THE DRAINAGE SYSTEM OF INDIA

DRAINAGE SYSTEM:

• The drainage system refers to system of rivers and its tributaries that belongs to the particular area. These rivers flow and divid then again join each other to make a big stream of water and finally drains into a big water body. These large water body may be anything like a big lake or a sea or an ocean. 
• The area drained by the single river system is called as the Drainage Basin.
• The separation between two Drainage Basins refers to the Water Divide.
• The World's largest drainage basin is of the Amazon River.

DRAINAGE SYSTEM OF INDIA: 

Indian Drainage system is divided into two broad groups :

1. The Himalayan Rivers
2. The Peninsular Rivers

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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RIVER SYSTEMS:

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The Himalayan river system and The Peninsular River system are different from each other in many ways :

• Most of the Himalayan rivers are perennial(Himalayan rivers get water throughout the year.), while a large number of Peninsular rivers are seasonal.
• Himalayan Rivers have two major water sources, that is, rain and melted snow water from lofty mountains., while Peninsular rivers flow is dependent on rainfall. During the Dry season, the large number of Peninsular rivers also get affected in their flow.
• The Peninsular Rivers have shorter and shallower courses as compared to their Himalayan counterparts. However some of them originates from the central highlands and flow towards west. These two rivers are Narmada and Tapti.
• Most of the Rivers of Peninsular India originate in the Western Ghats and flow towards the Bay of Bengal.

1. HIMALAYAN RIVERS:

The Himalayan Rivers are separated in three major river systems:

1. The Indus river system
2. The Ganga river system 
3. The Brahmaputra river system

*RIVER SYSTEM: A river with its tributaries is known as a river system.

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  1.THE INDUS RIVER SYSTEM:

• Near Mansarovar lake, in Tibet, the Indus river originates.
• Flowing to the west, it enters in Indian from Ladakh district of J&K state. Indus river forms a picturesque gorge in this part.
• Several  tributaries, the Zaskar, the Nubra, the Shyok and the Hunza, join it in the Kashmir region.
• The indus flows through Baltistan and Gilgit and emerges from the mountains at Attock. 
• The satluj, the Beas, the Ravi , the Chenab and the jhelum join together to enter the Indus near Mithankot in Pakistan.
• Beyond this, the Indus flows southwards eventually reaching the Arabian sea, east of Karachi.
• The Indus plain has a very gentle slope. with a total length of 2900 km, the Indus is one of the longest rivers of the world.
• A little over the third of Indus basin is located in India in the state of jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and the Punjab and the rest is in Pakistan.

***According to the Regulations of the Indus water Treaty which was done in 1960, India can use only 20 % of total water carried by Indus river system. This water is used for irrigation in the Punjab, Haryana and the southern and western part of Rajasthan.

  2.THE GANGA RIVER SYSTEM:

• The headwater of the Ganga called the Bhagirathi is fed by the Gangotri glacier and joined by the Alaknanda at Devprayag in Uttarakhand.
• At Haridwar the ganga emerges from the mountains on to the plains.
• The Ganga is joined by many tributaries from the Himalayas, a few of them being major rivers such as the Yamuna, the Ghaghara, the Gandak and the Kosi. 
• The Yamuna river rises from the Yamunotri Glacier in the Himalayas.It flows parallel to the Ganga and as a right Bank Tributary, meets the Ganga at Allahabad.
• The Ghaghara, the Gandak and the kosi rise in the Nepal Himalaya. They are the rivers, which flood parts of the northern plains every year, causing widespread damage to life and property but enriching the soil for the extensive agricultural lands.
• The main tributaries, which come from the peninsular uplands, are the Chambal , the Betwa and the Son. These rise from semi arid areas, have shorter courses and do not carry much water in them.

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LIST OF INDIAN PASSES

IN STATE JAMMU AND KASHMIR:

