XMXHosea83962264 at 03:21, 11 January 2026

2026-01-11T03:21:30Z

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{{Short description|Indian rivers}}
[[File:Indiarivers.png|thumb|Map of India showing the major rivers.]]

With a land area of {{cvt|32,87,263|km2}} consisting of diverse ecosystems, India has many rivers systems and perennial streams.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://knowindia.india.gov.in/profile/india-at-a-glance.php|title=India at a glance|work=[[Know India]]|publisher=[[Government of India]]|access-date=1 June 2024}}</ref> The rivers of India can be classified into four groups – Himalayan, Deccan, Coastal, and Inland drainage. The Himalayan rivers, mainly fed by glaciers and snow melt, arise from the [[Himalayas]]. The Deccan rivers system consists of rivers in [[Peninsular India]], that drain into the [[Bay of Bengal]] and the [[Arabian Sea]]. There are numerous short coastal rivers, predominantly on the [[West Coast of India|West coast]]. There are few inland rivers, which do not drain into sea.<ref name="FAO">{{cite report|url=http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/countries_regions/IND/IND-CP_eng.pdf|title=India – Rivers Catchment|work=[[Food and Agriculture Organization]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140411065015/http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/countries_regions/IND/IND-CP_eng.pdf|archive-date=11 April 2014|date=2011|access-date=1 June 2013}}</ref><ref name="River">{{cite web|url=https://knowindia.india.gov.in/profile/rivers.php|title=Rivers of India|work=[[Know India]]|publisher=[[Government of India]]|access-date=1 June 2024}}</ref>

Most of the rivers in India originate from the four major [[water divide|watershed]]s in India. The Himalayan watershed is the source of majority of the major river systems in India including the three longest rivers–the [[Ganges]], the [[Brahmaputra]] and the [[Indus River|Indus]].<ref name="River"/><ref name="System">{{cite web|url=https://mssrfcabc.res.in/?page_id=13807|title=Major River basins of India|work=MS Swaminathan Research Foundation|access-date=1 June 2024}}</ref> These three river systems are fed by more than 5000 glaciers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ijsce.org/attachments/File/v3i1/A1288033113.pdf|title=Comparison and Monitoring of Glacier Retreat using Satellite and Ground Methods|access-date=3 September 2015|journal=International Journal of Soft Computing and Engineering |issn=2231-2307|volume=3|issue=1|date=March 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150514095709/http://ijsce.org/attachments/File/v3i1/A1288033113.pdf |archive-date=14 May 2015|page=361}}</ref> The [[Aravalli range]] in the north-west serves the origin of few of the rivers such as the [[Chambal River|Chambal]], the [[Banas River|Banas]] and the [[Luni River|Luni]] rivers.<ref name="System"/>

The [[Narmada River|Narmada]] and [[Tapti River|Tapti]] rivers originate from the [[Vindhya Range|Vindhya]] and [[Satpura Range|Satpura]] ranges in [[Central India]].<ref name="System"/> In the peninsular India, majority of the rivers originate from the [[Western Ghats]] and flow towards the Bay of Bengal, while only a few rivers flow from east to west from the [[Eastern Ghats]] to the Arabian sea. This is because of the difference in elevation of the Deccan plateau, which slopes gently from the west to the east.<ref name="Geo">{{cite web|title=Formation of Western Ghats|url=https://wgbis.ces.iisc.ac.in/biodiversity/sahyadri/wgbis_info/form.htm|publisher=Indian Institute of Science|access-date=1 December 2023|archive-date=21 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521124318/https://wgbis.ces.iisc.ac.in/biodiversity/sahyadri/wgbis_info/form.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The largest of the peninsular rivers include the [[Godavari River|Godavari]], the [[Krishna River|Krishna]], the [[Mahanadi River|Mahanadi]] and the [[Kaveri River|Kaveri]].<ref name="River"/><ref name="System"/>

== River systems ==
[[File:Plan of River Systems of India.png|frame|none|alt=text chart showing confluence of rivers in India|Chart showing the major river systems of India along with the [[tributaries]] and [[distributaries]] of some of them.]]

