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West Flowing Peninsular Rivers: Narmada, Tapti, Sabarmati, Mahi,
Luni & Ghaggar
General Studies I Geography Indian Geography
West Flowing Peninsular Rivers: Narmada, Tapti, Sabarmati, Mahi, Luni & Ghaggar
Dec 31, 2024 / 3
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Table of contents Archives
1. Tributaries of Narmada River
Select Month
2. Tributaries of Tapti River
3. Projects on Tapti River
4. Industry in the Tapti Basin Select Category
5. Industry in Sabarmati Basin
February 2025
M T W T F S S
West Flowing Rivers Of The Peninsular 1 2
India
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
The west flowing rivers of the Peninsular India are fewer and smaller as 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
compared to their east flowing counterparts.
The two major west flowing rivers are the Narmada and the Tapi. 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
This exceptional behavior is because these rivers didn’t form valleys and
24 25 26 27 28
instead they flow through faults (linear rift, rift valley, trough) created due to
the bending of the northern peninsula during the formation process of « Jan
Himalayas.
These faults run parallel to the Vindhyas and the Satpuras. Just Launched Books
The Sabarmati, Mahi and Luni are other rivers of the Peninsular India which
flow westwards.
Hundreds of small streams originating in the Western Ghats flow swiftly
westwards and join the Arabian Sea.
It is interesting to note that the Peninsular rivers which fall into the Arabian
Sea do not form deltas, but only estuaries. {Fluvial Depositional
Landforms} Recent Posts
This is due to the fact that the west flowing rivers, especially the Narmada
and the Tapi flow through hard rocks and hence do not carry any good February 22 2025 Curre…
amount of silt.
Moreover, the tributaries of these rivers are very small and hence they don’t Sundarbans: Significanc…
contribute any silt.
Current Affairs – Februar…
Hence these rivers are not able to form distributaries or a delta before they
enter the sea. February 21 2025 Curren…
Obscene Online Content:…
Estuary
Prelims Magnum 2025
An estuary is a partially enclosed body of water along the coast where
freshwater from rivers and streams meets and mixes with salt water from the
ocean. [Primary productivity in estuaries is very high. Fishing is a dominant
occupation around estuaries. Most of the estuaries are good bird
sanctuaries]. Current A>airs
Estuaries and the lands surrounding them are places of transition from land
Current Affairs – Februar…
to sea and freshwater to salt water.
Although influenced by the tides, they are protected from the full force of Current Affairs – Februar…
ocean waves, winds, and storms by such land forms as barrier islands or
peninsulas. [You know why estuaries make good ports?] Current Affairs – Februar…
Estuarine environments are among the most productive on earth, creating
Current Affairs – Februar…
more organic matter each year than comparably-sized areas of forest,
grassland, or agricultural land.
Current Affairs – Februar…
The tidal, sheltered waters of estuaries also support unique communities of
plants and animals especially adapted for life at the margin of the sea.
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Estuaries have important commercial value and their resources provide
economic benefits for tourism, fisheries, and recreational activities.
The protected coastal waters of estuaries also support important public
infrastructure, serving as harbors and ports vital for shipping and
transportation.
Estuaries also perform other valuable services. Water draining from uplands
carries sediments, nutrients, and other pollutants to estuaries. As the water
flows through wetlands such as swamps and salt marshes, much of the
sediments and pollutants are filtered out.
Salt marsh grasses and other estuarine plants also help prevent erosion and
stabilize shorelines [Mangroves].
Narmada River
Narmada is the largest west flowing river of the peninsular India.
Narmada flows westwards through a rift valley between the Vindhyan
Range on the north and the Satpura Range on the south.
It rises from Maikala range near Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh, at an Current A>airs MCAs
elevation of about 1057 m.
Narmada basin extends over states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, February 22 2025 Curre…
Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh having an area ~1 Lakh Sq.km.
February 21 2025 Curren…
It is bounded by the Vindhyas on the north, Maikala range on the east,
Satpuras on the south and by the Arabian Sea on the west.
February 20 2025 Curre…
Its total length from its source in Amarkantak to its estuary in the Gulf of
Khambhat is 1,310 km. February 19 2025 Curren…
The hilly regions are in the upper part of the basin, and lower middle reaches
February 18 2025 Curren…
are broad and fertile areas well suited for cultivation.
Jabalpur is the only important urban centre in the basin.
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The river slopes down near Jabalpur where it cascades (a small waterfall,
especially one in a series) 15 m into a gorge to form the Dhuan Dhar (Cloud
of Mist) Falls.
Since the gorge is composed of marble, it is popularly known as the Marble
Rocks.