1. KARAKORAM PASS *more
2. ZOJILA PASS *more
3. PIR PANJAL PASS
4. BARAMULA PASS
5. BURZIL PASS
6. BANIHAL PASS SEE LOCATION
7. KHUNJERAB PASS 
8. AGHIL PASS 
9. YANGI PASS
10. HAJI LANGAR PASS
11. JARA LA PASS
12. CHANGLA PASS(LEH AND CHANGTHANG) 
13. DEHRA PASS(@LADAKH)
14. FOTU PASS(@LADAKH)
15. KHARDUNGLA PASS
16. KONGKA PASS (LADAKH AND AKSAI CHIN)
17. LANAK PASS ( LADAKH AND TIBET)
18. MARSIMIK PASS(@LADAKH)
19. NAMIKA LA PASS(@LADAKH)
20. PENSI LA PASS(@LADAKH)
21. REZANG LA PASS(@LADAKH)
22. SASSER PASS (@LADAKH)(NUBRA AND SIACHEN GLACIER)
23. SIA LA PASS(@SIACHEN GLACIER)
24. SHINGO LA PASS(@LADAKH)
25. SPANGUR LA PASS (@LADAKH)
26. GYONG LA PASS(@SIACHEN GLACIER)
27. BILAFOND LA PASS(@SIACHEN GLACIER)
28. TANGLANG LA PASS(@LADAKH)

IN HIMACHAL PRADESH:

1. SHIPKI LA PASS
2. ROHTANG PASS
3. BARALACHA PASS
4. DEBSA PASS
5. CHANSHAL PASS
6. INDRAHAR PASS

IN SIKKIM :

1. NATHULA PASS
2. JELEPLA PASS
3. GOECHA LA PASS
4. SONGKHLA PASS

IN UTTARAKHAND:

1. THAGA LA PASS 
2. MANA PASS
3. NITI PASS
4. LIPULEKH PASS
5. SIN LA PASS
6. TRAILL'S PASS
7. NAMA PASS (@NANDA DEVI BIOSPHERE RESERVE OF INDIA)
8. AUDEN'S COL

IN ARUNACHAL PRADESH:

1. YANG YAP PASS
2. DIFU PASS
3. DUMULA PASS
4. SELA PASS

IN MADHYA PRADESH 

1. ASIR GARH

IN RAJASTHAN :

1. HALDIGHATI PASS

IN KERALA:

1. SENGOTTAI PASS(TRAVANCORE AND TAMIL NADU )
2. PALAKKAD GAP(KERALA AND TAMIL NADU)

THE ISLANDS OF INDIAN UNION

THE ISLANDS OF INDIAN UNION:

As we have seen in the other pages of this blog ,India is having a vast geographical land. Besides this the country has the two group of islands :

1. The Lakshadweep Islands
2. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands 

1. THE LAKSHADWEEP ISLANDS:(Total number of islands =43)

• The Lakshadweep Islands group lies near the Malabar coast of Kerala. This group of islands is composed of small coral islands.
• Earlier they were Known as Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi. In 1973 these were named as the Lakshadweeps.
• It covers small area of 32 sq. km.
• Kavaratti Island is the administrative headquarters of Lakshadweep.
• This island group has great diversity of flora and fauna.
• The Pitti Island, which is uninhabited has a bird sanctuary.

2. THE ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS: (Total number of islands =204)

• These are the elongated chain of islands located in the Bay of Bengal extending from North to South. These are Andaman and Nicobar islands.
• They are more numerous and scattered. total number of islands are 204.
• Total Area is 7950 square km.
• As of 2012 the population was 380500. 
• One of the seven union territories of India, are a group of islands at the juncture of the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea.
• The territory is 150 km (93 mi) north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated from Thailand and Myanmar (Burma) by the Andaman Sea.

• The entire group of islands is divided into two broad categories : ( separated by the 10°N parallel)

1. The Andaman in the north 
2. Nicobar in the south. 

• The territory's capital is the Andamanese town of Port Blair.
• The capital of Nicobar Islands is Car Nicobar. 
• The islands host the Andaman and Nicobar Command, the only tri-service geographical command of the Indian Armed Forces.
• The Andaman Islands are home to the only known Paleolithic people, the Sentinelese people, who have no contact with any other people.

NOTE : 

• India's only active volcano is founded in the Barren island of the Andaman and nicobar group of islands.
• Duncan Passage is a strait in the Indian Ocean. It is about 48 km (30 mi) wide; it separates Rutland Island (part of Great Andaman)and Little Andaman. West of Duncan Passage is the Bay of Bengal; east is the Andaman Sea.
• Several small islands and islets lie along the passage. North to south, they are:

1. North Cinque Island
2. South Cinque Island
3. Passage Island
4. The Sisters
5. North Brother Island
6. South Brother Island

• Manners Strait is the branch of Duncan Passage that lies between North Cinque Island and Rutland Island.

Flora:

Map of Andaman and Nicobar Islands with an extra detailed area around Port Blair.

