More than 90 per cent of India's total surface run-off flows into the Bay of Bengal and the rest into the Arabian Sea. Only small area in Rajasthan has internal drainage. The drainage systems flowing into the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal are separated by a water divide extending approximately along the Western Ghats, Aravallis and Yamuna Sutlej divide. The Indian Drainage System is distinguished as Himalayan Drainage System and Peninsular Drainage System. The Himalayan Rivers are mostly perennial and youth having gorges, V-shaped valley and depositional features like deltas whereas Peninsular Rivers are seasonal and do not have extensive network of tributaries. Here, we are giving general knowledge list of the east and west flowing rivers with their characteristics. More than 90 per cent of India's total surface run-off flows into the Bay of Bengal and the rest into the Arabian Sea. Only small area in Rajasthan has internal drainage. The drainage systems flowing into the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal are separated by a water divide extending approximately along the Western Ghats, Aravallis and Yamuna Sutlej divide. The Indian Drainage System is distinguished as Himalayan Drainage System and Peninsular Drainage System. The Himalayan Rivers are mostly perennial and youth having gorges, V-shaped valley and depositional features like deltas whereas Peninsular Rivers are seasonal and do not have extensive network of tributaries. Here, we are giving general knowledge list of the east and west flowing rivers with their characteristics. Many of the rivers are older than Himalayas and cut across it whereas peninsular drainage is much older and includes numerous rivers. Rivers of peninsular are matured with almost graded profiles and mostly super-imposed in nature i.e. follow the gradient or fault valley. These are devoid of meanders and have fixed course unlike Himalayan drainage. In the above list gives complete revision capsule of general knowledge related to the characteristics of east and west flowing rivers in India

1. PRESENTED BY:
AShiSh SAhu

2.  The East coast river system in Peninsular India is a
composite systems of rivers.
 Drains from east of W- Ghat to BOB in East
 Its main constituents are rivers Mahanadi, Godavari,
Krishna and Cauvery.
 Total catchment area – 121 million ha
 Total length is 6437km.

4. Mahanadi River System
 Mahanadi River originate from Sihawa hills in south-west Raipur district, Chattisgarah.
 Total length – 857 km, flowing through Chattisgarah, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, drains an area of
141, 600 km2.
 After a brief run westwards, it runs north and then eastwards at Khargoni to reach Mahadeopalli, 140
km away, where Hirakud dam is situated. After this dam, the river runs 415 kms in Odisha state and
finally joins Bay of Bengal at Paradip.

5. NASA image of Mahanadi River

6.  Largest of Peninsular rivers and the third largest river in India
 Length – 1465 km
 Catchment area – 312,812 km²
 Originates near Triambakeswar in Deolali hills near Nasik (Maharashtra)
in N-Western Ghats.
 Its cover states Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
 Below Dhawaleswaram Godavari splits into……………………….
1) Gautami Godavari 2) Vasista Godavari
 Tributaries : Manjira, Wainganga and Indravati.
RIVER GODAVARI

9.  It originates from the Brahmagiri hills on the western ghats in Karnataka.
 Longest perennial river south of River Krishna
 Total length – 850 km
 It flows in a south-easterly direction for about 850 Km. before emptying into Bay of bengal in Thanjavar
district of Tamil Nadu.
 The main tributaries of Cauvery are rivers Bhavani, Noyil, and Amravati.

 A number of reservoirs ( Mettur, Bhavanisagar, Krishnarajsagar,) and anicuts have been constructed on
the main rivers.
The Cauvery river system-

10.  80 species of belonging to 23 families were reported from river Cauvery
 Cauvery carp ( Puntius carnaticus , Puntius dubius ,Labeo carnaticus , L. ariza)
 IMC , L. fimbriatus , Cirrhinus cirrhosa ,Tor khudri
 Oreochromis mossambica – throughout river.
 The Tilapia was observed to be well established throughout in this river.

13.  Length – 1280 km
 Catchment area – 2,33,229 km²
 Originates at Mahabaleswar hills in Western Ghats and covers
Maharashtra, Karnataka, and AP
 Main tributaries of Krishna are Bhima and Tungabhadra
(perennial) rivers.
 River Bhima is almost a dry river during summer while
Tungbhadra is perennial with greater volume of flow than main
Krishna itself.
The Krishna river system-

14.  2001-03 survey conducted by CIFRI .
 Upper reaches – Catla catla , Cyprinus carpio , Cirrhinus mrigala , Puntius
sarana , Mastacemblus armaratus
 Lower reaches : Catla catla , Labeo rohita , Labeo gonius , Cirrhinus mrigala ,
Pangassius pangassius , Etroplus suratensis

15. WEST COAST RIVER SYSTEM
Short and perennial

16.  Includes main rivers : Narmada and Tapti
 Total length : 3380 km
 Total catchment area – 69.6 million ha
 Drains the west of Western Ghats

17. NARMADA RIVER
 River Narmada is between Satpuda Mountain range and
Vindhyachal Mountain range.
 he Narmada River, also called the Rewa and previously also
known as Nerbudda.
 It is also known as "Life Line of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat"
for its huge contribution to the state of Madhya pradesh and
Gujarat in many ways.

18. The source of the Narmada is a small
reservoir, known as the Narmada Kund,
located at Amarkantak on the
Amarkantak Plateau in the Anuppur
District, Shahdol zone of eastern Madhya
Pradesh.
Originates from Maikala highlands
near Amarkantak (MP)
Total length – 1,312 km
Catchment area= 94,235 km²
 Covers MP, Maharashtra and Gujarat
and joins the Gulf of Cambay (Arabian
sea)

19.  The Periplus Maris Erythraei (c. 80 AD) calls it the
Nammadus, and the British Raj called it the Nerbudda or
Narbada.
 Narmada' is a Sanskrit word meaning "the Giver of Pleasure".
 4 reservoirs : Tawa, Sukta, Barna, Bargi
 41 major tributary
 84 fish species
 Cast nets, gill nets and longlines are the fishing gears that
are generally used.

20. Map of the Narmada River, which drains part of north-central India
to the Arabian Sea

21. Tapti river / Tapi river
 Origin : Vindhya mountain of Satpura range
 Covers : MP, Maharashtra, and Gujarat and joins Arabian sea at
Dumas near Surat
 Total length – 720 km
 Total catchment area – 48,000 km²
 Ukai dam is constructed in this river on border of Maharashtra
and Gujarat
 Tor tor , Labeo fimbriatus, Labeo calbasu.
 Lower reaches – Hilsa spp.
 Cast nets, gillnets and long lines and also Mahajal is used as the
fishing gear.