The Himalayan Drainage

The Himalayan drainage system comprises all the international rivers of India, i.e, the Indus, the Ganga, and the Brahmaputra. Most of these rivers and their major tributaries are perennial in character, obtaining their water from the glaciers and rains. These rivers are in their youthful stage carving out a number of erosional landforms like waterfalls, cataracts, rapids, gorges, steep slopes, and river terraces. The Himalayan rivers are not only eroding agents, but are also depositing agents in the plains and deltas. The great Himalayan rivers (Indus, Satluj, Ganga, Kali, Karnali, Gandak, Kosi, Tista and Brahmaputra) are older than the Greater Himalayas. They are antecedent, and drain not only the southern slopes of the Himalayas but to a large extent, the northern Tibetan slopes as well. The Himalayan courses of these rivers are highly tortuous, but in plains they display a strong meandering tendency and shift their courses frequently. The river regimes, although perennial, exhibit wide seasonal fluctuations; causing devastating floods during rainy season but shrinking to the bottom of the valley with a number of shoals during the dry season. These rivers continue to cause intensive erosion and transport heavy loads of sand and silt annually. Several of the Himalayan rivers are older to the Himalayas. Such rivers are known as the antecedent rivers. The Himalayan rivers have great socio-economic and cultural importance in the life of the Indian people. The water of the Himalayan rivers is utilised for irrigation, industries, hydel-power generation, navigation and domestic purposes. Moreover, the big rivers are navigable in the plain areas of their courses.