• The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have a tropical rainforest canopy, made of a mixed flora with elements from Indian, Myanmar, Malaysian and endemic floral strains. So far, about 2,200 varieties of plants have been recorded, out of which 200 are endemic and 1,300 do not occur in mainland India.
• The South Andaman forests have a profuse growth of epiphytic vegetation, mostly ferns and orchids. The Middle Andamans harbours mostly moist deciduous forests. North Andamans is characterized by the wet evergreen type, with plenty of woody climbers. 
• The North Nicobar Islands (including Car Nicobar and Batti Malv) are marked by the complete absence of evergreen forests, while such forests form the dominant vegetation in the central and southern islands of the Nicobar group. Grasslands occur only in the Nicobars, and while deciduous forests are common in the Andamans, they are almost absent in the Nicobars. The present forest coverage is claimed to be 86.2% of the total land area.
• This atypical forest coverage is made up of twelve types, namely:

1. Giant evergreen forest
2. Andamans tropical evergreen forest
3. Southern hilltop tropical evergreen forest
4. Cane brakes
5. Wet bamboo brakes
6. Andamans semi-evergreen forest
7. Andamans moist deciduous forest
8. Andamans secondary moist deciduous forest
9. Littoral forest
10. Mangrove forest
11. Brackish water mixed forest
12. Submontane forest

Fauna:

Rose island andaman

• This tropical rain forest, despite its isolation from adjacent land masses, is surprisingly rich with a diversity of animal life.
• About 50 varieties of forest mammals are found to occur in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 
• Some are endemic, including the Andaman Wild Boar. Rodents are the largest group with 26 species, followed by 14 species of bat. 
• Among the larger mammals there are two endemic varieties of wild boar, Sus scrofa andamanensis from Andaman and Sus scrofa nicobaricus  from Nicobar, which are protected by the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 (Sch I).
• Saltwater crocodile is also found in abundance. The State animal of andaman is the dugong, also known as the sea cow, which can be found in Little Andaman. Around 1962 there was an attempt to introduce the leopard, which was unsuccessful because of unsuitable habitat. These were ill-considered moves as exotic introductions can cause havoc to island flora and fauna.
• About 270 species of birds are found in the territory; 14 of them are endemic, the majority to the Nicobar island group. The islands' many caves are nesting grounds for the Edible-nest Swiftlets, whose nests are prized in China for bird's nest soup.
• The territory is home to about 225 species of butterflies and moths, including some of the larger and most spectacular of the world. Ten species are endemic to these Islands. Mount Harriet National Park is one of the richest areas of butterfly and moth diversity on these Islands.
• The islands are well known for prized shellfish, especially from the genera Turbo, Trochus, Murex and Nautilus. Earliest recorded commercial exploitation began during 1929. Many cottage industries produce a range of decorative shell items. Giant clams, green mussels and oysters support edible shellfishery. The shells of scallops,clams, and cockle are burnt in kilns to produce edible lime.

There are 96 wildlife sanctuaries, 9 National Parks and 1 Biosphere Reserve in these islands. 

THE INDIAN COASTAL PLAINS

THE COASTAL PLAINS OF INDIA:

The Peninsular plateau is flanked by stretch of narrow coastal strips, running along the Arabian sea on the west and the Bay of Bengal on the east. There are two coast can be seen across the western and eastern regions of India:

1.THE WESTERN COAST OF INDIA:

• The Western Coastal Plains is a thin strip of coastal plain 50 kilometres (31 mi) in width between the west coast of India and the Western Ghats hills, which starts near the south of river Tapi.
• The Western Coast, sandwiched between Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, is a narrow plain. 
• The plains begin at Gujarat in the north and end at Kerala in the south. It also includes the states of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka.
• It consists of three sections: 

1. The northern part of the coast is called the Konkan(Mumbai-Goa),
2. The central stretch is called the Kannad Plain 
3. The southern stretch is referred to as the Malabar Coast.

• On its northern side there are two gulfs: the Gulf of Khambhat and the Gulf of Kachchh.The rivers here end up forming estuaries and therefore it is ideal for pisciculture.

