CHAPTER-3-DRAINAGE
THE DRAINAGE SYSTEM
an integrated system of tributaries and a bunk stream which collect and funnel surface water to
the sea, lake or some other body of water.
The total area that contributes water to a single drainage system is known as a drainage basin.
a basic spatial geomorphic unit of a river system, distinguished from a neighboring basin by
ridges and highlands that form divides. Thus, river basins are natural units of land. They are
regarded as the fundamental geomorphic as well as hydrological units for a systematic study of
the river basins, mainly due to the following three reasons:
(i) They can be placed in an orderly hierarchy,
(ii) They are areal units whose geomorphological and hydrological characteristics can be measured
quantitatively, and
(iii} They can be treated as working systems with energy inputs of climatological variables like
temperature and rainfall and output of river discharge as runoff.
The Committee on Runoff of the American Geophysical Union treats the micro-unit within a
river basin as the watershed, while the sum of all the micro, meso and macro tributaries of a river
is known as a river basin.
DRAINAGE PATTERN
A geometric arrangement of streams in a region; determined by slope, differing rock resistance to
weathering and erosion. climate, hydrologic variability, and structural controls of the landscape is
known as a drainage pattern.
In other words, drainage pattern refers to a design which a river and its tributaries form together,
from its source to its mouth.
The factors controlling the pattern of drainage in a region include the topography, slope,
structural control, nature of rocks, tectonic activities, supply of water, and above all, the
geological history of that region. In India, the following type of drainage patterns are found:
RIVER BASINS OF INDIA
The area drained by the main river including all its tributaries is known as its drainage basin.
On the basis of the area drained, the river basins of India have been classified into three
categories:
(i) river basins with catchment area of more than 20,000 sq km known as large river basins;
(ii) river basins having a catchment area between 2000 to 20,000 sq km known as the medium
basins, and (iii) the rivers having a catchment area less than 2000 sq km known as minor river
basins.
India has one hundred and thirteen river basins, of which 14 are large, 44 medium and 55 minor
river basins.
The major river basins of India in descending order of area are: the Ganga, Indus, Brahmaputra,
Godavari, Krishna, Luni, Mahanadi, Narmada, Kaveri, Tapi, Mahi, Sabarmati, Barak, and
Subarnarekha.
