Q. What is meant by a water divide? Give an example.
A water divide, also known as a drainage divide, is a ridge that divides two drainage basins. On the rugged ground, the split runs along topographical ridges and can take the form of a single dividing range of hills or mountains.
The Satpura Range is an example of a water divide that separates the Narmada and Tapti rivers.
The rivers in India’s drainage system are classified into two primary groups—
- The Himalayan River
The Indus, Ganga, and the Brahmaputra are the three major Himalayan rivers.
The Indus Valley System: The river Indus begins near Lake Mansarovar in Tibet. It runs west and reaches India in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ladakh district.
The Ganga River System: The Gangotri Glacier feeds the Bhagirathi, Ganga’s headwaters. The Ganga emerges at Haridwar from the mountains onto the plane.
The Brahmaputra River System: The Brahmaputra River starts in Tibet east of Mansarovar Lake, near the Indus and Sutlej Rivers’ origins.
The Peninsular Rivers
The Tapi Basin: In Madhya Pradesh’s Betul district, the Tapi rises in the Satpura ranges.
The Narmada Basin: In Madhya Pradesh, the Narmada river rises in the Amarkantak hills.
The Godavari Basin: The Godavari is the peninsula’s major river. It originates from the Western Ghats’ foothills in Maharashtra’s Nasik district.
The Mahanadi Basin: In the hills of Chhattisgarh, the Mahanadi rises. After passing through Odisha, it reaches the Bay of Bengal.
The Krishna Basin flows approximately 1400 kilometres from a source in Mahabaleshwar.
The Kaveri Basin: It begins in the Western Ghats’ Brahmagiri range and flows into the Bay of Bengal south of Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu
Types of Drainage Patterns
Dendritic: It is characterised by a smaller drainage pattern that leads to a bigger one in an uneven pattern.
Rectangular: Changes due to large regional faulting.
Trellis: short drainages that lead to larger ones.
Radial: descends and moves away from a central High Point.