Top 9 Longest and Major Rivers of India

The rivers in India play a really important role in the lives of the people of India. The rivers here provide water for irrigation, on which most parts of the country is dependent for agriculture. That is why nearly all the major cities are located on the banks of the rivers. The rivers also play a very important role in the Hindu mythology and thus are given a great importance. Some of the major rivers and their river systems flowing in India are discussed here. All the major rivers of India originate from mainly three watersheds namely: A. Himalayan ranges and the Karakorum ranges B. In central India from Chota Nagpur Plateau and even from Vindhya and Satpura ranges C. Sahyadri or Western Ghats in the west of India Some of the river systems are:

Ganga River System

The Ganga also known as Ganges and its tributaries formulates the biggest cultivable plains of north as well as eastern India, known as Gangetic plains. The holy river Ganga is formed by joining of river Alaknanda and river Bhagirathi at Devprayag. The river Bhagirathi is considered as the main source of the river Ganga which originates from Gomukh Gangotri glacier in Himalayas and flows through the states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and parts of West Bengal. As soon as it enters Bangladesh it is known as Padma River and joins with river Yamuna which is the largest distributary of river Brahmaputra. The river Padma joins with Meghna River before emptying into Bay of Bengal. Length: about 2,525 kilometres

Indus River System

The River Indus originates from the slopes of the Kailas range near Lake Manasarovar in Tibet. Most of the river’s course runs from the neighboring country Pakistan and even a portion of which does run through Indian Territory. These tributaries flow from the Punjab region, which have got its name from two words “Punch” which means five and “aab” which means water thus meaning “five waters” or the “land of five waters” from where the five major tributaries of Indus flow. The five main tributaries are: a) Beas: This river originated from Beas Kund in Rohtang Pass. It runs from Manali and Kullu and its valley is known as Kullu valley. It joins the river Satluj near Harika after being joined by many few small tributaries. b) Chenab: This River originates from the merging of two rivers, the Chandra and the Bhaga. It enters Punjab near Akhnoor and finally joined the river Jhelum. c) Jhelum: This is the most important tributaries of Krishna-Ganga and originates from the south-eastern part of Jammu and Kashmir. d) Ravi: It originates from the Rotank Pass in the Himalayan range towards north-west course and turns towards south-west near Dalhousie. e) Sutlej (Satluj): Sutlej originates from the Rakshastal Lake which is connected to the Mansarovar Lake by a stream in Tibet. Total length of Indus: almost 1500 km

The Brahmaputra River System

The river Brahmaputra originates in China near the sources of rivers Indus and Satluj. In China it is known as Yarlung and then flows towards east parallel to Himalaya. When this river reach Namjagbarwa, it turns towards south were it is known as Dihang. In Assam it is finally known as Brahmaputra. Before entering Bangladesh this river splits into two distributaries of which the larger one is known as the river Yamuna. The Ganga Brahmaputra river delta is the largest river delta in the world. Total length: 2,900 km.

The Narmada River System

The Narmada also known as Nerbudda is a river which is flowing in central India. Similar to the river Mahi it also flows from east to west. This river originates in Amarkantak.

The River Tapi or the Tapti River System

The Tapi is the ancient name of the river Tapti in central India. It rises in the eastern Satpura range of the southern Madhya Pradesh state before it empty it water in gulf of Cambay in the Arabian sea, in a state of Gujarat. It is one of the major rivers in the peninsular India. Total length: 724 km

Godavari River

This River is very often referred to as the Vriddh (old) Dakshin (south) Ganga. Godavari has the second largest river course in India. It originates at Trimbakeshwar near Nasik and Mumbai in Maharashtra and is about 380 km from the Arabian Sea and empties itself in Bay of Bengal. At 80 km from the coast this river splits into two streams namely Vasistha and Gautami. Total length: 1450 km (900mi)

Krishna River System

This is one of the largest rivers of India. Krishna River originates from Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra and finally meets the Bay of Bengal at Hamsaladeevi in Andhra Pradesh. It flows from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Total length: 1300 km

Kaveri river system

The river Kaveri is being spelled in different ways in different languages, is one of the greatest rivers of India. It is considered as very sacred by Hindus. For south Indians this river is very holy. The place of birth of this river is known as Dakshin Kashi or Bhangandeshwar or the Talakaveri. It empties into the Bay of Bengal.

Mahanadi River System

The Mahanadi river delta is a basin of deposits which covers a very large land mass in Indian subcontinent and empties itself in Bay of Bengal. This alluvial valley is very wide and is relatively flat with meandering river channels. This river flows slowly for 560 miles around 900 km and has an estimated drainage area of 51000 square miles. This river deposit more silt as compared to any other river in the Indian subcontinent.