List of rivers of Kerala

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There are 44 major rivers in Kerala, all but three originating in the Western Ghats, with 41 flowing westward and three eastward. The rivers of Kerala are small, in terms of length, breadth and water discharge. The rivers flow faster, owing to the hilly terrain and as the short distance between the Western Ghats and the sea. All the rivers are entirely monsoon-fed and half of them shrink into rivulets or dry up completely during summer but the major rivers flow perennial and plays an important role in the landscape of Kerala.

Features

File:Topography of Kerala.png
Topography of Kerala

Kerala is wedged between the Lakshadweep Sea and the Western Ghats. Geographically, the state can be divided into three climatically distinct regions: the eastern highlands; rugged and cool mountainous terrain, the central mid-lands; rolling hills, and the western lowlands; coastal plains.[1]Template:Rp The eastern region of Kerala consists of high mountains, gorges and deep-cut valleys immediately west of the Western Ghats' rain shadow.[1]Template:Rp Forty-one of Kerala's west-flowing rivers,[2] and three of its east-flowing ones originate in this region.[3][4] The 41 west-flowing rivers, each of which having at least a length of 15 km, gradually slopes towards the Arabian Sea coast in the western region and empty either into backwaters or Arabian Sea there.Template:Sfn The longer rivers have several tributaries and streams too.Template:Sfn The Western Ghats form a wall of mountains interrupted only near Palakkad; hence also known Palghat, where the Palakkad Gap breaks.[5] The river Bharathappuzha flows through the Palakkad Gap. The three east-flowing rivers also originate in Western Ghats, but flow eastwards either into Karnataka or Tamil Nadu.Template:Sfn

Kerala's western coastal belt is relatively flat compared to the eastern region, and is criss-crossed by a network of interconnected brackish canals, lakes, estuaries,[6] and rivers known as the Kerala Backwaters.[7] Kuttanad, also known as The Rice Bowl of Kerala, has the lowest altitude in India, and is also one of the few places in world where cultivation takes place below sea level.[8][9] The country's longest lake Vembanad, dominates the backwaters; it lies between Alappuzha and Kochi and is about Template:Convert in area.[10] Around eight percent of India's waterways are found in Kerala.[11] Kerala's 44 rivers include the Periyar; Template:Convert, Bharathapuzha; Template:Convert, Pamba; Template:Convert, Chaliyar; Template:Convert, Chalakudypuzha; Template:Convert, Kadalundipuzha; Template:Convert, Valapattanam; Template:Convert and the Achankovil River; Template:Convert. The average length of the rivers is Template:Convert. Many of the rivers are small and entirely fed by monsoon rain.[12] As Kerala's rivers are small and lacking in delta, they are more prone to environmental effects. The rivers face problems such as sand mining and pollution.[13]

File:Athirappilly Waterfalls after the Monsoons.jpg
The famous Athirapally Falls which sits on the Chalakudy River is an example for a river that transitions from the Mountainous Highlands to the Plainer Midlands via rapids and waterfalls

West flowing rivers

This is a list of the westward-flowing rivers of Kerala state in southern India, in order of length, and their tributaries. These rivers all originate in the Western Ghats range and flow westward into the Kerala Backwaters or into the Arabian Sea. Length in kilometers is in parentheses. Kasaragod district have the maximum number of west-flowing rivers in Kerala - 12.Template:Sfn Template:Multiple image

