Rivers and Drainage System of Karnataka

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Rivers and Drainage System of Karnataka

Drainage systems

Drainage systems, also known as river systems, are the patterns formed by the streams, rivers, and lakes in a particular drainage basin. They are governed by the topography of the land, whether a particular region is dominated by hard or soft rocks, and the gradient of the land.

Rivers in Karnataka

Karnataka is endowed with many riverine systems broadly classified into two types viz.,

  1. The East-flowing large rivers Krishna and Cauvery with their tributaries, and
  2. The short, West-flowing rivers.
  • The rivers in Karnataka are a source of water for drinking and household purposes. They are integral to agriculture, a source of hydropowerand used for transportation in certain areas. They are also vital for the tourism industry in the state.
  • Many rivers, both east-flowing and west-flowing, are found within the boundaries of Karnataka.
  • Most of the rivers originate in the Western Ghats and runs towards the eastern side of the state. These are some of the largest rivers in the state and drain towards the Bay of Bengal. Therefore almost all the major east-flowing rivers are inter-state rivers.
  • The rivers in the Western Ghats that generallyflow westward meet the Arabian Sea after a short run varying from 50 kilometres to 300 kilometres.  These rivers are very steep in the upper reaches and fairly steep in the middle reaches. Near the sea, they have relatively flat gradients and a mild flood plain.

CAUVERY RIVER SYSTEM :

  • The river Cauvery is an Inter-State river in Southern India. It is one of the major rivers of the Peninsular flowing east and running into the Bay of Bengal.
  • The Cauvery rises at Talakaveri on the Brahmagiri Range of Hill in the Western Ghats, presently in the Coorg district. It is often called the Dakshina Ganga (the Gangesof the South) and considered one of the sacred rivers of India.
  • The tributaries of the Kaveri include:
Sl. No. Name of the tributary Catchment area in Sq.kms. Origin ,Altitude &Length Sub-tributaries Name of the state
1 Hemavathy 5,410 Ballarayana Durga in Western Ghats,

1,219 metres, 245 km

   Karnataka
2 Kabini 7,040 Western ghats in Kerala,

2,140 metres, 230 km

 Taraka,Hebballa, Nugu, Gundal Karnataka, Kerala &  Tamiln Nadu
3 Harangi 717 Pushpagiri Hills of Western ghats       1,067 metres 50 km    Karnataka
4 Arkavathy 4351 Nandidurga

1,480 meters 161 km

 Kumaudavat-hy, Manihalla & kuttehole, Vrishabhava-thy Karnataka & Tamil Nadu
5 Lakshmanathirtha 1,690 Western ghats,

1,950 metres, 131 km.

 Ramathirtha Karnataka
6 Suvarnavathy 1,787 Nasrur ghat Range,   Length 88 km.   Karnataka & Tamil Nadu
7 Shimsha 8,469 Tumkur district,       914 meters, 221 km. Veeravaishnavi, kanihalla, chickkhole, Hebbahalla, Mullahalla & Kanva Karnataka

 

KRISHNA RIVER SYSTEM :

  • The river Krishna is an Inter-State river in Southern India. It is the second largest river in Peninsular India, rises in the Western Ghats at an altitude of 1337 m. near Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra State.
  • It flows across the whole width of the peninsula, from west to east, for a length of about 1400 km, through Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The entire catchment area of Krishna basin is 2,58,948 sq km.
  • The principal tributaries of Krishna in Karnataka are Ghataprabha, Malaprabha, Bhima and Tungabhadra. All these rivers except the Malaprabha River having their catchment area both in Karnataka and Maharastra.
  • Brief description of these tributaries are given below:
Sl. No. Name of the tributary Catchment area in Sq.kms. Origin ,Altitude &Length Sub-tributaries Name of the state
1 Ghataprabha 8829 Western ghats,  884m, 283kms Hiranyakeshi, Markandeya Karnataka & Maharshatra
2 Malaprabha 11549 Western Ghats,  792.48m, 306kms Bennihalla,Hirehalla, Tas nadi Karnataka
3 Bhima 70614 Western Ghats, 945m, 861kms Combined waters of      Mula & Mutha Ghod, Nira,Sina Karnataka & Maharshatra
4 Thungbhadra 47866 Western ghats at Gangamula, 1198m, 531kms Combined waters of Tunga & Bhadra, Varada, Hagari(vedavathy) Karnataka & Andhra Pradesh

 

