Test: Drainage System - 1 - UPSC MCQ

The Damodar occupies the eastern margins of the Chotanagpur Plateau, where it flows through a rift valley and finally joins the Hugli. It was known as the ‘sorrow of Bengal’. Now, the river is controlled by the Damodar Valley corporation-a multipurpose project.

It rises near Sihawa in Raipur district of Chhattisgarh and runs through Orissa to discharge its water into Bay of Bengal.

In the plains of Arunachal Pradesh, River Brahmaputra is known as Dihang. The Brahmaputra is one of the major rivers of Asia, it is the ninth largest river in the world by discharge, and the 15th longest. The Brahmaputra enters India in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, where it is called Siang. It appears in the plains, where it is called Dihang.

When a waterfall retreats upstream, it erodes the rock at the base of a river valley creating a gorge.

It rises in the Gangotri glacier near Gaumukh (3,900 m) in the Uttarkashi district of Uttaranchal and is known as the Bhagirathi. At Devprayag, the Bhagirathi meets the Alaknanda; hereafter, it is known as the Ganga.

About 3 per cent of the Kaveri basin falls in Kerala, 41 per cent in Karnataka and 56 per cent in Tamil Nadu. Its important tributaries are Kabini, Bhavani and Amravati.

After a long period of time, a meander becomes much curved and eventually the neck of the meander will touch the opposite side and the river will cut through the neck, cutting off the meander to form the oxbow lake.

A ridge of high land dividing two areas that are drained by different river systems is called watershed. Ambala is a watershed for rivers Indus and Ganga.

The Indus river system comprises five tributaries; Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej.

Himalayas are the youngest mountains of India. Therefore, the rivers of this region are also the youngest rivers of India.