1. Physiography, Rivers and Dams of India
India's relief has five main parts: the Himalayas, the Northern Plains, the Peninsular Plateau, the coastal plains and the islands. Exams focus on mountain passes, river sources and tributaries, and which dam is on which river.
Mountains, passes and hills
- The Aravallis in Rajasthan are the oldest fold mountains of India. Their highest point is Guru Shikhar (Mount Abu).
- The Vindhya and Satpura ranges lie north and south of the Narmada valley. Dhupgarh in the Satpuras is the highest point of Madhya Pradesh.
- Purvanchal hills of the north-east include the Patkai, Naga, Mizo (Lushai) and Garo-Khasi-Jaintia hills.
- Important passes: Zoji La (Srinagar-Leh), Shipki La (Himachal-Tibet), Nathu La (Sikkim-Tibet), Bomdi La (Arunachal), Lipulekh (Uttarakhand, Kailash route).
- The Palghat (Palakkad) Gap breaks the Western Ghats between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The west coast is called Konkan and Malabar; the east coast is Coromandel and Northern Circars.
Himalayan rivers
- The Ganga is formed at Devprayag where the Bhagirathi (from the Gangotri glacier at Gaumukh) meets the Alaknanda. The Yamuna rises at Yamunotri and joins the Ganga at Prayagraj.
- Left-bank tributaries of the Ganga: Ramganga, Gomti, Ghaghara, Gandak, Kosi. Right-bank: Yamuna and Son. The Chambal, Betwa and Ken flow into the Yamuna.
- The Kosi is called the 'Sorrow of Bihar' for its floods; the Damodar was called the 'Sorrow of Bengal'.
- The Brahmaputra rises near Lake Mansarovar in Tibet (called Tsangpo there), enters India in Arunachal Pradesh as the Siang (Dihang) and forms Majuli, a large river island, in Assam.
- The Indus rises in Tibet near Mansarovar. Its five Punjab tributaries are the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. India put the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan 'in abeyance' in April 2025.
Peninsular rivers and lakes
- Godavari: the longest peninsular river ('Dakshin Ganga'), rises at Trimbakeshwar near Nashik. Krishna rises near Mahabaleshwar. Mahanadi rises near Sihawa in Chhattisgarh.
- Narmada rises at Amarkantak (Madhya Pradesh) and Tapi near Multai (Betul); both flow west into the Arabian Sea.
- The Luni of Rajasthan has no outlet to the sea; it ends in the Rann of Kutch.
- Lakes: Wular (largest freshwater, J&K), Dal (Srinagar), Loktak (Manipur, with floating 'phumdis'), Sambhar (largest inland salt lake, Rajasthan), Chilika (Odisha), Pulicat (AP-Tamil Nadu), Vembanad (Kerala).
Major dams and projects
- Bhakra Nangal on the Sutlej (Himachal Pradesh-Punjab), reservoir Gobind Sagar. Tehri on the Bhagirathi (Uttarakhand), India's highest dam.
- Hirakud on the Mahanadi (Odisha), the longest. Sardar Sarovar on the Narmada (Gujarat). Indira Sagar on the Narmada (Madhya Pradesh).
- Nagarjuna Sagar on the Krishna (Telangana-Andhra Pradesh). Polavaram on the Godavari (Andhra Pradesh). Mettur on the Kaveri (Tamil Nadu). Idukki arch dam on the Periyar (Kerala).
- Damodar Valley Corporation (1948) was independent India's first multipurpose river valley project. Farakka Barrage on the Ganga is in West Bengal.
- The Ken-Betwa link (Madhya Pradesh-Uttar Pradesh) is the first project under the National Perspective Plan for river interlinking; its foundation stone was laid in December 2024.
Quick facts
- Oldest fold mountains
- Aravalli
- Ganga formed at
- Devprayag
- Godavari source
- Trimbakeshwar
- Narmada source
- Amarkantak
- Sorrow of Bihar
- Kosi
- Brahmaputra in Tibet
- Tsangpo
- Floating lake
- Loktak
- Largest salt lake
- Sambhar
- Bhakra Nangal
- Sutlej
- Hirakud
- Mahanadi
- Nagarjuna Sagar
- Krishna
- Indus Waters Treaty
- 1960, in abeyance since Apr 2025
💡 For dam questions, first fix the river, then the state: Sutlej-Bhakra (HP/Punjab), Mahanadi-Hirakud (Odisha), Narmada-Sardar Sarovar (Gujarat), Krishna-Nagarjuna Sagar, Kaveri-Mettur.
📝 5-question quiz on this lesson: enrol free to take it and track your score.
