National Rivers in India

India is a land of many geographical spectrums, with abundant biodiversity. The country has been bestowed with numerous rivers and water bodies which have segregated the land into various parts. It is an important source of life for people in India as well as an economic contributor. To maintain sustainable ecological balance, the government has approved various regulations. India is home to very important rivers and water bodies which flow through various states of India. In this article, we are going to list down the brief introduction of the rivers which will benefit us in understanding their importance.

List of National Rivers in India

Indus River

The Indus river originates in Siachen Glacier in the Karakoram mountain range of the Himalayas and flows through a complex network of tributaries and some natural lakes of the Thar Desert, a band of arid region in the western part of India. The total length of Indus is 2,180 kilometers and its total area is 19,180 square kilometers. It has an annual flow rate of 50 gigawatts, most state capitals are located on either banks. It is also one of the five rivers often referred to as “Gangetic” whose waters flow into the Arabian Sea. The river is highly sedimentary and has a total sediment load of 1.1 billion tons annually which makes it one of the key sites for hydroelectric power generation in India.

Indus is the third longest river in Asia after the Yangtze and Yellow rivers.

Ganges River

The Ganges and its major tributaries flow through the most fertile plains in the world, where most Indian and Bangladeshi cities are located, between Himalayas on the north, acacia thorn forest and deciduous forests on the south. The river has a total length of 2,510 kilometres with an annual flow rate of 53 gigawatts into Gangetic plain. It is a trans-boundary river as the waters entering Bangladesh from India and Nepal. Many important cities in India are near this river including the capital, New Delhi. In Bangladesh, the Ganges delta is a fertile region that’s home to more than 400 species of fish, many of them endangered.

Indus and Ganges together draining almost one-fifth of the area covered by world’s river systems, whereas the Brahmaputra known for erosion phenomena contributes about one-eighth of total suspended sediments deposited in all rivers around the globe.

Brahmaputra River

The Brahmaputra is one of several major rivers in Asia. It is also called Tsangpo-Brahmaputra. Originating in the Tibet Autonomous Region, it flows through Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya before flowing into the Bay of Bengal. The length of Brahmaputra is about 1,950 kilometers with an annual flow rate of 37 gigawatts. It has very large tributaries in Arunachal Pradesh and West Bengal as well. These tributaries include Aru, Dihang, Kameng, Lohit, Nagaon and Tinsukia. The river is also called Tsangpo-Brahmaputra which originates in the Tibet Autonomous Region in China.

Krishna River

Krishna is one of the major rivers of India. It originates in the Mahadevapura taluk of Kudremukh range of Western Ghats in Karnataka and flows through the state of Karnataka before joining the state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a trans-boundary river as it also merges with some areas in Telangana and Maharashtra. The total length of Krishna is about 1360 kilometers with an annual flow rate of 29 gigawatts into Bay of Bengal.

Kaveri River

Kaveri is the most sacred river in India. It originates in Talakaveri of Kodagu district in Karnataka and flows through Tamil Nadu, flowing into the Bay of Bengal. The total length of this river is about 1,375 kilometers with an annual flow rate of 18 gigawatts before emptying into the Bay of Bengal near Poompuhar.

Yamuna River

Yamuna is considered as a lifeline for Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan states. It is one of the three sacred rivers in India, the others being Ganges and Brahmaputra. Yamuna originates in Yamunotri at an elevation of 4,491 metres in the Yamunotri glacier at Tibeto-Himalayan region. It is an important river flowing through the most arid areas of Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand states. It flows across these states eventually emptying into Yamuna River plain at Mathura near Delhi. The total length of this river is about 1140 kilometers with an annual flow rate 14 gigawatts into Bay of Bengal.

Conclusion

We have listed some major rivers in India, which not only flow through various states of India but are also sources of life. Knowledge of such rivers is very important for us.