Drainage Systems

Drainage systems, often known as River Systems, are the patterns generated by streams, rivers, and lakes within a drainage basin in geomorphology. They are influenced by the land’s topography, whether an area is dominated by hard or soft rocks and the land’s gradient.

Table of Contents

Drainage System
Drainage Pattern
Types
The Himalayan Rivers
Conclusion

What exactly is the Drainage System?

The term drainage refers to a region’s river system. A drainage basin is an area drained by a single river system.
A closer look at a map reveals that any elevated feature, such as a mountain or upland, divides two drainage basins. A water divide is a type of upland.
River basins are the catchments of great rivers, whereas watersheds are the catchments of minor rivulets and rills.
However, there is a distinction to be made between a river basin and a watershed.
The Indian drainage system may be classified into several categories.
It may be divided into two groups based on the discharge of water (orientations to the sea):
- the Arabian Sea drainage
- the Bay of Bengal drainage.
Apart from their origins in India’s two primary physiographic areas, the Himalayan and Peninsular rivers differ in a variety of ways.
The majority of Himalayan rivers are perennial. It implies they have access to water all year.
These rivers are fed by rain as well as melting snow from the high mountains.
Since their flow is dependent on rainfall, a vast number of Peninsular rivers are seasonal.
Even the largest rivers have restricted the flow of water in their courses during the dry season.

Drainage Pattern

A drainage pattern is a system of surface water flow developed over time by stream erosion that exhibits characteristics of the types of rocks and geologic formations prevalent in a stream-drained landscape region.
The pattern generated by stream erosion over time reveals elements of the many types of rocks and geologic formations found in a stream-drained landscape region.
The drainage pattern is governed by the topography of the land, the gradient, and whether a particular site is dominated by hard or soft rocks.
Drainage patterns are classified according to their shape and texture. Their shape or pattern changes as a function of the local topography and geology.

Types

Types of Drainage pattern

Dendritic Drainage Pattern

It is the most common kind and has a branching structure similar to tree roots.
The dendritic pattern forms as the river channel follow the terrain’s slope.
The pattern appears in regions where the rock underneath the stream has no discernible structure and may be eroded in all directions equally easily.
At sharp angles (less than 90°), tributaries join bigger streams.
For example, the rivers of the northern plains, such as the Indus, Ganga, and the Brahmaputra.

Dendritic drainage pattern

Parallel drainage pattern

It grows in areas with parallel, elongated landforms and a steep slope to the surface.
Following the slope of the surface, tributary streams tend to expand out in a parallel-like pattern.
E.g. Godavari, Kaveri, Krishna, and Tungabhadra rivers originate in the Western Ghats.

Parallel Drainage Pattern

Rectangular Drainage Pattern

The rectangular drainage pattern is prevalent in faulted areas.
It grows in a tightly packed rocky ground.
Streams choose the path of least resistance and hence congregate in areas with the weakest exposed rock.
The tributary streams curve sharply and enter the mainstream at steep angles.
E.g. Chambal, Betwa, and Ken are three streams located in the Vindhya mountain range.

Rectangular drainage pattern

Trellis Drainage Pattern

Trellis drainage forms in folded terrain when hard and soft rocks run parallel to one other.
The primary course of the stream is located in valleys formed by down-turned folds known as synclines.
When principal tributaries of major rivers flow parallel to one other and secondary streams join them at right angles, this pattern is generated.
For example, the rivers of the Himalayan region’s upper reaches, such as the Indus, Ganga, and the Brahmaputra.

Trellis Drainage pattern

Radial Drainage Pattern

Radial drainage patterns form around a central high point and are typical in conically shaped objects such as volcanoes.
The drainage pattern is called ‘radial’ when rivers begin on a hill and flow in all directions.
For example, the rivers that flow from the Amarkantak range, such as the Narmada and Son (a tributary of Ganga).

