Indian Physiography: Ganga River System

River System of India (Ganga River System)

Prime Watershed of River Origin in India	Himalayas and Karakoram ranges Vindhya, Satpura ranges and Chota Nagpur Plateau Western Ghats
River categories on the basis of their origin	Himalayan Rivers Deccan Rivers Coastal Rivers Rivers of the inland Drainage basin
Top 5 largest rivers of India	Ganga > Godavari > Krishna > Yamuna > Brahmaputra

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Ganga River System

Ganga Tributaries	Yamuna, Gomti, Ghaghara, Gandak, Kosi, Son, Tons & Punpun
Ghaghara Tributaries	Sarda & Rakti
Kosi Tributaries	Arun, Tamur & Sun Koshi
Yamuna Tributaries	Chambal, Sind, Betwa & Ken
Chambal Tributaries	Kali Sindh, Parvati & Banas

River Ganga

• Origin → As Bhagirathi from Gangotri Glacier (Uttarkashi – Uttarakhand)
• Alakananda unites with Bhagirathi at Devprayag, Uttarakhand → Henceforth known as Ganga
• Passing through Rishikesh, it debounches in plains of Haridwar
• From Haridwar, it flows Southward to reach Allahabad where it joins Yamuna
• Near Rajmahal Hills, it turns southeast & bifurcate at Farraka into Hoogly (Kolkata) & Padma (BD)

• At Bangladesh, Ganga merges with Brahmputra (Known as Jamuna in Bangladesh) at Goalundo Ghats
• Mixture is known as Padma River 

• Then it merges with Meghna & finally falls in Bay of Bengal

• Meghna → Known as Barack river in India 

• Major tributaries → Yamuna, Gomti, Ghaghara, Gandak, Kosi, Son, Tons & Punpun

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Major Tributaries of Ganga River System

Ghaghara	Origin → Bharchachungar Glacier (Rakas lake) near Mansarovar Joins Ganga at Chhapra Known as Manchu or Karnali in Nepal Known as Saryu or Ghaghra in UP Perennial river Major tributaries → Sarda & Rakti
Gandak	Origin → Sino – Nepal Boundary (Dhaulagiri range) Known as Kalyani in Nepal Major River of Nepal Joins Ganga at Sonpur, Bihar
Kosi	Origin → Gosainath peak (Tibet) Merges with river Ganga at Bhagalpur (Bihar) Consists of 7 streams & known as Saptakoshi in Nepal Main stream → Arun, Tamur & Sun Koshi Formerly Known as Sorrow of Bihar Major Projects → Kusha Dam
Son	Origin → Amarkantak Plateau (Near north of origin of Narmada) Flows through Kaimur Range to meet Ganga at Patna
Gomti	Originates from Gomat Taal / Fulhaar jheel – Pilibhit A tributary of Ganga
Yamuna	Origin → Yamunotri Glacier (Uttarkashi – Uttarakhand) Largest Tributary of Ganga After cutting deep gorge across Shivalik, it enters into plains near Tajewala Flows southward up to Agra & then turns southeast to meet Ganga at Allahabad Famous tributaries → Chambal, Sind, Betwa & Ken
Betwa	Major Tributaries → Tributary of Yamuna, rises from Vindhya range, MP Major Projects       → Matatila dam & Rajghat dam
Ken	Rises from Kaimur hills in Satna (Madhya Pradesh), a tributary of Yamuna Famous for its Shajar stone &  Raneh waterfalls
Chambal	Origin → Vindhya Range (Mhow, MP) Passes through Kota & Dhaulpur (Rajasthan) Merge with Yamuna at Etawah (UP) forms boundary between Rajasthan & MP Major tributaries       → Kali Sindh, Parvati & Banas Main Power Projects → Gandhisagar, Rana Pratap Sagar & Jawahar Sagar
Banas	Originate from eastern slopes of Aravali Tributary of Chambal
Damodar	Origin → Eastern part of Chhota Nagpur Plateu Meets Hoogli at Falta Power Projects → Talaiya, Maithan, Barakar & Panchet