1.INDUS: (One of the world’s largest river)
Source: Tibet, at an altitude of 5,180 m near Mansarovar Lake.
Total length: 2,880km (709km in India)
River Basin: 1,165,00 sq.km (321,290 sq.km in India)
Information:
Mountain tributaries; Gilgit Shyok, Skardu, Shigoo.
Plain tributaries: Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej and Beas.
2.JHELUM: (An important river of kashmir and is the main waterway)
Source: Rises in Verinag at the foothills of Pirpranjal.
Total length: 400 km/ River Basin: 28,490 sq.km (in India)
Information:
Its basin lies between Great Himalaya and Pir Pranjal Range.
It flows through Vale of Kashmir and Wular Lake before entering into Pakistan.
3.CHENAB: (largest of all the Indus tributaries)
Source: Rises in snow covered Kullu hills of Himachal Pradesh.
Total length: 1,800 (in India)/ River Basin: 26,755 sq.km (in India)
Information:
Flows through Chamba state for 160 km in the trough between the Greater Himalaya and the Pir Panjal.
4. RAVI
Source: Kullu hills of H.P
Total Length: 725 km/ River Basin: 5,957( in India)
5. SUTLEJ: (Second largest tributary of Indus)
Source: Rakas Lake, at an altitude of 4,555 m in Tibet
Total Length:1050km (in India)/ River Basin: 25,087 sq.km(in India)
Information:
It enters India through Shipki La and flows through Himachal Pradesh and Punjab before entering into Pakistan.
6. BEAS
Source: Kullu hills at an altitude of 4,000 m
Total Length:470 km( in India)/ River Basin:25,900 sq.km (in India)
Information: It joins Stulej near Harike.
THE GANGA SYSTEM (GANGA AND ITS TRIBUTARIES)
1.The Ganga: Formed by two head streams Alaknada and Bhagirathi which join at Devprayag.
Source: Rises in Gangotri glacier of the Great Himalaya. Above Devaprayag it is called as Bhagirathi and below it is referred to as the Ganga.
Total Length: Of its total length of 2,525 k.m, 1,450 k.m in Bihar and 520 km in WB.
River Basin: 838,200 sq.km. Largest river basin in India, Covers more than fourth of the country’s total surface.
Information:
Left Bank tributaries; Ramganga, Gomati, Ghagra, Gandak, Burhi Gandak, Kosi.
Right Bank tributaries; Yamuna, Son.
The Bhagirathi – Hooghly is the western most distributary of the river. Beyond Frakka it bifurcates itself into Bhagirathi Hooghly in WB and Padma-Meghna in Bangladesh.
2. TheYamuna:(Largest and the most important tributary of Ganga)
Source: Rises in the Yamunotri glacier which is west of Ganga source.
Total Length: 1,376 km fromits source to Allahabad where it joins Ganga.
River Basin: 3,59,000 sq. km
Information: Important tributaries; Chamba (rises in Mhow in the Vindhya)Sidndh, Betwa and Ken.
3.The Son: (Right bank tributary of Ganga)
Source: Rises from the Amarkantak Plateau
Total Length: 780 km/ River Basin: 71,900 sq,.km
Information: It joins Ganga near Ramnagar.
4.Ramganga:
Source: Rises in the Kumaun Himalaya near Nanital
Total Length: 690 km/ River Basin: 32,800 sq,km
Information: It joins the left bank of Ganga near Chapra (Bihar).
5.Ghagra:
Source: Rises from east of Gangotri,
Total Length: 1,080 km
River’s Basin: 127, 500 sq,km More than half of its basin is in Nepal.
Information: It joins the left bank of Ganga near Chapra(Bihar).
6.Gandak:
Source: Rises near the Nepal-China border at an altitude of 7,600m in the Central
Himalaya.
Total Length:425 km(in India) / River Basin:48,500, 9,500 sq.km (in India)
Information: It flows through eastern Nepal, enters Bihar in Champaran district and turn south east to join the left banh of Ganga near Sonepur.
7.Kosi: (formed by the confluence of the Son Kosi, the Arun Kosi and the Tamur Kosi)
Source: Rises from the peak of Nepal Tibet and Sikkim
Total Length: 730km (in India)/ River’s Basin:86,900, 21,500 sq, km (in India)
Information: It flows through eastern Nepal, enters Bihar in Saharasa district and joins the left bank of Ganga below Bhagalpur (Bihar). The river is notorious for shifting its course and causing floods, thus often termed as the ‘Sorrow of Bihar.
8.Damodar: (Sorrow of Bengal)
Source: Rises in Chota Nagpur plateau in the Plalamau district (Jharkand)
Total Length: 541 km/ River’s Basin: 22,000 sq.km
Information: It joins the Bhagirathi Hooghly in West Bengal
