DRAINAGE SYSTEM




Flow of water through well-defined channels is known as drainageand the network of such channels is called a drainage system

Perennial (always with water)

Ephemeral (water during rainy season, and dry


A river drains the water collected from a specific area which is called its catchment area.

An area drained by a river and its tributaries is called drainage basin.

The boundary line separating one drainage basin from the other is known as the watershed.

The catchments of large rivers are called river basins (larger area) while those of small rivulets and rills are often referred to as watersheds(Smaller Area).

The drainage pattern resembling the branches of a tree is known as Dendritic Ex: the rivers of northern plain.

When the rivers originate from a hill and flow in all directions, the drainage pattern is known as Radial.Ex: Amarkantak range

When the primary tributaries of rivers flow parallel to each other and secondary tributaries join them at right angles, the pattern is known as Trellis.

When the rivers discharge their waters from all directions in a lake or depression, the pattern is know as Centripetal.


On the basis of discharge of water (orientations to the sea), it may be grouped into:

1. Arabian Sea Drainage.

2. Bay of Bengal Drainage.

They are separated from each other through the Delhi ridge, the Aravalis and the Sahyadris.

Nearly 77 per cent of the drainage area consisting of the Ganga, the Brahmaputra, the Mahanadi, the Krishna, etc. is oriented towards the Bay of Bengalwhile 23 per cent comprising the Indus, the Narmada, the Tapi, the Mahi and the Periyar systems discharge their waters in the Arabian Sea.

On the basis of the size of the watershed, the drainage basins of India are grouped into three categories:

(i) Major river basins with more than 20,000 sq. km

of catchment area. It includes 14 drainage basins such as the Ganga, the Brahmaputra, the Krishna, the Tapi, the Narmada, the Mahi, the Pennar, the Sabarmati, the Barak, etc.