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River The river is the biggest source of water. Rivers provide us water to drink, irrigation, electricity, cook, clean things and easy & cheap transportation. It is also a source of fresh water that flows naturally towards an ocean, lake, sea or another river. Rivers flow in channels. The bottom of the channel is called the bed and sides of the channel are called the banks. Sometimes a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of water. Rivers begin at their source in the higher ground such as mountains or hills, where rainwater or melting snow collects and forms tiny streams. When one stream meets another and they merge together, the smaller steam is known as a tributary. It takes many tributary streams to form a river. As a river flows, it carries along material or debris, called its load. A river’s load includes rocks, stones, and other large particles, which are washed along the river bed. Finer particles float in the water. A river grows larger as it collects water from more tributaries along its course. The river ends at a mouth. In larger rivers, there is often also a wider floodplain shaped by flood waters over-topping the channel. Floodplains may be very wide in relation to the size of the river channel.
Important Rivers in World:
There are so many rivers all over the world. The rivers are determined by its length. The River Nile is the longest river in the world. It measures 6,695 kilometres from its source Burundi, along with the White Nile, to its delta on the Mediterranean Sea. Officially, the shortest river is the D River, Oregon, USA, which is just 37 meters long.
The largest river in the world is the Amazon, measured by the amount of water that flows down in it. On average 120,000 cubic meters of water flows out of its mouth every second. The longest river in Europe is the River Volga. It flows primarily in a southerly direction through Russia into the Caspian Sea.
Important Rivers in India: The important rivers of India are Ganga, Yamuna, Brahmaputra, Indus, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri, Narmada and Tapti. Ganga: Ganga is the holiest river according to Hindu. It has started from the Gangotri in the Himalayas and poured into the Bay of Bengal by traveling of around 2525 km. It is ranked 3rd largest river in the world. There are several cities had been developed across the banks of Ganga like Pataliputra, Kashi, Allahabad, Varanasi, Kolkata etc. It had also created the World’s largest delta in West Bengal named as Sundarban delta. Yamuna: Yamuna River had originated from Yamunotri Glacier in the Himalayas, then travels across several states and merged into the Ganga at Triveni, Allahabad. Its total length is 1376 km. Yamuna River’s water contributed nearly 70% of Delhi’s water supply. The Taj Mahal is situated on the banks of Yamuna River. Brahmaputra: Brahmaputra River is originated from Angsi Glacier, the northern Himalayas in Tibet, then entered into the Arunachal Pradesh to Assam and then merges with the Padma river in Bangladesh. Its length is around 2900 km and plays an important role in irrigation and transportation. It emptied into the Bay of Bengal. Indus River: The Indus River is historically famous in Asia. It originated from the Tibetan Plateau and then flows through the Ladakh then entered Pakistan and finally merge into the Arabian Sea after traveling a distance of 3180 km. Mahanadi River: Mahanadi is a major river in the state of Chhattisgarh and Odisha. Mahanadi’s water is used in the irrigation and drinking purpose, it is also called the ruin of Orissa due to its devastating floods over the years but till Hirakud Dam was constructed. Its total length is 858 km.
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Godavari: It is the longest river in southern India and 2nd largest in India after Ganga. It is originated from Maharashtra and flows through Andhra Pradesh, then merges into the Bay of Bengal after traveling 1465 km. Krishna: The 3rd longest river in India after Ganga and Godavari, Krishna River which is originated from Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra and flows through the state of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and finally merges into the Bay of Bengal by traveling 1400 km. Kaveri: The Kaveri River is one of the large rivers in India which is originated from Talakaveri in the Western Ghats of Karnataka and flows through the states of Karnataka & Tamil Nadu, finally merges into the Bay of Bengal by traveling 765 km. Narmada: Narmada River is the 5th Longest in the Indian sub-continent. It is also called the Lifeline of Madhya Pradesh due to its huge contributions. Narmada River is originated from Narmada Kund, Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh and merges into the Arabian Sea near Gujarat after traveling 1312 km. Tapti: Tapti River is one of the major rivers in Central India. Its total length is around 724 km which flows through the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra and finally merges into the Gulf of Cambay of Arabian Sea near Gujarat.
Below is a table that shows Rivers and its tributaries:
Rivers Tributaries
Indus Ravi, Beas & Sutlej, Jhelum, Chenab
Ganga Son, Damodar, Yamuna, Ghagra, Ramganga, Kosi, Gandak, Mahakali
Yamuna Ken, Betwa, Tons, Hindon, Chambal, Sindh
Chambal Banas, Sindh, Ken, Betwa
Ghagra Rapti, Saradi, Saryu
Son Gopad, Rihand, Johilla
Brahmaputra Dibru, Dihing, Kalang, Burhi, Dikhu,Subansiri, Kameng, Belsire, Dhansiri, Manas, Sankosh, Teesta
Mahanadi Hasdo,Sheonath, Sondur, Pairi, Ong, Tel
Godavari Weinganga, Indravati, Sabari, Manjira, Penganga, Wardha
Krishna Ghatprabha, Malprabha, Bhima, Musi, Munneru, Koyna, Tungabhadra,
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