  1. Periyar River (244)
    1. Edamala River
    2. Cheruthoni River
    3. Mullayar River
    4. Muthirapuzha River
    5. Perinjankutti River
    6. Ambazhachal River
    7. Kaniyampuzha River
    8. Muttar River
    9. Panniyar
  2. Bharatapuzha River (209)
    1. Thuthapuzha River
    2. Kanjirappuzha
    3. Gayathripuzha River
    4. Kalpathipuzha River
    5. Kannadipuzha River
  3. Pamba River (176)
    1. Azhuthayar
    2. Kakkiyar
    3. Kakkattar
    4. Kallar
    5. Perunthenaruvi
    6. Madatharuvi
    7. Thanungattilthodu
    8. Kozhithodu
    9. Varattar
    10. Utharappalli River
    11. Kuttemperoor
  4. Chaliyar River (169)
    1. Cherupuzha (Mavoor)
    2. Iruvanjippuzha
    3. Thottumukkam River
    4. Kuthirappuzha
    5. Kuruvanpuzha
    6. Karimpuzha
    7. Pandippuzha
    8. Neerppuzha
  5. Chalakudy River (145)
    1. Parambikulam River
  6. Kadalundy River (130)
  7. Achankoil River (128)
    1. Utharappalli River
  8. Kallada River (121)
  9. Muvattupuzha River (121)
    1. Thodupuzha River
    2. Kothayar River
    3. Kaliyar River
    4. Kariyar River
    5. Thevalakkadu River
    6. Uzhavoor River
  10. Valapattanam River (110)
    1. Bavali River
    2. Pulloopi River
    3. Payyavoor River
    4. Mundayapuzha River
    5. Veni River
    6. Aralam River
  11. Chandragiri River (105)
    1. Kudumbur River
  12. Manimala River (90)
  13. Vamanapuram River (88)
  14. Kuppam River (88)
    1. Kuttikol River
  15. Meenachil River (78)
    1. Meenachal River
    2. Kodoor River
    3. Karapuzha River
    4. Pulinackal River
    5. Moorkankavu River
  16. Kuttiyadi River (74)
  17. Karamana River (68)
  18. Shiriya River (68)
  19. Kariangode River (64)
    1. Chaithravahini River
  20. Ithikkara River (56)
  21. Neyyar River (56)
  22. Mahe River (54)
    1. Mundathode River
  23. Keecheri River (51)
  24. Perumba River (51)
    1. Vayalapra River
  25. Uppala River (50)
  26. Karuvannur River (48)
    1. Kurumali River
    2. Manali River
  27. Anjarakandy River (48)
  28. Tirur River (48)
  29. Neeleshwaram River (46)
  30. Pallikkal River (42)
  31. Kallayi River (40)
  32. Korapuzha River (40)
  33. Mogral River (34)
  34. Kavvayi River (31)
    1. Kankol
    2. Vannathichal
    3. Kuppithodu
    4. Kuniyan
  35. Thanikkudam River (29)
  36. Thalassery River (28)
    1. Ummanchira River
  37. Mamam river (27)
  38. Chithari River (25)
  39. Ramapuram River (19)
  40. Ayiroor River (17)
  41. Manjeswaram River (16)

East flowing rivers

File:Westernghats river gobi.jpg
The east-flowing Bhavani River flows near Silent Valley National Park.

There are three rivers that rise in Kerala and flow eastwards, Kabani into Karnataka and the other two into Tamil Nadu. All the three rivers ultimately join the Kaveri river.

  1. Kabani (57)
  2. Bhavani (38)
  3. Pambar (25)

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Striving for Sustainability: Environmental Stress and Democratic Initiatives in Kerala{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Concept Publishing Company(2006). ISBN 978-8180692949
  2. ↑ River Disputes in India: Kerala Rivers Under Siege{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Mittal Publications(2003). ISBN 978-8170999133
  3. ↑ Pratiyogita Darpan{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Pratiyogita Darpan(September 2006)
  4. ↑ Tourist Guide Kerala{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Sura Books(2008). ISBN 978-8174781642
  5. ↑ India – Silent Valley Rainforest Under Threat Once More. rainforestinfo.org.au. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  6. ↑ Public Relations Cases: International Perspectives{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Taylor & Francis(2010). ISBN 978-0415773362
  7. ↑ The Pearson CSAT Manual 2012{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Pearson Education India(2012). ISBN 978-8131767344
  8. ↑ Kerala Boat Ferries Lone Passenger To Help Her Take Exam. NDTV(1 June 2020). Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  9. ↑ Thirst below sea level, Suchitra, M(2003-08-13). Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  10. ↑ Understanding: Geographical: Map Entries: for Civil Services Examinations: Second Edition{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Tata McGraw-Hill Education(2011). ISBN 978-0070702882
  11. ↑ Introduction to Inland Water Transport. IWAI (Ministry of Shipping)({Template:Year).
  12. ↑ Kerala Development Report{{#if:India.|, India.}. Academic Foundation(2008). ISBN 978-8171885947
  13. ↑ Padmalal D, Maya K, Sreebha S & Sreeja R, (2007), "Environmental effects of river sand mining: a case from the river catchments of Vembanad lake, Southwest coast of India", Environmental Geology 54(4), 879–89. springerlink.com. Retrieved 17 July 2009.

Notes

Template:Refbegin

  • Mathrubhumi Yearbook Plus - 2019{{#if:Chandran|, Chandran}. P. V. Chandran, Managing Editor, Mathrubhumi Printing & Publishing Company Limited, Kozhikode(2018)

Template:Refend

Template:Waters of Kerala Template:Kerala Template:Kerala topics

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