4.4.4. West Flowing Rivers

The Narmada originates on the western flank of the Amarkantak plateau at a height of about 1,057 m. Flowing in a rift valley between the Satpura in the south and the Vindhyan range in the north, it forms a picturesque gorge in marble rocks and Dhuandhar waterfall near Jabalpur. It meets the Arabian Sea south of Bharuch, forming a broad 27 km long estuary. Its length is 1312 km and catchment area of 98,796 sqkm. All the tributaries are very short and make trellis pattern. The Sardar Sarovar Project has been constructed on this river. Narmada has been joined with other Gujarat rivers to shift its water.

The Tapi is the other important westward flowing river. It originates from Multai in the Betul district of Madhya Pradesh and discharge in Surat district, Gujarat. It is 724 km long and drains an area of 65,145 sq. km. The Purna, Girna and Panjhra are its important tributaries.

Luni is the largest river system of Rajasthan, west of Aravali. It originates near Pushkar in two branches, i.e. the Saraswati and the Sabarmati, which join with each other at Govindgarh. It flows towards the west till Telwara and then takes a southwest direction to join the Rann of Kutch.

The Mahi river rises in the Satmala hills of the Vindhyan mountains. After flowing for 533km, it drains into the Gulf of Khambhat. The Sabarmati riverrises in the Aravalli hills and flows into Arabian Sea after flowing over a distance of 300km.

Small west flowing rivers are numerous which rises in the Western Ghats and have short runoff. The Shetruniji is one such river which rises near Dalkahwa in Amreli district. The Bhadra originates near Aniali village in Rajkot district. The Dhadhar rises near Ghantar village in Panchmahal district. The Vaitarna rises from the Trimbak hills in Nasik district at an elevation of 670 m. The Kalinadi rises from Belgaum district and falls in the Karwar Bay. The Sharavati is another important river in Karnataka flowing towards the west. The Sharavati originates in Shimoga district of Karnataka. Goa has two important rivers which can be mentioned here. One is Mandovi and the other is Juari. The longest river of Kerala, Bharathapuzha rises near Annamalai hills. It is also known as Ponnani. It drains an area of 5,397 sq. km. The Periyar is the second largest river of Kerala. Its catchment area is 5,243 sq. km.