As per the classification of [[Food and Agriculture Organization]], the rivers systems are combined into 20 river units, which includes 14 major rivers systems and 99 smaller river basins grouped into six river units. The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna basin is the largest, which covers 34% of the land area and contributes to nearly 59% of the available water resources.<ref name="FAO"/>

{{Sticky header}}
{| class="wikitable sortable sticky-header defaultcenter col1left" style="font-size: 90%"
!scope="col"| River unit
!scope="col"| Region
!scope="col"| Draining into
!scope="col" data-sort-type=number| Catchment area (% of land area)
!scope="col" data-sort-type=number| Average annual runoff (km3)
!scope="col" data-sort-type=number| Surface water (km3)
|-
| [[Ganges]]-[[Brahmaputra]]-[[Meghna River|Meghna]] || rowspan="4"|North-east || [[Bangladesh]] || 34.0 || 610.62 || 294.0
|-
| Other North-east rivers || [[Bangladesh]], [[Myanmar]] || 1.1 || 31.0 ||
|-
| [[Subarnarekha River|Subarnarekha]] || rowspan="9"|[[Bay of Bengal]] || 0.9 || 12.4 ||
|-
| [[Brahmani River|Brahmani]]-[[Baitarani River|Baitarani]] || 1.6 || 28.5 || 6.8
|-
| [[Mahanadi River|Mahanadi]] || rowspan="2"|Central-east || 4.4 || 66.9 || 18.3
|-
| East flowing rivers between [[Mahanadi River|Mahanadi]] and [[Penna River|Pennar]] || 2.7 || 22.5 || 19.0
|-
| [[Godavari River|Godavari]] || rowspan="2"|Central || 9.7 || 110.5 || 50
|-
| [[Krishna River|Krishna]] || 8.0 || 78.1 || 76.3
|-
| [[Penna River|Pennar]] || rowspan="2"|South-east || 1.7 || 6.3 || 58.0
|-
| East flowing rivers between [[Penna River|Pennar]] and [[Kanyakumari]] || 3.1 || 16.5 || 13.1
|-
| [[Kaveri River|Kaveri]] || South || 2.5 || 21.4 || 6.9
|-
| West flowing rivers between [[Tadadi|Tadri]] and [[Kanyakumari]] || South-west || rowspan="7"|[[Arabian Sea]] || 1.7 || 113.5 || 16.7
|-
| West flowing rivers between [[Tapti River|Tapti]] and [[Tadadi|Tadri]] || Southwest || 1.7 || 87.4 || 24.3
|-
| [[Tapti River|Tapti]] || rowspan="2"|Central-west || 2.0 || 14.9 || 11.9
|-
| [[Narmada River|Narmada]] || 3.1 || 45.6 || 14.5
|-
| [[Mahi River|Mahi]] || rowspan="3"|North-west || 1.1 || 11.0 || 34.5
|-
| [[Sabarmati River|Sabarmati]] || 0.7 || 3.8 || 3.1
|-
| West flowing rivers between [[Kutch]] and [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]] || 10.0 || 15.1 || 1.9
|-
| [[Rajasthan]] inland basin || North-east || None || Negligible || Negligible || 15.0
|-
| [[Indus River|Indus]] tributaries || North-west || [[Pakistan]] || 10 || 73.3 || 46.0
|-
|}