GODAVARI RIVER SYSTEM

  • The river Godavari rises in the Nasik district of Maharastra about 80km from the shore of Arabian sea, at an elevation of 1067m, after flowing for about 1465km in a general south-easterly direction, through Maharastra and Andhra Pradesh, Godavari falls into the Bay of Bengal above Rajamundry.
  • The principal tributaries of Godavari are the Pravara, the Purna, the Manjra, the Pranahita, the Indravathy and the Sabari but Manjra River, having its partial catchment area in the State of Karnataka.
Sl. No. Name of the tributary Catchment area in Sq.kms. Origin ,Altitude &Length Sub-tributaries Name of the state
1. Manjra 15,667 Sq.kms -Maharastra,                4,406 Sq.kms -Karnataka,                 10,772 Sq.kms -Andhra Pradesh Bala ghat range of hills,  823m Tirina,Karanja, Haldi,Lendi & Mannar Maharastra, Karnataka & Andhra Pradesh

 

WEST FLOWING RIVER SYSTEM :

  • The Western Ghats provides a principal geographical barrier in the path of the Arabian Sea branch of the Southwest monsoon, and is principally responsible for the heavy rainfall over the western coastal belt.
  • The rivers in the Western Ghats region generally originate at an elevation ranging from 400 meters to 1,600 meters above the mean sea level, close to the Western Ghats ridge.
  • The rivers generally flow westward and meet the Arabian Sea after a short run varying from 50 kms to 300 kms. the rivers are very steep in the upper reaches and fairly steep in the middle reaches. It is only near the sea that they have relatively flat gradients and some sort of flood plain.
  • The list of west flowing rivers, their important tributaries and the states through which these are flowing are given in the following table.
Sl. No. Name of the tributary Catchment area in Sq.kms. Origin ,Altitude &Length Sub-tributaries Name of the state
1 Mahadayi 2032 Western ghats, Belgaum district,       600 meters  87 kms Maderi Karnataka,Goa
2 Kalinadi 4188 Western ghats, Bidi village, 600 meters, 153 kms. Pandhari, Tatti-halla and Nagi Karnataka
3 Aghanashini (Tadri) 1,330 Western ghats Near Sirsi,  500 meters   84 kms.   Karnataka
4 Sharavathi 3,592 Westren ghats Humacha in Shimoga district,       700 meters, 122 kms.   Karnataka
5 Chakra Nadi 336 East of Kodachadri in Shimoga district,       600 meters, 52 kms.   Karnataka
6 Varahi       (Haladi 759 Kavaledur-ga in the Shimoga district,       600 meters,  66 kms   Karnataka
7 Barapole (Valapattanam) 1, 867 Brahamagiri Ghat Reserve Forest in Coorg ,  900 meters, 110 kms   Karnataka
8 Netravathy 3222 Bellarayan-a Durga in the Dakshina Kannada, 1,000 meters, 103 kms Gundiahole, Kumaradara and Shisiahole Karnataka
9 Gangavalli (Bedthi) 3574 Western ghats south Of Dharwad    700 meters, 152 kms.   Karnataka

 

PENNAR  RIVER SYSTEM :

The Pennar rises on the hill of Nandi Hills in Chikballapur District of Karnataka state, and runs north and east through the state of Andhra Pradesh to empty into the Bay of Bengal.

Sl. No. Name of the tributary Catchment area in Sq.kms. Origin , Altitude &Length Sub-tributaries Name of the state
1 Uttara Pinakini (North Pennar River) 6937 Nandi hills of Kolar, 597km Jayamangali, Kumadavathy, Chitravathy and  papagni Karnataka,   Andhra Pradesh
2 South Pennar 4370 Nandi hills of Kolar   Karnataka, Tamil Nadu

 

PALAR RIVER SYSTEM :

Palar is a river of southern India. It rises in Talagavara village in Kolar, of Karnataka state, and flows 93 kilometres in Karnataka, 33 kilometres in Andhra Pradesh and 222 kilometres in Tamil Nadu before its confluence into the Bay of Bengal at Vayalur about 100 kilometres south of Chennai.

Sl. No. Name of the tributary Catchment area in Sq.kms. Origin ,Altitude &Length Sub-tributaries Name of the state
1 Palar River 2813 Talagavara village in Kolar, 900 meters , 348 kms. – Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh Tamil Nadu

 

Map of Karnataka River SystemRivers and Drainage System of Karnataka

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