THE PENINSULAR RIVERS

The Peninsular Rivers:

·        Most of the Peninsular Rivers are seasonal because they depend on rainfall for water.

·        These rivers have shorter and shallower courses; compared to the Himalayan rivers.

·         Most of the major rivers of the Peninsula flow eastwards and drain into the Bay of Bengal. These rivers make deltas at their mouths.

·        The Narmada and Tapi are the only long rivers, which flow westwards and make estuaries.

·         The drainage basins of the peninsular rivers are smaller in size.

The Narmada Basin: 

·        The Narmada rises in the Amarkantak hills in the Madhya Pradesh.

·        The Narmada basin covers parts of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

·        All the tributaries of the Narmada are very short. Most of the tributaries join the Narmada at right angles.

The Tapi Basin: 

·       
The Tapi rises in the Satpura ranges, in Betul district of Madhya Pradesh.

·        The basin of Tapi covers parts of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The Godavari Basin:

·        This is the longest Peninsular river. Its drainage basin is also the largest among the peninsular river basins.

·        The Godavari is about 1500 km long. It originates from the slopes of the Western Ghats in Nasik district of Maharashtra and drains into the Bay of Bengal.

·        The Godavari basin covers parts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

·        Purna, Wardha, Pranhita, Manjra, Waiganga and Penganga are the main tributaries of Godavari.

The Mahanadi Basin: 

·        This river originates in the highlands of Chhattisgarh and drains into the Bay of Bengal. It is about 860 km long.

·         The Mahanadi basin covers Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa.

The Krishna Basin: 

·       
The Krishna originates near Mahabaleshwar and drains into the Bay of Bengal.

·        It is about 1400 km long. Tungbhadra, Koyana, Ghatprabha, Musi and Bhima are some of its tributaries.

·        The Krishna basin covers Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

The Kaveri Basin:

·        The Kaveri originates in the Brahmagiri range of the Western Ghats and drains into the Bay of Bengal.

·        It is about 760 km long. Amravati, Bhavani, Hemavati and Kabini are its main tributaries.

·        The Kavery basin covers Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.