Drainage Pattern of the Himalayan Rivers

 The present form of Indian river system is the result of a long process of river development. The drainage system of any country depends on the elevation and slope of the land. India is a vast country. To its north are the Himalayas and to the south the peninsular plateau, between which Madan in northern India is a vast plain. Therefore, the drainage system of India is mainly divided into two classes:

Their names are 1. Himalayan rivers, and 2. Peninsular rivers.

]1 The rivers of the Himalayas — the three main river systems that flow from the Himalayas, are named Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra from west to east. Theseq three systems have gone through a long and fluctuating history of development. These rivers originate from the southern slope of the Tibetan Upper Territory and after flowing into the longitudinal troughs parallel to the Himalayan axis, they reach the plains and suddenly turn south to reach the plains. Indus, Sutlej, Alaknanda, Gandak, Kosi and Brahmaputra proceed to make deep gorges. There is no doubt that these rivers are older than these mountains by studying the evidence presented by these Mahakhadas. Scholars believe that these rivers flowed through all stages of the formation of the Himalayas. As a result, the banks of these rivers rose up while their bottom became deeper and thus the Mahakhad was built. Thus, the rivers originating from the Himalayas are a burning example of antecedent drainage patterns.

The following three drainage systems are found in Himalayan rivers

i) Indus river system ii) Ganga river system
Iii) Brahmaputra river system

Indus River-System

This system includes the Indus and its tributaries like Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Sutlej (Panchnad etc. The Indus originates from the Bokhar Chu Glacier near the Mansarovar Lake in Tibet. It is 2,880 km long and one of the largest rivers of the
world. In its upper part, this river forms the giant George. The Indus River flows only through the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India. Finally the Indus River joins the Arabian Sea east of Karachi.

Jhelum River  The river Jhelum originates near (Kashmir) near Berinag, it is 400 km long in India. Between Muzaffarabad and Mangla, the river flows along from India to Pakistan. Finally it joins the Chenab River near Jhang.
Chenab River  The Chenab River is the major river of India and Pakistan. It forms in the upper Himalaya in the Lahaul and spiti district of Himachal Pradesh. In Himachal Pradesh, this river, known as Chandrayaan, has a total length of 1180 km. This river forms a deep gorge in the Pir Panjal range near Kishtwar.

Ravi River This river originates from the west of Rohtang pass (Himachal Pradesh) Its total length is 725 km is. This river forms the deep gorge in the Dhauladhar Range. Finally it joins the Chenab River near Multan.

Beas River The Beas River originates from the Beas Kund located on the Rohtang Pass. Its total length is 470 km is. Finally, this river merges into the Sutlej River near Kapurthala.
Sultej The river originates from the Rakas Tal near the Mansarovar Lake, south of Mount Kailash in Tibet. The total length of this river is 1500 km. The famous Bhakra-Nangal dam is built on this river. Finally it joins the Beas river.

   II   Ganga River  system 
The Ganga River originates from the Gangotri glacier, located at an altitude of 6,600 meters north of the Kedarnath peak in the Garhwal Himalayas of Uttarakhand. Above Devprayag it is called Bhagirathi. In Devprayag, when Alaknanda and Bhagirathi are united, this combined stream is known as Ganga. Near Haridwar, this river enters the plains. Yamuna river comes near Allahabad. Ramganga, Gomti, Ghaghra, Gandak, Kosi and Mahananda rivers come from the right bank or north in the Ganga. The total length of the Ganges River is 2,525 km, of which 1,450 km is in West Bengal. The Ganga River in Bangladesh is known as Padma. In the Bhagirathi-Hooghly region many small and large rivers coming from the peninsular plateau come into it. The drainage area of ​​the Ganges in India is about 8,61,404 sq km. The cities of Haridwar, Kanpur, Allahabad, Patna, Bhagalpur, Varanasi and Kolkata are situated on the banks of the Ganga River. Tehri Dam is built and Farakka Dam on Bhagirathi

