PPT on himalyan rivers you can refer through my uploads for other presentations

1. PPT
ON
HIMALYAN
RIVERS

2. Rippling along rough surfaces and the beautiful meadows, the
numerous rivers that dot Indian mainland are central to our history as
well as to Indian mythology. The main rivers of the Himalayas group
are the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra. These rivers are both
snow-fed and rain-fed and therefore they are flow through so many
year. Himalayan rivers discharge about 70% of
theirinflow into the sea. This includes about
5% from central Indian rivers. They join the
Ganga and drain into the Bay of Bengal.
Let us discuss about main RIVERS OF
HIMALAYAS :

3. The major Himalayan rivers are the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra.
These rivers are long, and are joined by many large and important
tributaries. A river along with its tributaries may be called a river system.

4. MAJOR RIVERS AND LAKES

5. Legends
It has believed by the early Tibetans that this forceful and full riverthat guarded
the frontiers of united India rises from the lake Mansarovar in Tibet. Afew
expeditions later, it was discovered that the Indus actually originates a few
kilometers north of lake Mansarovar and together with it arise the Brahmaputra
and the riverSutlej, through Mansarovar. The four rivers that separated from this
area were described as rising out of certain animals mouths, thereby ascribing the
qualities to the river.The Pakshu went westward in the beginning and then came
out of a horse’s mouth to the east to be called the Brahmaputra. The Sita went
southwards in the beginning and then came out of a lion’s mouth to the north to be
called the riverSindhu. The Ganga came out of an elephant’s mouth and the
Karnali from a peacock’s mouth.
Derivation Of The Name - Indus
The lion river, the Indus derives its name from the Sanskrit word, Sindhu, which means a
large water body, a sea oran ocean. In Greek, it is called “Sinthos” and in Latin, the
“Sindus”. The name gradually came to represent the people who lived beyond it and the
name Hindus was born. It took less time to derive the name - Indus gave people a lot more.

6. Legends
 The Ganges has many names associated with its many roles in Sanskrit
mythology. Bhagiratha himself is the source of the name Bhagirathi (of
Bhagiratha), which is its initial stream, but is also another name forthe
Hooghly. At one point, Bhagiratha went too close to the sage Jahnu's
meditation site, and the disturbed hermit immediately gulped up all the waters.
Eventually, aftermore persuasion from Bhagiratha, the sage yielded the waters,
but Ganges retained the name "Jahnavi“. Waterfrom the Ganga has the
recursive property that any water mixed with even the minutest quantity of
Ganga water becomes Ganga water, and inherits its healing and other holy
properties. Also, despite its many impurities, Ganga water does not rot orstink
if stored forseveral days.
The Course Of River Ganges & Its Tributries
The Glacier, a vast expanse of ice five miles by fifteen, at the foothills of the Himalayas
(14000 ft) in Northern Uttaranchal is the source of Bhagirathi, which joins with
Alaknanda to form Ganga at the craggy canyon-carved town of Devprayag. Interestingly,
the sources of Indus and the Brahmaputra are also geographically fairly close; the former
goes through Himachal Pradesh and fans out through Punjab and Sindh (Pakistan) into
the Arabian Sea. The latter courses for most of its tremendous length under various
names through Tibet/China, never farfrom the Nepal orIndian borders, and

7. hen takes a sharp turn near the northeastern tip of India, gathers momentum through Assam
before joining the majorstream of the Ganga near Dacca in Bangladesh to become the mighty
Padma, river of joy and sorrow formuch of Bangladesh.
From Devprayag to the Bay of Bengal and the vast Sundarbans Delta, the Ganga flows some
,550 miles, passing and giving life to some of the most populous cities of India, including
Kanpur,Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna, and Kolkatta. Dacca, the capital of Bangladesh is on a
ributary of the Brahmaputra, just before it joins the Ganga to form Padma. Alarge number of
ributaries join and flow from the Ganges to drain the Northern part of India and Bangladesh.

8. Legends
One of the great rivers of Asia, the Brahmaputra commences its 3,000-km journey to the Bay
of Bengal from the slopes of Kailash in western Tibet. As Tibet's great river, the Tsangpo,
transverses east across the high-altitude Tibetan plateau north of the Great Himalayan
Range, carving out myriad channels and sandbanks on its way.As it tumbles from the
Himalayan heights towards the plains of the subcontinent it twists back on itself, cutting a
deep and still unnavigated gorge, until finally turning south it emerges in Arunachal Pradesh
as the Dihong. Just beyond Pasighat, it meets the Dibang and Lohit where it finally becomes
the Brahmaputra
Mythology
There are many mythological stories on Brahmaputra. But the most popular and sacred one is about the
river's birth in 'Kālikā Purāna'. It describes how Parashurama, one of the ten incarnations of Lord
Vishnu, got rid of his sin of murdering his own mother with an axe (or Parish) by taking bath in this
sacred river. On strict order from his father Jamadagni (who had suspected his wife Renuka of adultery),
Parashurām had to murder his own mother by severing her head with an axe. As a result of this nefarious
act, the axe got stuck to his hand and he was unable to take it off his hand. On advice from sages, he
started on a pilgrimage and ultimately reached the place, which is presently known as Parashurām
Kunda (about 25 km north of Tezu in in Arunāchal Pradesh). The story says that the mighty riverwas
then confined to a Kind (or Kunda) ora small lake surrounded by hills. Parashurām cut down the hills on
one side to release the sacred water for the benefit of the common people. By this act, Parashurām’s axe
came out of his hand to his great relief and he knew that he had been exonerated from his sin.

