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Himalayan River System

Drainage Systems in India

It is regulated by broad relief features of the Indian subcontinent. Accordingly, the Indian rivers are divided into two major groups – the Himalayan rivers and the Peninsular rivers.

The Himalayan Rivers

  1. Most of the Himalayan rivers are perennial and receive water from rain and melted snow from mountains.  
  2. The Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra are some of the major rivers. Several river tributaries join these rivers collectively making a river system. Due to the fact that it joins with so many tributaries along its path, the length of these rivers is very long.
  3. The two significant Himalayan streams, the Indus and the Brahmaputra show up from the north of the mountain ranges. They make ravines and have long courses from their source to the ocean.  
  4. They perform rigorous erosion activity in their upper courses and carry huge loads of sand and silt.  
  5. In the middle and the lower courses, these rivers form meanders, oxbow lakes, and many other depositional features in their floodplains. They also have well-developed deltas.

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Himalayan River System 

The Indus River System

  1. It rises in Tibet, near Lake Mansarovar from Bokhar Chu glacier in the Kailash mountain range and flows west, entering India in Ladakh.
  2. Its total length is 2900 km and a little over a third flows in India.
  1. Left bank tributaries: The Zaskar, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Satluj etc. 
  2. Right bank tributaries: Shyok, Hunza, Gilgit, Khurram, Gomal etc.
  3. It flows through the popularly known northern area of Pakistan, Baltistan and Gilgit and emerges its way through the mountains at Attock. 
  4. Making its way to Pakistan The Satluj, the Beas, the Ravi, the Chenab and the Jhelum accompany it while entering the Indus near Mithankot. 
  5. The Indus river finally discharges into the Arabian Sea in the southern province of Pakistan.

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The Ganga River System

  1. The headstream of the Ganga, called the Bhagirathi, is fed by the Gangotri Glacier and joined by the Alaknanda at Devprayag in Uttarakhand. Ganga thereby emerges from the mountains finding its way to the plains of one of the most religiously well-known lands on earth, Haridwar. 
  2. Ganga stretches over the area with an immense length of  2500 km. The plain that divides the water between the Indus and The Ganga is where Ambala is located. The plains over the length of 1800 km stretch from Ambala to the Sundarbans. 
  3. It develops large meanders during its middle course.
  4. Major Tributaries: Left tributaries are The Yamuna, the Ghaghara, the Gandak, the Kosi and the right tributaries are Chambal, the Betwa and the Son.
  5. It flows eastwards till Farakka in West Bengal which is the northernmost point of the Ganga delta. Flowing towards the south crossing the deltaic plains to the Bay of Bengal the river bifurcates into the Bhagirathi-Hooghly (a distributary). 
  6. The enormously mighty river, accompanied along with the water from the Ganga and the Brahmaputra, finds its way into the Bay of Bengal, whereas the delta formed and created by these rivers are known as the Sundarban Delta.

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The Brahmaputra River System 

  1. The Brahmaputra rises in Tibet, east of Mansarovar lake from the Kailash range and flows eastwards resemblant to the Himalayas. Most of its course lies outside India.  Named Tsangpo in Tibet.
  2. It takes a U-turn at Namcha Barwa (7757 m) and enters India in Arunachal Pradesh through a gorge. Here, it is called the Dihang. It’s joined by the Dibang, the Lohit, and numerous other feeders to form the Brahmaputra in Assam.  
  3. Left Bank tributaries of Brahmaputra are Burhi Dihing, Lohit river, Dhansiri river, Kolong river  etc.
  4. Right Bank tributaries of Brahmaputra are Manas River, Subansiri river, Teesta river, Beki river etc.
  5. In India, it carries a large volume of water and silt, as it flows from high rainfall regions. 
  6. It has a braided channel in its entire length in Assam and forms numerous riverine islands.  
  7. It shifts its channel frequently as a huge deposit of silt causes the riverbed to rise and is responsible for large-scale flooding every year. 
  8. Brahmaputra river enters Bangladesh and flows with the name of Jamuna where it is joined by the Teesta river and the Confluence known as Meghna river.
  9. And finally, the river enters the Bay of Bengal. It forms the largest delta of the world, the Sundarban delta.

Conclusion

The drainage pattern is an arrangement in a region and is determined by slope, resistance to weathering erosion, climate and structure controls of the landscape. The Major drainage patterns are Dendritic, radial, Centripetal, Trellis Drainage patterns. The drainage basin of India can be divided into three types: Major river Basin, Medium river basins and Minor river basins. We can divide the Himalayan rivers and the Peninsular rivers into two groups. The main Himalayan rivers are Indus, Ganga, and Brahmaputra. The Indus River rises in Tibet, near Lake Mansarovar and flows west, entering India in Ladakh. Its length is 2900 km and a little over a third is in India. Its Left bank tributaries are The Zaskar, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Satluj etc and The right bank tributaries are Shyok, Hunza, Gilgit, Khurram, Gomal etc. 

In the Ganga river headstream of the Ganga is called the Bhagirathi and is fed by the Gangotri Glacier and joined by the Alaknanda at Devprayag in Uttarakhand. Ganga thereby emerges from the mountains finding its way to the plains of one of the most religiously well-known lands on earth, Haridwar.