Indian Rivers and Waterways

• The Ganges begins at the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers. The Bhagirathi is considered to be the source in Hindu culture and mythology, although the Alaknanda is longer. 
  
• The Bhāgīrathī is a turbulent Himalayan river in the Indian states of Uttarakhand, and one of the two headstreams of the Ganges, the major river of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism.
  
• In Hindu mythology and culture, the Bhagirathi is considered the source stream of the Ganges.
  

• The Yamuna Sanskrit and Hindi, sometimes called Jamuna is the longest and the second largest tributary river of the Ganges (Ganga) in northern India.
  
• Originating from the Yamunotri  Glacier at a height of 6,387 metres on the south western slopes of Banderpooch peaks in the uppermost region of the Loower Himalayas in Uttarakhand .
  
• it travels a total length of 1,376 kilometres (855 mi) and has a drainage system of 366,223 square kilometres (141,399 sq mi), 40.2% of the entire Ganges Basin.
  
•  It is the longest river in India which does not directly flow to the sea.
  

The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the Indus-Ganga Plain and the North Indian River Plain, is a 630-million-acre (2.5-million km2) fertile plain encompassing northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, including most of northern and eastern India, the eastern parts of Pakistan, virtually all of Bangladesh and southern plains of Nepal. 

The Beas Dam, also known as the Pong Dam, is located on the Beas River in the state of Himachal Pradesh, near the border with Punjab.

• Chambal and Luni are the two main rivers of Rajasthan.
  
•  Chambal is the only perennial river of the state, which enters Rajasthan at 
  
• Rajasthan at Chaurasigarh, after originating from the northern slopes of the Vindhya Range.
  
•  This river flows along the eastern border between Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
  
•  Fed by its tributaries, Chambal flows northwards across the state and meets the Yamuna River.
  

• Majuli has shrunk as the river surrounding it has grown. However it is recognised by Guinness Book of World Records as World's Largest River Island. 
  
• The island is formed by the Brahmaputra river in the south and the Kherkutia Xuti, an anabranch of the Brahmaputra, joined by the Subansiri River in the north.

• The Indus receives its most-notable tributaries from the eastern Punjab Plain.
  
•  These five rivers—the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej—give the name Punjab (“Five Rivers”) to the region divided between Pakistan and India. 
  
• The Ravi River is a river in Kashmir and Pakistan. 
  
•  It is also one of the major five rivers/tributaries of Indus.
  

• The River that flows through the Indian Desert is Luni. It's the only large river in this region. Streams appear during rainy Season.
  
•  Soon after they disappear into the sand, as they do not have enough water to reach the sea.
  
• The Luni is an endorheic river of western Rajasthan state, India.
  
• It originates in the Pushkar valley of the Aravalli Range, near Ajmer, passes through the southeastern portion of the Thar Desert, and ends in the marshy lands of Rann of Kutch Gujarat, after traveling a distance of 495 km.

The Northern Plain was formed by the deposits brought in by the three major river system Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra and their tributaries. Alluvium was deposited at the foot–hills of the Himalayas for millions of years. These deposits are now the fertile Northern Plains. Alluvium is soil or sediments deposited by a river or other running water.

• Below the Tista, the Brahmaputra splits into two distributary branches. 
  
• The western branch, which contains the majority of the river's flow, continues due south as the Jamuna (Jomuna) to merge with the lower Ganga, called the Padma River (Pôdda).
  
• It is the main distributary channel of the Brahmaputra River as it flows from India to Bangladesh. The Jamuna flows south and joins the Padma River (Pôdda), near Goalundo Ghat, before meeting the Meghna River near Chandpur. It then flows into the Bay of Bengal as the Meghna River.

The Ravi River is a transboundary river crossing northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. It is one of six rivers of the Indus System in Punjab region. The waters of Ravi are allocated to India under Indus Water Treaty.

The Northern Plain:

1.       Formed by the interplay of the three major river systems, namely– the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra along with their tributaries

2.       Composed of alluvial soil which has been deposited over millions of years, about 2400 km long and about 240 to 320 km broad.

3.       With a rich soil cover combined with adequate water supply and favourable climate it is agriculturally a very productive part of India

4.       Divided into three sections, viz. the Punjab Plain, the Ganga Plain and the Brahmaputra Plain.

The great plains of North are called Sutlej-Ganga plains. They are form the transitional belt between the peninsular India and Himalaya Region.

Southern edge of Ganga plain is marked by Chota Nagpur plateau. Chota Nagpur plateau is called as mineral heartland of India because the region is abundantly blessed with wide variety of minerals. Chota Nagpur plateau is located on the western side of India. It covers states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar and Chhattisgarh.   

The Brahmaputra basin spreads over countries of Tibet (China), Bhutan, India and Bangladesh having a total area of 5,80,000 Sq.km. In India, it spreads over states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Sikkim. The major rivers of bramhaputra basin are Tista River, Jaldhaka River, Manas River, Kopili River, Buridehing River, Dhansiri (S) River, Yamuna, Sankosh.