Indian River System: Peninsular Rivers of India

The peninsular rivers fall into two categories, viz., the coastal rivers and the inland rivers. The former are comparatively small streams. The west-coast rivers are of great importance. Although only 3 percent of the areal extent of the basins of India is drained by these rivers, as much as 14 percent of the country’s water resources are contained by them.

1. Rivers rising from the Western Ghats: the Godavari, the Krishna, the Cauvery, the Pennar, the Palar, the Vaigai etc.
2. Rivers flowing into the Arabian Sea: The Narmada, the Tapi, the Sharavati etc.
3. Rivers originating in the Vindhyas and Satpura but flowing north-east towards Ganga: The Chambal, the Betwa, the Damodar, the Son, the Ken etc. The Narmada and the Tapi flow in the fault created by them during the Himalayan uplift.