== List of rivers ==
{{Sticky header}}
{| class="wikitable sortable sticky-header defaultcenter col1left" style="font-size: 90%"
|+Major rivers of India<ref name="River"/>
!scope="col"| Rank
!scope="col"| River
!scope="col"| Image
!scope="col" data-sort-type=number| Length (km)
!scope="col"| Origin
!scope="col"| Outflow
!scope="col"| Major tributaries
!scope="col"| [[States and union territories of India|States/UT]]
|-
| 1 || [[Indus River|Indus]] || [[File:Nanga_Parbat_Indus_Gorge.jpg|100px]] || 3,180 || rowspan="3"|[[Himalayas]] || [[Arabian Sea]] || [[Panjnad River|Panjnad]],{{efn|name=Indus|The [[Jhelum River|Jhelum]] and [[Ravi River|Ravi]] join the [[Chenab River|Chenab]], the [[Beas River]] joins the [[Sutlej River|Sutlej]]. Later the Chenab joins with the Sutlej to form the [[Panjnad River]], which merges with the [[Indus River|Indus]].}} [[Shyok River|Shyok]], [[Dras River|Dras]], [[Zanskar River|Zanskar]] || [[Ladakh]], [[Gujarat]]{{efn|The [[Indus River Delta]] is mostly in the [[Sindh province]] of Pakistan with a small portion in the [[Rann of Kutch|Kutch Region]] of India.}}
|-
| 2 || [[Brahmaputra]] || [[File:Brahmaputra_River_Homeward_bound.jpg|100px]] || 2,880 || rowspan="3"|[[Bay of Bengal]]{{efn| Brahmaputra splits into two distributaries with the western branch merging with the lower Ganga to form the [[Padma River]] and the eastern branch joining with the [[Meghna River]]. The Padma and Meghna rivers converge to form the [[Ganges Delta]] and flow out into the Bay of Bengal.}} || [[Lhasa River|Lhasa]], [[Lohit River|Lohit]], [[Subansiri River|Subansiri]], [[Teesta River|Teesta]] || [[Arunachal Pradesh]], [[Assam]]
|-
| 3 || [[Ganges]] || [[File:Varanasiganga.jpg|100px]] || 2,525 || [[Yamuna River|Yamuna]], [[Ghaghara River|Ghaghara]], [[Gomti River|Gomti]], [[Gandaki River|Gandaki]], [[Kosi River|Kosi]], [[Son River|Son]] || [[Uttarakhand]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Bihar]], [[Jharkhand]], [[West Bengal]]
|-
| 4 || [[Godavari River|Godavari]] || [[File:Early_morning_in_Godavari_02.jpg|100px]] || 1,465 || [[Western Ghats]] || [[Manjira River|Manjira]], [[Indravati River|Indravati]], [[Sabari River|Sabari]], [[Purna River (tributary of Godavari)|Purna]] || [[Maharashtra]], [[Telangana]], [[Andhra Pradesh]]
|-
| 5 || [[Satluj River|Satluj]] || [[File:A_view_of_Sutlej_river_Himachal_Pradesh_India_2014.jpg|100px]] || 1,450 || [[Himalayas]] ||[[Indus River|Indus]]{{efn|name=Indus}} || [[Chenab River|Chenab]], [[Beas River|Beas]] || [[Himachal Pradesh]], [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]]
|-
| 6 || [[Krishna River|Krishna]] || [[File:Krishna_River.jpg|100px]] || 1,400 || [[Western Ghats]] || [[Bay of Bengal]] || [[Bhima River|Bhima]], [[Tungabhadra River|Tungabhadra]], [[Ghataprabha River|Ghataprabha]] || [[Maharashtra]], [[Karnataka]], [[Telangana]], [[Andhra Pradesh]]
|-
| 7 || [[Yamuna River|Yamuna]] || [[File:Yamuna_river_near_the_Himalayas.jpg|100px]] || 1,376 || [[Himalayas]] || [[Ganges]] || [[Chambal River|Chambal]], [[Betwa River|Betwa]], [[Ken River|Ken]] || [[Uttarakhand]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Haryana]], [[Delhi]]