Radial Drainage pattern

Centripetal Drainage Pattern

As streams travel toward a central depression, it is the polar opposite of the radial.
During the wetter seasons, these streams nourish ephemeral lakes, which evaporate during the dry seasons.
Salt flats can form in these dry lake beds when salt dissolved in lake water precipitates out of solution and is left behind after the water evaporates.
For example, in Manipur, there is Loktak Lake.

Centripetal Drainage pattern

The Himalayan Rivers

The Indus, Ganga, and the Brahmaputra are the three great Himalayan rivers. These rivers are lengthy, with several big and significant tributaries.
A river system is made up of a river and its tributaries.
This system’s rivers are supplied by both snowmelt and precipitation, making them perpetual.
They generate depositional features such as flat valleys, oxbow lakes, flood plains, braided channels, and deltas near the river mouth when they enter the plains.

Himalayan Drainage system

*To read more about this topic, click this link Himalayan Drainage system

Indus River system

It is one of the world’s major river basins.
It is also known as the Sindhu and is India’s westernmost Himalayan river.
It flows from a glacier at Bokhar Chu in the Kailash Mountain range in Tibet.
It is known as ‘Singi Khamban,‘ or Lion’s mouth, in Tibet.
In India, the Indus exclusively runs through the Leh district of the Union Territory of Ladakh.
Sutlej, Ravi, Jhelum, Chenab, and Beas are all significant tributaries.

*To read more about this topic, click this link Indus River System

The Ganga System

It originates in the Gangotri glacier at Gaumukh (3,900 m) in Uttarakhand and is known as Bhagirathi.
The Bhagirathi meets the Alaknanda at Devprayag, where it becomes the Ganga.
At Haridwar, the Ganga reaches the Northern Plains.
The Ganga River runs through Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal.
The main right bank tributary is Son, while the major left bank tributaries are Ramganga, Gomati, Ghaghara, Gandak, Kosi, and Mahananda.
The Yamuna is the Ganga’s westernmost and longest tributary, with its headwaters in the Yamunotri glacier.
The Ganga River empties into the Bay of Bengal at Sagar Island.

*To read more about this topic, click this link The Ganga System

The Brahmaputra System

It is one of the world’s biggest rivers, with its source in the Chemayungdung glacier (Kailash range) near Mansarovar Lake.
It is known as the Tsangpo in southern Tibet, which means “the cleanser.”
The river is known as Siang or Dihang as it emerges from the Himalayan foothills.
It enters India west of the town of Sadiya in Arunachal Pradesh.
Dibang or Sikang, Lohit, Burhi Dihing, and Dhansari are its primary left bank tributaries.
The Subansiri, Kameng, Manas, and Sankosh rivers are important right-bank tributaries.
In Bangladesh, it joins the Padma River, which flows into the Bay of Bengal.

*To read more about this topic, click this link The Brahmaputra System

The Peninsular Drainage System

The peninsular rivers are distinguished by their stable course, lack of meanders, and nonperennial water flow.
The drainage system predates the Himalayan drainage system.
The Western Ghats, which run parallel to the western coast, serves as a water divide between the major Peninsular rivers, which discharge their water into the Bay of Bengal, and smaller rivulets that enter the Arabian Sea.
Except for the Narmada and Tapi, most of the Peninsular rivers run from west to east.
The Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri are the Peninsular drainage’s other main river systems.
Peninsular rivers are distinguished by their stable channel, lack of meanders, and nonperennial water flow. However, the Narmada and Tapi rivers, which run across the rift valley, are outliers.

*To read more about this topic, click this link The Peninsular Drainage System

Peninsular Drainage system

Conclusion

A drainage pattern may be characterized in terms of the shadows cast by topographical features from which a stream gets runoff, through flow, and groundwater flow, which can be divided by geographical boundaries known as a watershed. The drainage system is influenced by the topography of the land, whether an area is dominated by hard or soft rocks, and the gradient of the terrain. As may be seen on a map, any elevated feature, such as a mountain or upland, divides two drainage basins. A water divide is a type of upland.