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IndianDrainagesystemFeatures&Patterns
HimalayanDrainagevsPeninsularDrainage
HimalayanDrainage

Antecedentdrainagei.e.HimalayanriversareolderthanlesserHimalayasandShiwaliks
Himalayanriversareolderthanthestructurestheycutacross
PerennialflowingRiverfedbyrainandmeltingglaciers
Geologicallyyoungwithlongcourseofflow
Flowthroughlosealluvialsoilsofnorthernplains
Formdeepvalleyandgorgesduetointensiveerosion
Generatelargequantitiesofsediment&causeannualflooding&formDeltas
Natureofrivercourseisquietchanging,meandering,formingoxbowlakes&highwaterfalls
Havedeeperbasinsandlargecatchmentareas

PeninsularDrainage

Superimposeddrainagei.e.regionalstructuresareolderthantherivervalleysthatcutthroughthem.
Natureofflowisseasonali.e.majorlyduringsouthwestmonsoon
Geologicallyolderwithshortercourseofflow
FlowthroughhardgraniticsoilsofpeninsularIndia
Shallowgradedvalleyswithlittleerosion.
Formsshallowvalleys,smallwaterfalls,deltasandestuaries

WestFlowingRiversvsEastFlowingRiversofPeninsularIndia
WestFlowingRivers

FlowintoArabiansea
Flowthroughriftvalleyinstraightlinearcourse
Donothaveextensivenetworkoftributaries
Geologicallyyoung
Generallyformestuariesandnotdeltas
Theirvalleyfloorsaremuchabovethesealevel
Flowswiftlyintothesea

EastFlowingRivers

FlowintobayofBengal
Haveextensivenetworkoftributaries
Geologicallyold
Havelargecatchmentareasandformdeltas
Theirvalleyfloorsareatsealevel
Flowsluggishlyintothesea

Watershed
Geographicareathroughwhichwaterflowsacrossthelandanddrainsintoacommonbodyofwater,whetherastream,river,lake,orocean
Watershedboundarywillmoreorlessfollowthehighestridgelinearoundthestreamchannelsandmeetatthebottomorlowestpointofthelandwherewaterflowsoutofthewatershed,themouth
ofthewaterway

Drainagebasin
Alsoknownascatchmentbasin
Anareaoflandwheresurfacewaterfromrain,meltingsnow,oriceconvergestoasinglepointatalowerelevation
Usuallyconversesattheexitofthebasin,wherethewatersjoinanotherwaterbodyviz.river,lake,reservoir,estuary,wetland,orsea

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Henceitisanareadrainedbytributarystreamsthatcoalesceintoamainchannel

WatershedDivide
Theline,whichdividesthesurfacerunoffbetweentwoadjacentriverbasins,iscalledthetopographicwaterdivide,orthewatersheddivide.
Itmarksthehighestpointsbetweenthebasins,butisolatedpeakswithinabasinmayreachhigherelevationsthananypointonthedivide.

StreamorFlowingRiverPatterns
Thecombinedeffectsofclimateandgeologyonthecatchmenttopographyyieldanerosionpattern,whichischaracterizedbyanetworkofstreams.
Someofthefrequentlyobservedstreampatternsareasfollows

DendriticRiverPattern
Riverchannelfollowstheslopeoftheterrain
Homogeneousbedsofuniformresistancetoerosion
Streamsruninalldirectionswithoutdefinitepreferencetoanyoneparticularregion
ExampleIndoGangeticPlains

RectangularRiverPattern
Regionsthathaveundergonefaulting
Provideuniformresistancetoerosion
StreamsMeetatrightangleapprox.
Developsonstronglyjoinedrockyterrain
ExampleVindhyaMountainsofIndia

TrellisRiverPattern
Riverjoinedbytributariesatapprox.rightangle
Developsinfoldedtopographyalternatelayersofhard&softrocks
Longerstreamshavepreferencetoonedirection
Tributarieshavepreferencetorightangletothemainstream
ExampleAppalachianMountainsofNorthAmerica&Singhbhum(ChotanagpurPlateau)

RadialRiverPattern
Streamsflowindifferentdirectionsfromcentralpeak
Outflowingrivers,awayfromacentralpoint,analogouswiththespokesofawheel
GenerallyreferredtoriversflowingthroughdomeMountainsandvolcanoes
ExampleRiversNarmada,SonandMahanadioriginatingfromAmarkantakHillsGirnar
Hills(Kathiwar,Gujarat),andMikirHillsofAssam

PinnateRiverPattern
Mainstreamrunsinonedirection
Tributariesjoinitatobliqueangle

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ParallelRiverPattern
Mainstreamrunsinonedirection
Tributariesalsojoinitrunninginthesamedirection

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1Comment
SwapnilSanapMarch7,2016,7:01pm

Reply

Quiteimpressive!!

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