West Flowing Rivers of The Peninsular India
✅The west flowing rivers of the Peninsular India are fewer and smaller as compared to their east flowing counterparts.
✅The two major west flowing rivers are the Narmada and the Tapi.
✅This exceptional behavior is because these rivers didn’t form valleys and instead they flow through faults (linear rift, rift valley, trough) created due to the bending of the northern peninsula during the formation process of Himalayas.
✅These faults run parallel to the Vindhyas and the Satpuras.
✅The Sabarmati, Mahi and Luni are other rivers of the Peninsular India which flow westwards.
✅Hundreds of small streams originating in the Western Ghats flow swiftly westwards and join the Arabian Sea.
✅It is interesting to note that the Peninsular rivers which fall into the Arabian Sea do not form deltas, but only estuaries. {Fluvial Depositional Landforms}
✅This is due to the fact that the west flowing rivers, especially the Narmada and the Tapi flow through hard rocks and hence do not carry any good amount of silt.
#Narmada River
✅Narmada is the largest west flowing river of the peninsular India.
✅Narmada flows westwards through a rift valley between the Vindhyan Range on the north and the Satpura Range on the south.
✅It rises from Maikala range near Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh, at an elevation of about 1057 m.
✅Narmada basin extends over states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh having an area ~1 Lakh Sq.km.
✅It is bounded by the Vindhyas on the north, Maikala range on the east, Satpuras on the south and by the Arabian Sea on the west.
✅Its total length from its source in Amarkantak to its estuary in the Gulf of Khambhat is 1,310 km.
✅The hilly regions are in the upper part of the basin, and lower middle reaches are broad and fertile areas well suited for cultivation.
✅Jabalpur is the only important urban centre in the basin.
✅The river slopes down near Jabalpur where it cascades (a small waterfall, especially one in a series) 15 m into a gorge to form the Dhuan Dhar (Cloud of Mist) Falls.
#Tapti River
✅The Tapti (also known as the Tapi) is the second largest west flowing river of the Peninsular India and is known as ‘the twin’ or ‘the handmaid’ of the Narmada.
✅It originates near Multai reserve forest in Madhya Pradesh at an elevation of 752 m.
✅Flows for about 724 km before outfalling into the Arabian Sea through the Gulf of Cambay [Gulf of Khambhat].
✅The Tapti River along with its tributaries flows over the plains of Vidharbha, Khandesh and Gujarat and over large areas in the state of Maharashtra and a small area in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
✅The basin extends over states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat having an area of ~ 65,000 Sq.km
✅Situated in the Deccan plateau, the basin is bounded by the Satpura range on the north, Mahadev hills on the east, Ajanta Range and the Satmala hills on the south and by the Arabian Sea on the west.
✅The hilly region of the basin is well forested while the plains are broad and fertile areas suitable for cultivation.
✅There are two well defined physical regions, in the basin, viz hilly region and plains; the hilly regions comprising Satpura, Satmalas, Mahadeo, Ajanta and Gawilgarh hills are well forested.
■ NARMADA RIVER.
#Drainagesystem
◇ Largest river of Penisular.
◇ 5th Largest of India.
◇ Rises from Maikala range near Amarkantak in MP.
◇ Bounded by Vindhyas on North, Maikala range on East, Satpura on south and by Arabian sea on West.
◇ Important Tributaries :- Hathni river, Orsang, Barna and Kolar jawa.
◇ Major Hydro power Project in the Basin are Indira sagar, Sardar sarovar, Omkareshwar, Bargi and Maheshwar.
■ VAIGAI RIVER.
#Drainagesystem
◇ South of Cauvery Delta, there are several streams of which Vaigai is important.
◇ Vaigai basin is bounded by :-
• Varushanadu, Adipatti, Cardaman and
• Palani hills on West and by Palk strait and Palk bay on East.
■ CAUVERY RIVER.
#Drainagesystem
◇ Sacred river of South, aka Ganges of South.
◇ Rises at Talakaveri on the Brahmagiri Range, on the Coorg district of Karnataka.
◇ States - T. Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Poducherry.
◇ Tributaries :-
• Left bank - Harangi, Hemavati, Shimsha and Arkavati.
• Right bank - Lakshmantirtha, Kabbani, Suvarnavati, Bhavani, Noyil, Amaravati.
◇ Cauvery drains into Bay of Bengal.
■ PENNAR RIVER.
#Drainagesystem
◇ Also know as Uttara pinakini.
◇ Rises in Chenna Kesava hill of Nandidurg range, in Chikkaballapura district of Karnataka.
◇ Flows in States of Andhra P. And Karnataka.
◇ Tributaries :-
• Left bank - Jayamangali, Kunderu and Sagileru.
• Right bank - Chiravati, Papagni, and Cheyyeru.
◇ Somasila project lies here.
◇ Important town is Nellore.
◇ Flows in Bay of Bengal.
■ KRISHNA RIVER.
◇ Second largest river of Penisular after Godavari.
◇ Flows through Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra and Karnataka.
◇ Rises from western ghats near Jor village of satara district of Maharashtra.
◇ Tributaries :-
• Left bank - Ghataprabha, Malprabha and Tunghbhadra.
• Right bank - Bhima, Musi and Munneru.
◇ It flows into Bay of Bengal.
◇ Krishna basin is known for its D-6 block where Reliance Industries discovered largest Natural gas reserves in 2003.