9. The main water divide in Peninsular India isformed by the Western Ghats,
which runs fromnorth to south close to the western coast.Mostof the major
rivers of the Peninsula such asthe Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna
andthe Kaveri flow eastwards and drain into theBay of Bengal. These rivers
make deltas attheir mouths. There are numerous smallstreams flowing west
of the Western Ghats.The Narmada and the Tapi are the only longrivers,
which flow west and make esturies.Thedrainage basins of the peninsular
rivers arecomparitevely small in size.

10. The Narmada rises in the Amarkantak hillsin Madhya Pradesh. It flows towards the westin
a rift valleyformed due to faulting. On itsway to the sea, the Narmada creates
manypicturesque locations. The ‘Marble rocks’,near Jabalpur where the Narmada
flowsthrough a deep gorge, and the ‘Dhuadharfalls’where the river plunges over steep
rocks,are some of the notable ones.
Allthe tributaries of the Narmada are veryshort and most of these join the main streamat
right angles. The Narmada basin covers partsof Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

11. The Tapi rises in the Satpura ranges, in the Betul district of Madhya Pradesh. It also flows
in a rift valley parallel to the Narmada but it is much shorter in length. Its basin covers
parts of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
The coastal plains between western ghats and the Arabian sea are very narrow. Hence , the
coastal rivers are short. The main west flowing rivers are Sabarmati, Mahi ,Bharathpuzha
and Periyar. Find out the states in which these rivers drain the water.

12. The Godavari is the largest Peninsular river.It rises from the slopes of the Western Ghatsin
the Nasik district of Maharashtra. Itslength is about 1500 km.It drains into theBay of
Bengal. Its drainage basin is also thelargest among the peninsular rivers.Thebasin covers
parts of Maharashtra (about 50per cent of the basin area lies in Maharashtra),Madhya
Pradesh, Orissa and AndhraPradesh. The Godavari is joined by a numberof tributaries
such as the Purna, the Wardha,the Pranhita, the Manjra, the Wainganga andthe
Penganga.The last three tributaries arevery large. Because of its length and thearea it
covers, it is also known as the‘Dakshin Ganga’.

13. The Mahanadi rises in the highlands of Chhattisgarh. It flows through Orissa to reach the
Bayof Bengal. The length of the river is about 860 km. Its drainage basin is shared by
Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Orissa.

14. Rising from a spring near Mahabaleshwar, the Krishna flows for about 1400 km and
reaches the Bayof Bengal. The Tungabhadra, the Koyana, the Ghatprabha, the Musi and
the Bhima are some of its tributaries. Its drainage basin is shared by Maharashtra,
Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

15. The Kaveri rises in the Brahmagri range of the Western Ghats and it reaches the Bayof
Bengal in south of Cuddalore, in Tamil Nadu. Total length of the river is about 760 km.
Its main tributaries areAmravati, Bhavani, Hemavati and Kabini. Its basin drains parts of
Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

16. Dal Lake (Hindi: डल झील) is a lake in Srinagar, the summer capital of the northernmost Indian
state of Jammu and Kashmir. The urban lake, which is the second largest in the state, is integral to
tourism and recreation in Kashmir and is nicknamed the "Jewel in the crown of Kashmir"or
"Srinagar's Jewel".The lake is also an important source for commercial operations in fishing and
water plant harvesting.
The shore line of the lake, about 15.5 kilometres (9.6 mi), is encompassed by a boulevard lined with
Mughal era gardens, parks, houseboats and hotels. Scenic views of the lake can be witnessed from
the shore line Mughal gardens, such as Shalimar Bagh and Nishat Bagh built during the reign of
Mughal Emperor Jahangir) and from houseboats cruising along the lake in the colourful shikaras
. During the winter season, the temperature sometimes reaches −11 °C(12 °F), freezing the lake.

17. Loktak Lake, the largest freshwater lake in India, also called the only Floating lake in the
world due to the floating phumdis(heterogeneous mass of vegetation, soil, and organic
matters at various stages of decomposition) on it, is located
near Moirang in Manipur state, India. The etymology of Loktak is Lok = "stream"
and tak = "the end". The Keibul Lamjao National Park, which is the last natural refuge of
the endangered sangai or Manipur brow-antlered deer (Rucervuseldieldi),one of three
subspecies of Eld's Deer, covering an area of 40 km2(15 sq mi), is situated in the
southeastern shores of this lake and is the largest of all the phumdis in the lake.