It makes two waterfalls of 12 m each at Mandhar and Dardi. Near Maheshwar
the river again descends from another small fall of 8 m, known as the
Sahasradhara Falls.
There are several islands in the estuary of the Narmada of which Aliabet is
the largest.
The Narmada is navigable upto 112 km from its mouth.
Tributaries of Narmada River
Since the river flows through a narrow valley confined by precipitous
(dangerously high or steep) hills, it does not have many tributaries.
The absence of tributaries is especially noted on the right bank of the river
where the Hiran is the only exception.
The other right bank tributaries are the Orsang, the Barna and the Kolar.
A few left bank tributaries drain the northern slopes of the Satpura Range
and join the Narmada at different places.
The major Hydro Power Project in the basin are Indira Sagar, Sardar
Sarovar, Omkareshwar, Bargi & Maheshwar.
MADHYAPRADESH
Barna Orsang Bargi
GANDHINAGAR
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Manot
Tawa •Mandia,
suki, JobatDam ‹Man Shar Matiyar
Omkareshwar
DhulsarMindleshwar BamalBan)
4Maheshwar indir Shakkar
Chandwada
Garudeshwar
Kogaon Denwai
Bharuch 1• Asmplar Sarey Tawa Burhner
Karjan
IndiraSagar
Borad Banjar
SardarSarovar
SURAT
Chotá
Tawa NAGPUR
Tapti River
The Tapti (also known as the Tapi) is the second largest west flowing river of
the Peninsular India and is known as ‘the twin’ or ‘the handmaid’ of the
Narmada.
It originates near Multai reserve forest in Madhya Pradesh at an elevation
of 752 m.
Flows for about 724 km before outfalling into the Arabian Sea through the
Gulf of Cambay [Gulf of Khambhat].
The Tapti River along with its tributaries flows over the plains of Vidharbha,
Khandesh and Gujarat and over large areas in the state of Maharashtra and
a small area in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
The basin extends over states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat
having an area of ~ 65,000 Sq.km
Situated in the Deccan plateau, the basin is bounded by the Satpura range
on the north, Mahadev hills on the east, Ajanta Range and the Satmala
hills on the south and by the Arabian Sea on the west.
The hilly region of the basin is well forested while the plains are broad and
fertile areas suitable for cultivation.
There are two well defined physical regions, in the basin, viz hilly region and
plains; the hilly regions comprising Satpura, Satmalas, Mahadeo, Ajanta
and Gawilgarh hills are well forested.
The plain covers the Khandesh areas (Khandesh is a region of central India,
which forms the northwestern portion of Maharashtra state) which are broad
and fertile suitable for cultivation primarily.
Tributaries of Tapti River
Right Bank: the Suki, the Gomai, the Arunavati and the Aner.
Left Bank: the Vaghur, the Amravati, the Buray, the Panjhra, the Bori, the
Girna, the Purna, the Mona and the Sipna.
Projects on Tapti River
Hathnur Dam of Upper Tapi Project (Maharashtra)
Kakrapar weir and Ukai Dam of Ukai Project (Gujarat)
Girna Dam and Dahigam Weir of Girna Project (Maharashtra)
Industry in the Tapti Basin
Important industries in the basin are textile factories in Surat and paper
and news print factory at Nepanagar.
Sabarmati River
The Sabarmati is the name given to the combined streams the Sabar and
Hathmati.
The Sabarmati basin extends over states of Rajasthan and Gujarat having an
area of 21,674 Sq km.
The basin is bounded by Aravalli hills on the north and north-east, by Rann
of Kutch on the west and by Gulf of Khambhat on the south.
The basin is roughly triangular in shape with the Sabarmati River as the base
and the source of the Vatrak River as the apex point.
Sabarmati originates from Aravalli hills at an elevation of 762 m near village
Tepur, in Udaipur district of Rajasthan.
The total length of river from origin to outfall into the Arabian Sea is 371 km.
The major part of basin is covered with agriculture accounting to 74.68% of
the total area.
Rainfall varies from a meager few mm in Saurastra to over 1000 mm in
southern part.
Left bank tributaries: the Wakal, the Hathmati and the Vatrak.
Right bank tributaries: the Sei.
Projects: Sabarmati reservoir (Dharoi), Hathmati reservoir and Meshwo
reservoir project are major projects completed during the plan period.
Industry in Sabarmati Basin
Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad are the important urban centers in the
basin.
Ahmedabad is an industrial city situated on the banks of Sabarmati.
Important industries are textiles, leather and leather goods, plastic, rubber
goods, paper, newsprint, automobile, machine tools, drugs and
pharmaceuticals etc.
The industrial city of Ahmedabad poses the danger of water pollution.
Mahi River
The Mahi basin extends over states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and
Gujarat having total area of 34,842 Sq km.
