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The Mahanadi is the most important river of Odisha as well as that of Chhattisgarh. This river rises in the Chhattisgarh basin, draining the western and eastern parts of Raipur. In the initial stage, it flows towards the north-east, and after receiving a number of streams such as Seonath and Sandur on both its flanks at heights between 200 m and 700 m, the combined water gets a natural exit towards the east through a gorge which has been impounded to create the Hirakud Dam. A little below the dam at Sambalpur, the river turns eastward and flows through the Eastern Ghats entering the Bay of Bengal through several distributaries in its delta. Cuttack city is located at the apex of the Mahanadi delta.