The document discusses the concept of drainage and river systems in India, categorized primarily into Himalayan and Peninsular rivers. It details the characteristics of these rivers, their tributaries, and drainage patterns such as dendritic, trellis, and rectangular. Additionally, it highlights the economic importance of rivers, causes of water pollution, and the significance of lakes for human activities and ecosystems.

1. DRAINAGE

2. DRAINAGE
• Any elevated area,
such as a mountain or
an upland, separates
two drainage basins is
known as a water
divide
•The river system of an area
called drainage.
•The area drained by a
single river along with
its tributaries system is
called a drainage basin.

3. According to relief features the Indian rivers are
divided into two major groups:
INDIAN RIVERS
• The Himalayan rivers
• The Peninsular rivers.

4. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
PENINSULAR RIVER &
HIMALAYAN RIVERS
Himalayan Rivers
1. Himalayan rivers are
perennial.
2. The Himalayan rivers have
long courses from their source
to the sea.
3. Their flow is dependent on
rainfall and melting of snow
and ice
4. They perform intensive
erosional activity in their
upper courses and carry huge
loads of silt and sand.
Peninsular rivers
1. A large number of the
Peninsular rivers are seasonal
2. The Peninsular rivers have
shorter and shallower
courses.
3. Their flow is dependent on
rainfall.
4. They do not carry huge
loads of silt and sand.

5. Dendritic Pattern
Drainage Patterns
The streams within a drainage
basin form certain patterns,
depending on the slope
of land, underlying rock
structure as well
as the climatic conditions of
the area.
The dendritic pattern develops where the
river channel follows the slope of the terrain.
The stream with its tributaries resembles the
branches of a tree, thus the name dendritic.

6. Trellis Pattern
A river joined by its
tributaries, at
approximately right
angles, develops a
trellis pattern. A
trellis drainage
pattern develops
where hard and
soft rocks exist
parallel to each
other.

7. Rectangular Pattern
A rectangular drainage
pattern develops on a
strongly jointed rocky
terrain.

8. Radial Pattern
The radial pattern develops when
streams flow in different
directions from a central peak or
dome like structure.

9. COURSE OF THE RIVER
A
B
C
Young Stage
Mature Stage
Old Stage

10. THE HIMALAYAN RIVERS
• INDUS RIVER
SYSTEM
• GANGA -
BRAHMAPUTRA
RIVER SYSTEM
Indus
GANGA-BRAHMAPUTRA
RIVER SYSTEM

11. MANSAROVER LAKE
SATLUJ
BEAS
RAVI
CHENAB
JHELUM
INDUS
MITHANKOT

12. Origin The river Indus rises in Tibet, near Lake
Mansarowar.
Tributaries The Zaskar, the Nubra, the Shyok and the Hunza,
join it in the Kashmir region. The Indus flows
through Baltistan and Gilgit and emerges from the
mountains at Attock. The Satluj, the Beas, the Ravi,
the Chenab and the Jhelum join together to enter
the Indus near Mithankot in Pakistan.
Length With a total length of 2900 km, the Indus is one of
the longest rivers of the world.
Area The Indus basin is located in India in the states of
Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and the
Punjab and the rest is in Pakistan.
INDUS RIVER SYSTEM

13. BRAHMAPUTRA
GANDAK
KOSI
GHAGHRA
YAMUNA
SON
ALAKNANDA & BHAGIRATHI
MEGHNA
HOOGHLY
GANGA-BRAHMAPUTRA RIVER SYSTEM

14. Origin The headwaters of the Ganga, called the
‘Bhagirathi’ is fed by the Gangotri Glacier and
joined by the Alaknanda at Devaprayag in
Uttarakhand. At Haridwar the Ganga emerges
from the mountains on to the plains.
Tributaries Originate from Himalaya -the Yamuna, (Rises
from Yamunotri, right bank tributary) the
Ghaghara, the Gandak and the Kosi
( rises in Nepal- Left bank tributary).
Tributaries from the peninsular uplands, are
the Chambal, the Betwa and the Son.
Length The length of the Ganga is over 2500 km.
Area The plains from Ambala to the Sunderban
stretch over nearly 1800 km, but the fall in
its slope is hardly 300 meters.

15. Few more features of River Ganga
1. The mainstream is joined by the Brahmaputra.
2. Further down stream, it is known as the Meghna.
3. The Ganga and the Brahmaputra, flows into the Bay
of Bengal. The delta formed by these rivers is known
as the Sunderban delta.
4. The river develops large meanders
5. The Ganga flows eastwards till Farakka in West
Bengal.
6. This is the northernmost point of the Ganga delta
7. The river bifurcates here; the Bhagirathi-Hooghly (a
distributary) flows southwards through the deltaic
plains to the Bay of Bengal.

