features

• Length → 1400 km
• 2nd longest river of South India

Origin

• Mahabaleshwar

Flow

• Maharashtra → Karnataka → Telangana → Andhra Pradesh
• Forms Delta

Tributaries

• Bhima
• Tungabhadra
• Ghataprabha
• Malaprabha
• Musi
• Koyna
• Dhoodhganga

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Pennar River

• Independent flowing river of Andhra Pradesh

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Kaveri River

Features

• Length → 800 km
• Called “Ganga of South India”
• Perennial river of South India

Origin

• Brahmagiri Hills, Kodagu district (Karnataka)

Flow

• Karnataka → Tamil Nadu → Kerala
• Forms Delta

Tributaries

• Hemavati
• Kabini
• Bhavani
• Shimsha

Delta

• Known as “Garden of South India”

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Vaigai River

• Southern-most river of India

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West Flowing Rivers

Luni River

Features

• Only salt water river
• Does not reach ocean

Origin

• Nag Hills, Rajasthan

Flow

• Rajasthan → Gujarat
• Ends in Rann of Kachchh

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Sabarmati River

Origin

• Aravalli Mountains, Udaipur (Rajasthan)

Flow

• Rajasthan → Gujarat

Important Cities

• Gandhinagar
• Ahmedabad

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Mahi River

Origin

• Vindhya Mountains

Flow

• Madhya Pradesh → Rajasthan → Gujarat
• Empties into Gulf of Khambhat

Special Feature

• Crosses Tropic of Cancer twice

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Narmada River

Features

• Length → 1310 km
• Longest west-flowing river into Arabian Sea

Origin

• Amarkantak Plateau, Madhya Pradesh

Flow

• Madhya Pradesh → Gujarat → Gulf of Khambhat

Special Features

• Flows through rift valley
• Flows between:
  • Vindhya Range
  • Satpura Range

Important City

• Jabalpur

Tributaries

• Banjar
• Tawa
• Shakkar
• Halon

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Tapti River

Features

• Length → 724 km

Origin

• Betul Plateau, Madhya Pradesh

Important City

• Surat

Tributaries

• Aner
• Gomai
• Girna
• Purna

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Goa Rivers

Zuari River

• Important river of Goa

Mandovi River

• Called Lifeline of Goa
• Panaji located on its bank

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Kerala Rivers

Bharathapuzha River

• Important river of Kerala

Periyar River

• Longest river of Kerala
• Called Lifeline of Kerala

Pamba River

• Drains into Vembanad Lake

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Karnataka Rivers

Kali Nadi

• Important west-flowing river

Sharavati River

• Forms Jog Falls

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Memory Tricks

• Godavari = Dakshin Ganga
• Kaveri = Ganga of South India
• Mahanadi = Sorrow of Odisha
• Damodar = Sorrow of Bengal
• Narmada flows between Vindhya & Satpura
• Mahi crosses Tropic of Cancer twice