|-
| 8 || [[Narmada River|Narmada]] || [[File:Omkareshwar1.JPG|100px]] || 1,312 || [[Vindhya Range|Vindhya]] and [[Satpura Range|Satpura]] || [[Arabian Sea]] || [[Kolar River (Madhya Pradesh)|Kolar]], [[Sher River|Sher]], [[Tawa River|Tawa]] || [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[Maharashtra]], [[Gujarat]]
|-
| 9 || [[Ghaghara River|Ghagara]] || [[File:Ghaghara_River_Bahraich.jpg|100px]] || 1,080 || [[Himalayas]] || rowspan="2"|[[Ganges]] || [[Seti River|Seti]], [[Bheri River|Bheri]] || [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Bihar]]
|-
| 10 || [[Chambal River|Chambal]] || [[File:Chambal-river-gorge.jpg|100px]] || 1,024 || [[Vindhya Range|Vindhya]] and [[Satpura Range|Satpura]] || [[Banas River|Banas]], [[Parbati River (Madhya Pradesh)|Parbati]], [[Shipra River|Shipra]] || [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[Rajasthan]], [[Uttar Pradesh]]
|-
| 11 || [[Mahanadi River|Mahanadi]] || [[File:Mahanadi_from_Banki.jpg|100px]] || 900 || [[Eastern Ghats]] || [[Bay of Bengal]] || [[Hasdeo River|Hasdeo]], [[Seonath River|Seonath]], [[Jonk River|Jonk]], [[Ong River]] || [[Chhattisgarh]], [[Odisha]]
|-
| 12 || [[Chenab River|Chenab]] || [[File:River_Chenab_Ramban.jpg|100px]] || 890 || [[Himalayas]] || [[Sutlej River|Sutlej]]{{efn|name=Indus}} || [[Ravi River|Ravi]], [[Jhelum River|Jhelum]], [[Tawi River|Tawi]] || [[Himachal Pradesh]], [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]]
|-
| 13 || [[Kaveri River|Kaveri]] || [[File:Cauvery at Erode.JPG|100px]] || 805 || [[Western Ghats]] || [[Bay of Bengal]] || [[Amaravati River|Amaravati]], [[Hemavati River|Hemavati]], [[Bhavani River|Bhavani]], [[Noyyal River|Noyyal]] || [[Karnataka]], [[Tamil Nadu]]
|-
| 14 || [[Son River|Son]] || [[File:Son_River,_Umaria_district,_MP,_India.jpg|100px]] || 784 || [[Vindhya Range|Vindhya]] and [[Satpura Range|Satpura]] || [[Ganges]] || [[Gopad River|Gopad]], [[Rihand River|Rihand]], [[Kanhar River|Kanhar]] ||[[Chhattisgarh]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Jharkhand]], [[Bihar]]
|-
| 15 || [[Jhelum River|Jhelum]] || [[File:Srinagar_(Kashmir),_1969,_bridge_over_the_Jelhum_river..jpg|100px]] || 729 || rowspan="3"|[[Himalayas]] || rowspan="2"|[[Chenab River|Chenab]] || [[Poonch River|Poonch]], [[Lidder River|Lidder]], [[Neelum River|Neelum]] || [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]]
|-
| 16 || [[Ravi River|Ravi]] || [[File:Ravi_River.jpg|100px]] || 720 || ||[[Himachal Pradesh]], [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]]
|-
| 17 || [[Kosi River|Kosi]] || [[File:Kosi River, Jim Corbett National Park, Ramnagar, Uttarakhand.jpeg|100px]] || 720 || [[Ganges]] || [[Sun Kosi]], [[Arun River, Tibet-Nepal|Arun]], [[Tamur River|Tamur]] || [[Uttarakhand]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Bihar]]
|}

== See also ==
*[[Indian Rivers Inter-link]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{Geography of India}}
{{India Rivers}}

[[Category:Lists of rivers of India| Major rivers]]

List of major rivers of India - Revision history

XMXHosea83962264 at 03:21, 11 January 2026