Rivers of India - List of Indian Rivers

RIVER SYSTEMS OF INDIA

The rivers of India are classified into 3 Categories:

1. The Himalayan River System: These are perennial in nature, snow-fed rivers. During the rainy season they are generally flooded and carry 70 of the total discharge of river water into the sea. The three great Himalayan river systems are mentioned below.

The Himalayan River System

Name	Source		Length		Enters into
Indus River System	Mountain Kailash in Tibet (near Mansarovar Lake)		2900km		Arabian Sea
Sutlej	Mansarover Rakas Lakes		1050km		Chenab
Beas	Near Rohtang Pass		470km		Sutlej
Ravi	Near Rohtang Pass		720km		Chenab
Chenab	Near Lahol Spiti District of H.P		960km		Indus
Jhelum	Verinag in Kashmir		725km		Chenab
Ganges River System	Gangotri Glacier in the Himalayas		2510km		Bay of Bengal
Yamuna	Yamnotri		1375km		Ganga
Gomti	Gomat Taal (Fulhar Jheel) near Pilibhit		900km		Ganga
Ghagra	Matsatung Glacier		1080km		Ganga
Betwa	Vidhyanchal		480km		Yamuna
Ken	Ahirgawan (Kaimur Range) Jabalpur District		427km		Yamuna
Son	Amarkantak		780km		Ganga
Kosi	Near Gosain Dham Park		730km		Ganga
Chambal	Chambal region in Madhya Pradesh		1050km		Yamuna
Brahmaputra River system Originates in the Mansarovar Lake in Western Tibet and flows south-west of Tibet as Yarlung Tsangpo River, enters India in Arunachal Pradhesh in rapid descent (where it is called Siang)and slows down in plains of Assam Valley (where it is called Dihang) and is joined by Dibang river and later by Lohit river and thereon gets the name' Brahmaputra'. The principal tributaries of Brahmaputra in India are the Dhansiri, Puthimari, Subansiri, Jia Bhareli, , Pagladiya and the Manas.		2900km (A Chinese research has confirmed its origination from Angsi Glacier and length 3848km. But it did not notified by Indian authorities)		Bay of Bengal (Flows southward through Bangladesh into the Ganges Delta and merges with the Padma river, the main distributaries of the Ganges, then the Meghna on the way to Bay of Bengal)

The holy Ganges is the longest river in the country. The 2900 km Brahmaputra is longer than the Ganges but only one-third of the river passes through India. 

2. The Deccan River System: These are seasonal rivers as their flow mainly depends on rainfall. They carry about 30 of total discharge of Indian rivers. The list of important rivers of peninsular India are given in the table below. Godavari River is the largest river system in peninsular India. The Kaveri system is the southernmost in the country. 

3. Coastal River System: These are numerous, comparatively smaller, coastal rivers. There are more than 600 such rivers on the west coast and only a few of such rivers drain into sea near the delta on the east coast. 

4. The Rivers of the Inland drainage basin: These are small rivers in sandy areas of Rajasthan, called rivers of inland drainage basins, with no outlet in sea, except Luni which drains into the Rann of Kutch. Other such important rivers are: Machchu, Rupen, Saraswati, Banas, Ghaggar, etc.

Name	Source	Length	Enters into
Godavari	Western Ghats	1450km	Bay of Bengal
Krishna	Western Ghats	1290km	Bay of Bengal
Kaveri (Cauvery)	Western Ghats	760km	Bay of Bengal
Pennar	Western Ghats	560km	Bay of Bengal
Mahanadi	North-west of the Deccan Plateau	890km	Bay of Bengal
Damodar	North-west of the Deccan Plateau	592km	Bay of Bengal
Narmada	Northernmost portion of the Deccan Plateau	1290km	Arabian Sea
Tapti	Northernmost portion of the Deccan Plateau	724km	Arabian Sea
Sharawathy	Western Ghats	124km	Arabian Sea
Netravati	Western Ghats		Arabian Sea
Bharatapuzha	Western Ghats	250km	Arabian Sea
Periyar	Western Ghats	300km	Arabian Sea
Pamba	Western Ghats	176km	Arabian Sea
Tungabhadra	Western Ghats		Krishna
Sabarmathi	Aravallies		Gulf of Khambat