Yamuna River - Yamuna River is the major tributary of the Ganga River. The river originates from an altitude of 6,330 meters from the glacier called Yamanotri and enters the plains at a place called Tajewala.
After flowing almost parallel, to ganga river this river joins the Ganga near Allahabad. Its total length is about 1,376 km. The Chambal, Betwa and Ken rivers come out of the Vindhyachal mountain in the south.
Gandak - This river originates between Dhaulagiri and Mount Everest in Nepal Himalaya. It is called saligrami in Nepal. Gandak Kali is formed by the joining of Gandak and Trishuli Ganga. Crossing the Mahabharata lakh range and Shivalik, the river enters the Gangetic plain in Champaran district of Bihar and joins the Ganga at Sonpur near Patna.
Ghaghra
Another name is Sarayu. The river originates from the Mapachachungo glacier in the Tibetan plateau (north of the Himalayas) While crossing the ranges of the Himalayas and Shivalik, the Ghaghra forms deep valleys in the Shishapani after consuming the tributaries of Tila, Seti and Beri. After flowing into Nepal it enters India. Sharda (Kali or Kali Ganga) is its major tributary which it meets in the plain. The combined water of Sharda and Ghaghra flows into the Ganga near Chhapra.
Kosi
It is the largest tributary of the Ganga. It is an erstwhile river whose main stream, named Arun River, originates near Gosai Thanh, (north of Mount Everest)in the Himalayas. It flows in a south direction between Everest and Kanchenjunga. In Nepal, after crossing the central Himalayas, it is joined by the Tsunkosi from the west and the Tamur Kosi rivers from the east. The Arun and Kosi rivers form the Saptakosi. To cross the Shivalik range It then enters the plain near Chhapra where a large alluvial wing is formed. This river, famous for diversion and flooding, is called 'Sorrow of Bihar'. This river is 730 km long.
Chambal River
The Chambal River originates from a place called Manpur from an elevation of 930 meters from the hills of Janapav in the Vindhyachal ranges in Madhya Pradesh. It joins the Yamuna River near Etawah in Uttar Pradesh. Its length is about 966 km. Kalisindh, Parvati, Sipta, Nivaj, Kshipra, Dudhi and Banas are tributaries. Gandhinagar Dam in Madhya Pradesh and Rana Pratap Sagar in Rajasthan, Jawahar Sagar and Kota irrigation dams have been built on this river. Deep ravines are found in its valley.
Betwa River
Betwa River of Kumra village in Raisen district in Madhya Pradesh.The pass originates from the Vindhyachal ranges. Its length is about 480 km. It joins the Yamuna River near Hamirpur. Dhasan and Bina are its major tributaries. Sanchi, Orchha and Hamirpur are situated on the banks of this river. The Matatila and Rajghat dams in Uttar Pradesh are built on this river.
Ken River
The Ken River originates from the Kaimur Hills in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh. Its length is 360 km. It joins the Yamuna River near Chilla (Banda). Banda Nagar is situated on the banks of this river.

Son River is also known as Swarn River. It originates from the Amarkantak hills in Madhya Pradesh. Its length is about 784 km. This river joins the Ganga before Patna. Mahanadi, Bamboo, Geet, Rihand, Kankar, North Cuckoo, Kahar are its major tributaries. The Rihand Dam has been constructed at Rihand and the Baan Sagar Dam at Baras.
Damodar River
The Damodar River originates from Flamu (Jharkhand). Its length is about 541 km. It joins the Hooghly River near Phulata. Barakar is its major tributary. The cities of Dhanbad and Durgapur are situated on the banks of this river. The Panchet, Tilaiya Konar, Iyer, Burgo and Maithan dams are built on this river.

III    The Brahmaputra River System 

     Brahmaputra originates from the Chemayungdung Himani (near Mansarovar. It is 2900 km in length. In Tibet river is known as 'Sangpo'. It turns south near Namcha Barwa and is named after Dihang From Assam enters the Himalayas (Arunachal Pradesh). After that it enters Assam valley where it is called 'Brahmaputra'. In Bangladesh it joins Ganga and forms the world's largest delta called Ganga Brahmaputra. On its right bank Among the tributaries found are the Subansiri, BhareliAnd Manas is predominant while the main rivers found on the left bank are Dibang, Lohit, Budhi Dihang, Dhansiri and Kapili. When the Teesta River joins it on the right hand side in Bangladesh, the Brahmaputra River is known as Jamna. Finally, it merges with Padma, which merges into the Bay of Bengal.