It is bounded by Aravalli hills on the north and the north-west, by Malwa
Plateau on the east, by the Vindhyas on the south and by the Gulf of
Khambhat on the west.
Mahi is one of the major interstate west flowing rivers of India.
It originates from the northern slopes of Vindhyas at an altitude of 500 m in
Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh.
The total length of Mahi is 583 km.
It drains into the Arabian Sea through the Gulf of Khambhat.
The major part of basin is covered with agricultural land accounting to
63.63% of the total area
Hydro Power stations are located in Mahi Bajaj Sagar dam and at Kadana
Dam.
Vadodara is the only important urban centre in the basin. There are not
many industries in the basin.
Some of the industries are cotton textile, paper, newsprint, drugs and
pharmaceuticals. Most of these industries are located at Tatlam.
Luni River
The Luni or the Salt River (Lonari or Lavanavari in Sanskrit) is named so
because its water is brackish below Balotra.
Luni is the only river basin of any significance in Western Rajasthan, which
form the bulk of arid zone.
Luni originates from western slopes of the Aravalli ranges at an elevation of
772 m near Ajmer flowing in South West direction and traversing a course of
511 km in Rajasthan, it finally flow into the Rann of Kachchh (it gets lost in
the marsh).
Most of its tributaries drain the steep north west of Aravalli hills and join it on
left side. Its total catchment area falls in Rajasthan.
The peculiarity of this river is that it tends to increase its width rather than
deepening the bed because the banks are of soils, which are easily erodible
whereas beds are of sand. The floods develop and disappear so rapidly that
they have no time to scour the bed.
West Flowing Rivers Of The Sahyadris
(Western Ghats)
About six hundred small streams originate from the Western Ghats and flow
westwards to fall into the Arabian Sea.
The western slopes of the Western Ghats receive heavy rainfall from the
south-west monsoons and are able to feed such a large number of streams.
Although only about 3% of the areal extent flow swiftly down the steep
slope and some of them make waterfalls.
The Jog or Gersoppa Falls (289 m) made by the Sharavati river is the
most famous waterfall of India.
Ghaggar River – Inland Drainage
Some rivers of India are not able to reach the sea and constitute inland
drainage.
Large parts of the Rajasthan desert and parts of Aksai Chin in Ladakh
have inland drainage.
The Ghaggar is the most important river of inland drainage. It is a seasonal
stream which rises on the lower slopes of the Himalayas and forms
boundary between Haryana and Punjab.
It gets lost in the dry sands of Rajasthan near Hanumangarh after traversing
a distance of 465 km.
Earlier, this river was an affluent of the Indus, the dry bed of the old channel
is still traceable.
Its main tributaries are the Tangri, the Markanda, the Saraswati and the
Chaitanya.
It contains a lot more water in rainy season when its bed becomes 10 km
wide at places.
Most of the streams draining western slopes of the Aravalli Range dry up
immediately after they enter the sandy arid areas to the west of this range.
Usability Of Rivers
Source of fresh water, irrigation, hydro-electric production, navigation etc.
The Himalayas, Vindhyas, Satpuras, Aravalis, Maikala, Chhotanagpur
plateau, Meghalaya plateau, Purvachal, Western and the Eastern Ghats offer
possibilities of large scale water power development.
Sixty per cent of the total river flow is concentrated in the Himalayan rivers,
16 per cent in the Central Indian rivers (the Narmada, the Tapi, the
Mahanadi, etc.), and the rest in the rivers of the Deccan plateau.
The Ganga and the Brahmaputra in the north and northeastern part of the
country, the Mahanadi in Odisha, the Godavari and the Krishna in Andhra
and Telangana the Narmada and the Tapi in Gujarat, and the lakes and tidal
creeks in coastal states possess some of the important and useful
waterways of the country.
In the past they were of great importance, which suffered a great deal with
the advent of rail and roads.
Withdrawal of large quantities of water for irrigation resulted in dwindling
flow of many rivers.
The most important navigable risers are the Ganga, the Brahmaputra and
the Mahanadi. The Godavari, the Krishna, the Narmada and the Tapi are
navigable near their mouths only.
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3 Comments
Venkat Sai Kumar MARCH 13, 2018 / 10:36 PM REPLY
Mahi river cut the Tropic of Cancer twice It originates in the Mahi Kanta
hills, from the
northern slopes of Vindhyas in Dhar district of Madhya
Pradesh………………………….YOU MISSED THIS POINT
Devesh Rai FEBRUARY 11, 2023 / 10:05 AM REPLY
Thank you
Chinmay Pradhan JULY 9, 2021 / 7:10 PM REPLY
Sir why Estuary is included in this portion?
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