India is famous as the land of rivers as numerous rivers are flowing across the country. India is the land of rivers and these mighty water bodies play a huge role in the economic development of the country. The rivers in India have been divided into two namely Himalayan Rivers (rivers that originate from the Himalayas) and Peninsular Rivers ( rivers that originate in the Peninsula ). Himalayan Rivers are perennial while Peninsular Rivers are rain-fed. Here, in this article, we will talk about the top 10 rivers in India.
1. Brahmaputra River
Brahmaputra River, Bengali Jamuna, Tibetan Tsangpo, Chinese (Pinyin) Yarlung Zangbo Jiang or (Wade-Giles romanization) Ya-lu-Tsang-PU Chiang, major river of Central and South Asia. It flows some 1,800 miles (2,900 km) from its source in the Himalayas to its confluence with the Ganges (Ganga) River, after which the mingled waters of the two rivers empty into the Bay of Bengal.
2. Indus River
Indus River, Tibetan and Sanskrit Sindhu, Sindhi Sindhu or Mehran, the great trans-Himalayan river of South Asia. It is one of the longest rivers in the world, with a length of some 2,000 miles (3,200 km). Its total drainage area is about 450,000 square miles (1,165,000 square km), of which 175,000 square miles (453,000 square km) lie in the ranges and foothills of the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush, and the Karakoram Range; the rest is in the semiarid plains of Pakistan. The river’s annual flow is about 58 cubic miles (243 cubic km)—twice that of the Nile River and three times that of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers combined. The river’s conventional name derives from the Tibetan and Sanskrit name Sindhu. The earliest chronicles and hymns of the Indo-European-speaking peoples of ancient India, the Rigveda, composed about 1500 BCE, mention the river, which is the source of the country’s name.
3. The Ganges
The Ganges or Ganga is a transboundary river of Asia that flows through India and Bangladesh. The 2,525 km river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal.
4. Godavari River
The Godavari is India's second-longest river after the Ganga and third largest in India, drains about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Triambakeshwar, Maharashtra. It flows east for 1,465 kilometers, draining the states of Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha.
5. Sutlej
The Sutlej River, alternatively spelled as Satluj River, is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as Satadree.
Length: 1,450 km
Discharge: 500 m³/s
Basin area: 66,317 km²
Source: Mount Kailash
Mouths: Chenab River, Arabian Sea, Panjang
Cities: Amritsar
Countries: India, Pakistan
6. Krishna River
The Krishna River is the fourth-biggest river in terms of water inflows and river basin area in India, after the Ganga, Godavari, and Brahmaputra. The river is almost 1,288 kilometers long. The river is also called Krishnaveni.
7. The Yamuna
The Yamuna is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganga and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of 6,387 meters on the southwestern slopes of...
Length: 1,376 km
Basin area: 366,223 km²
Mean depth: 3 m
Sources: Yamunotri, Champasar Glacier
Bridges: Old Naini Bridge
Cities: Yamuna Nagar, Prayagraj, Kalpi, Hamirpur, Agra, Mathura, Etawah, Noida, Firozabad, Baghpat
Mouths: Ganges, Triveni Sangam
8. Ghaghara
Ghaghara, also called Karnali is a perennial transboundary river originating on the Tibetan Plateau near Lake Manasarovar. It cuts through the Himalayas in Nepal and joins the Sharda River at Brahmaghat in India. Together they form the Ghaghara River, a major left-bank tributary of the Ganges.
Length: 1,080 km
Basin area: 127,950 km²
Source: Himalayas
Mouth: Ganges
Country: India
Bridges: Karnali Bridge, Elgin Bridge
Cities: Ayodhya, Bahraich, Barabanki, Faizabad, Deoria
9. Chambal River
The Chambal River is a tributary of the Yamuna River in central India, and thus forms part of the greater Gangetic drainage system.
Length: 1,024 km
Basin area: 143,219 km²
Source: Janapav
Mouth: Yamuna River
Country: India
Bridges: Chambal Hanging Bridge
Cities: Kota
10. Chenab River
The Chenab River is a major river that flows in India and Pakistan and is one of the 5 major rivers of the Punjab region. It is formed by the union of two headwaters, Chandra and Bhaga, which rise in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh state, India.
Length: 960 km
Flows through (areas in India): Lahaul-Chamba-Kishtwar-Thathri-Doda-Ramban-Akhnoor
Source: Baralacha La Pass
Bridges: Chenab Rail Bridge, Chiniot Bridge
Mouths: Sutlej River, Indus River, Panjang
Cities: Sialkot, Kot Mithan
Countries: India, Pakistan
Above information as per Google search only.