2.THE EASTERN COAST OF INDIA:

• The plain along the Bay of Bengal are wide and level.
• In the Northern part,it is referred to northern Circar between Mahanadi and Krishna rivers and Coromandel Coast in the southern part between Krishna and Kaveri rivers. 
• The Southern part is known as the Coromandel Coast. Large rivers such as the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri have formed extensive Delta on this coast. 
• Lake Chilka is an important feature along the Eastern Coast.
• The Chilka lake is the largest saltwater lake in India. It lies in the state of Orissa, to the south of The Mahanadi River.
• The region receives both the Northeast & Southwest monsoon rains with its annual rainfall averaging between 1,000 mm CIRCAR(40 in) and 3,000 mm (120 in). The width of the plains varies between 100 to 130 km (62 to 80 miles).

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THE GREAT INDIAN DESERT

THE GREAT INDIAN DESERT AND ITS EXTENSION

• The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is a large, arid region in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent that forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan.  
• It is the world's 17th largest desert, and the world's 9th largest subtropical desert.
•  About 85% of the Thar Desert is in India, and the remaining part in Pakistan. 
• In India, it covers about 320,000 km² (120,000 sq mi), of which 60% is in Rajasthan and extends into Gujarat, Punjab, and Haryana. 

• This desert comprises a very dry part, the Marusthali region in the west, and a semi desert region in the east with fewer sand dunes and slightly more precipitation.
• The indian desert lies towards the western margins of the Aravali Hills.
•  Its is an undulating sandy plain covered with sand dunes.
•  This region receives very low rainfall below 150mm per year. It has arid climate with low vegetation cover. Streams appear during the rainy season. Soon after they disappear into the sand as they do not have enough water to reach the sea. 

• Luni is the only large river in this region.

• Barchans ( crescent shaped dunes) cover larger area but longitudinal dunes become more prominent near the Indo- Pakistan boundary. If you visit Jaisalmer , you may go to sea a group of barchans. 

GO BACK TO THE INDIAN GEOGRAPHICAL ZONE
SEE THE INDIAN PENINSULAR PLATEAU AND ITS EXTENSION 
TAKE A LOOK OF GREAT HIMALAYA

THE PENINSULAR PLATEAU

  PROPERTIES OF PENINSULAR PLATEAU: 

• The Peninsular Plateau is a tableland composed of the old crystalline, igneous and metamorphic rocks.
• It was formed due to the breaking and drifting of Gondwanaland and thus making it a part of the oldest landmass.
• The plateau has broad and shallow valleys and rounded hills.

DIVISIONS OF PENINSULAR PLATEAU:

The Peninsular plateau can be divided into two major parts :

1. Central Highlands 
2. Deccan Plateau

1.CENTRAL HIGHLANDS:

•  The part of the Peninsular Plateau lying to the North of Narmada river covering a major area of the Malwa Plateau is known as Central Highlands. 
• Vindhya range is bounded by the central highlands on the South and the Arawali Ranges on the Northwest.
• The further westward extension gradually merges with the sandy and rocky desert of Rajasthan.The flow of the rivers draining this region, namely the Chambal, the Sind , the Betwa and Ken is from Southwest to the Northeast, thus indicating the slope.
• The Central Highlands are wider in the west but narrower in the east. The eastward extension of this plateau are locally know as the Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand.
• The Chhotanagpur plateau marks the further eastward extension, drained by the Damodar river.

2.DECCAN PLATEAUS:

• The Deccan Plateau is a triangular landmass that lies to the south of the river Narmada.
• The Satpura Range flanks its broad base in the north while the Mahadev, the Kaimur hills ans the Maikai Range form its eastern extensions.
•  Locate these hills and ranges in the physical map of india. The deccan plateau is the higher in the west and slopes gently eastwards. An extension of the plateau is also visible in the northeast locally known as the Meghalaya, Karbi-Anglong Plateau and North cachar Hills. 
• It is separated by  a fault from the Chhotanagpur plateau. 
• Three prominent hill ranges from the west to east are the Garo, the Khasi and the Jaintia Hills. 
• The western and the eastern ghats mark the western and the eastern edges of the deccan plateau respectively.
• Western ghats lie parallel to the western coast.They are continuous and can be crossed through passes only.
• Locate the Thal, Bhor and Pal Ghats in the Physical map of India.
• The Western Ghats are higher than the Eastern Ghats. Their average elevation is 900-1600 meters as against 600 meters of the eastern Ghats.
• The eastern ghats stretch from the Mahanadi Valley to the Nigiris in the south. 
• The Eastern Ghats are discontinuous and irregular and dissected by rivers draining into the bay of bengal.
•  The Western Ghats cause orographic rain by facing the rain bearing moist winds to rise along the slopes of the Ghats.
•  The western ghats are known by different local names. 
• The highest peaks include the Anai Mudi(2,695 meters)and Doda Betta (2,637 meters).
•  Mahendragiri(1,501 meters) is the highest peak in the eastern ghats.
•  Shevroy Hills and the Javadi hills are located to the southeast of the eastern ghats. Locate the famous hill stations of Udhagamandalam, popularly known as Ooty and the Kodaikanal.
• One of the distinct features of the Peninsular plateau is the black soil area known as Deccan Trap. This is the volcanic origin hence the rocks have denuded over the time and are responsible for the formation of the black soil. The aravali hills lie on the western and northwestern margins of the peninsular plateau. These are highly eroded hills and are found as broken hills. They extend from Gujarat to Delhi in a southwest - northeast direction.