16. The Brahmaputra River System
T – Sang Po
BRAHMAPUTRA
NAMCHA BARWA
DIHANG

17. a) The Brahmaputra rises in Tibet east of Mansarowar lake
very close to the sources of the Indus and the Satluj.
b) It is slightly longer than the Indus, and most of its
course lies outside India.
c) It flows eastwards parallel to the Himalayas. On
reaching the Namcha Barwa (7757 m), it takes a ‘U’
turn and enters India in Arunachal Pradesh through a
gorge.
d) Here, it is called the Dihang and it is joined by the
Dibang, the Lohit, and many other tributaries to form
the Brahmaputra in Assam.

18. In Tibet the river carries a smaller volume of water
and less silt as it is a cold and a dry area.
In India it passes through a region of high rainfall. Here
the river carries a large volume of water and considerable
amount of silt.

20. The Peninsular Rivers

21. NAME OF THE
RIVER
ORIGIN TRIBUTARIES AREA OTHER Features
Narmada The Amarkantak
hills in Madhya
Pradesh.
All the tributaries of the
Narmada are very short and
most of these join the main
stream at right angles.
The Narmada basin
covers parts of Madhya
Pradesh and Gujarat.
-Rift valley.
-The ‘Marble rocks’, near
Jabalpur where the
Narmada flows through a
deep gorge.
-Form ‘Dhuadhar
falls’
Tapi The Tapi rises in
the Satpura ranges,
in the Betul district
of Madhya
Pradesh.
-___
Its basin covers parts
of Madhya Pradesh,
Gujarat and Maharashtra.
It also flows
in a rift valley parallel to
the Narmada but it is
much shorter in length.
Godavari It rises from the
slopes of the
Western Ghats
in the Nasik district
of Maharashtra.
The Godavari is joined by a
number of tributaries such as
the Purna, the Wardha,
the Pranhita, the Manjra, the
Wainganga and the Penganga.
The last three tributaries are
very large.
The basin covers parts of
Maharashtra (about 50
per cent of the basin area
lies in Maharashtra),
Madhya Pradesh, Odisha
and Andhra
Pradesh.
-The Godavari is the
largest Peninsular river.
-Its length is about 1500
km.
-Because of its length and
the area it covers, it is
also known as the
‘Dakshin Ganga’.
Mahanadi The Mahanadi rises
in the highlands of
Chhattisgarh.
__
Its drainage basin is
shared by
Maharashtra,
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand,
and Odisha.
It flows through Odisha to
reach
the Bay of Bengal. The
length of the river is
about 860 km.
Krishna Rising from a
spring near
Mahabaleshwar
The Tungabhadra, the
Koyana, the Ghatprabha, the
Musi and the
Bhima are some of its
Its drainage basin covers
Maharasthra, Karnataka
and Andhra Pradesh.
The Krishna flows for
about 1400 km and
reaches
the Bay of Bengal.

22. Why are rivers important for the country’s economy?
• Water from the rivers is a basic
natural resource, essential for
various human activities.
• The riverbanks have attracted
settlers from ancient times.
• Using rivers for irrigation,
navigation, hydro-power
generation is of special
significance – particularly to a
country like India.

23. What are the causes of water pollution?
1. The growing domestic, municipal,
industrial needs affects the quality of
water.
2. Agricultural demand for water from
rivers naturally affects the quality of
water.
3. A heavy load of untreated sewage is
responsible for water pollution.
4. Industrial effluents are emptied into the
rivers which pollute water.
5. This affects not only the quality of
water but also the self-cleansing capacity
of the river.

24. What is a lake? What is its importance?
A large low lying depression in the earth
filled with water is called lake.

25. Lakes are of great value to human
beings.
•A lake helps to regulate the flow
of a river.
•During heavy rainfall, 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.
•It enhance natural beauty.
•It helps to develop tourism and
provide recreation.

26. A lake is surrounded by land. It is a body of water
which is formed in the hollow part of the land.
The lakes are formed naturally as well as man-
made.

27. 1. Glacial activity, as
a result of tectonic
activity. They are
found in the
Himalayan region,
known as
freshwater lakes, for
example, Dal lake
( glacial activity),
Wular lake
(tectonic activity).
Natural lakes are formed because of the following
reasons:

28. 2. Some lakes
are formed
because of the
action of wind
and rivers. The
meandering
rivers form ox-
bow lakes.

29. 3. Bars and
splits form
lagoons in the
coastal regions,
for example,
Pulicat lake,
Chilka lake.

30. Name of the river Origin
Narmada Amarkantak
Tapi
Krishna
Mahanadi
Godavari

32. 1
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2 11
1 Indus
2 Satluj
3 Yamuna
4 Chambal
5 Narmada
6 Kaveri
7 Krishna
8 Godavari
9 Mahanadi
10 Ganga
11Brahmaputra