Top Ten Rivers of India

The United Nations Organisation had declared the year 2013 as the International Year of Water Cooperation. Water is life. Why our Earth is unique in Solar Family? Because it supports Water. Water, in all its forms, both liquid and frozen, covers approximately three quarters of the earth’s surface. The following are Amazing facts of water content of Earth. 96.5% of total water is contained in global oceans; 1.7% is stored in the polar icecaps and permanent snow; 1.7% is stored in groundwater, lakes, streams and soil. But only 0.08% is accessible for direct human use! Therefore water is one of our most precious resources. India is rich with a network of rivers. Rivers, covering 329 million hectares, are the true lifeline of India. We are celebrating the Rivers of India. Here are the top ten rivers of India.

1. Ganga River, also Ganges, is formed by the merger of Alaknada and Bhagirathi rivers in Devaprayag. It is the longest Indian River flowing south and east through North India into Bangladesh. It finally merges with the Bay of Bengal. It is the third largest river in the World and the most sacred river to Hindus. Hooghly River is approximately 260 km long distributaries of Ganga in West Bengal where it merges with the Bay of Bengal.

2. Yamuna River originates from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of 6,387 metres in the lower Himalayas in Uttarakhand. It travels a total length of 1376 km parallel to Ganga before contributing its water to Ganga at (Triveni Sangam) Allahabad. It passes through several states, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi.

3. Brahmaputra River originates from the Angsi Glacier in Burang County of Tibet, flows across southern Tibet, flows into Arunachal Pradesh, where it is known as Dihang. It flows through the Assam Valley and Bangladesh (called Padma) and then merges with the Bay of Bengal. While most rivers in India have female names, this river has a (rare) male name Brahmaputra, meaning “Son of Brahma”.

4. Mahanadi (Great River) flows through the states of Chhattisgarh and Odisha. It is a combination of many mountain streams. The major portion of Mahanadi basin now lies in Chhattisgarh. It flows slowly for 900 km and deposits more silt in the state of Odisha. It is known fact that Mahanadi valley is popular for its fertile soil and flourishing agriculture.

5. Krishna River rises in Mahabaleshwar (Maharashtra) in the west, flows through Karnataka and meets the Bay of Bengal in Andhra Pradesh in the east. Tungabhadra River is formed by the confluence of two rivers, Tunga and Bhadra in Karnataka. It is 531 km long and mingles with the Krishna River in Andhra Pradesh.

6. Godavari River starts in the western state of Maharashtra and flows through the southern state Andhra Pradesh before reaching the Bay of Bengal. It forms one of the largest river basins in India. It is 1465 km long. So it is the second longest river in India, after the Ganga, and the longest in southern India.

7. Kaveri River originates in the Western Ghats in Karnataka and flows through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu into the Bay of Bengal. Periyar River originates in the Shivagiri Peaks (Tamil Nadu). It has a total length of 244 km and flows through Kerala.

8. Narmada River originates at Amarkantak and flows westwards into Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat over a length of 1312 km before draining through the Gulf of Cambay (Khambat) into the Arabian Sea.

9. Indus River originates in Lake Mansarovar’s vicinity and runs through Ladakh (where Zanskar River is its tributary), Gilgit and Baltistan regions of Jammu and Kashmir. Finally it merges with the Arabian Sea.

10. Beas River rises in the Himalayas in central Himachal Pradesh and flows for some 470 km into the Sutlej River in Punjab.