THE NORTHERN PLAINS OF INDIA

2. THE NORTHERN PLAINS :

Here green highlighted portion shows the northern plain expansion over India 

The Northern Plains have been formed by the interplay of the three major river systems. these are the names :

1. Indus river
2. Ganga river 
3. Brahmaputra river

• Northern plain is formed of alluvial soil. The deposition of alluvial soil in a vast basin lying at the foothills of himalaya over millions of years formed this fertile plain.
• Northern Plain area is about 7 lakh square km.
• Northern Plain has length of 2400 km and breadth of 240 km to 320 km.
• It is densely populated division of physiographic divisions of India.
• Best for the agriculture due to the fertile land of river.
• Riverine islands are formed due to the velocity decrease of river water in the lower course. *Majuli, in Brahmaputra river is the largest inhabited riverine islands in the world.

NORTHERN PLAIN DIVISIONS:

The Northern Plain can be divided into three types of plains :

1. Punjab Plain :The Western part of the Northern plain is known as the Punjab plain. The plain is formed by the deposition of alluvial soil drained by the Indus and its tributaries, such as, the Sutlej, Beas and Ravi. Only a part of the Indus basin lies in India. The plain slopes gently down towards the south-west; hence the rivers follow the slope of the land. The plain is mostly made of silts. The soil is porous. The plain that is formed by the deposition of new alluvium near the river banks is called Bet.
   Large boulder, gravel, sand and clay cover the foot-hill regions of the Punjab plain and they are known as ‘Bhabar’ plain or bhabar soil. This soil cannot hold water. The new alluvium deposited near the river banks of these rivers forms a plain called Bet.
2. The Ganga Plain : The ganga plain extends between Ghaggar and Teesta rivers. It is spread over the states of North India, Haryana, Delhi, U.P., Bihar, partly Jharkhand and West Bengal.
3. Brahmaputra Plain : It lies in the north-eastern part of the country and is hemmed between the Arunachal Himalayas on the north and the Meghalaya Plateau on the south.The valley presents a flat plain. It is formed by the debris brought down by river Brahmaputra and its innumerable tributaries. The plain seldom rises above 100 meters above the sea-level and slopes gently towards the west. Ranges of hills are found standing on both sides of the river.Innumerable Sandbars and islets are found on the Brahmaputra and the river flows out in different channels avoiding obstacles of sandbar. Majuli Island is by far the largest sandbar ever formed on any other river bed in the world. The green Brahmaputra valley is noted for tea plantation.

*Note: 

• Literally PUNJAB is made up of two words PUNJ meaning FIVE and AB means WATER. SO the punjab is the land which is situated on the land merging five rivers. 
•  DOAB can also be seen similarly situated on the land merging two rivers (here, DO= TWO). 

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FURTHER DIVISION OF NORTHERN PLAINS:

According to the variations in Northern Plains, relief features,  can be divided into four parts :

1. BHABAR: The rivers, after descending from the mountains deposit pebbles in a narrow belt of about 8 to 16 km in width lying parallel to the slopes of the Shiwaliks. It is known as bhabar.
2. TERAI : South of the belt, the streams and rivers re-emerge and create a wet ,swampy and marshy region known as terai. This was a thickly forested region full of wildlife. The forests have been cleared to create agricultural land and a settle migrants from pakistan after partition. Locate dudhwa national park in this region.
3. BHANGAR :The largest part of the northern plain is formed of older alluvium. They lie above the flood plains of the and present terrace like feature. This part is known as bhangar.
4. KHADAR : The soil in this region contains calcareous deposits locally known as kankar. The newer younger deposits of the flood plains are called khadar. They are renewed almost every year and so are fertile , thus ideal for intensive agriculture.

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