List of rivers of Kerala explained

There are 44 major rivers in Kerala, all but three originating in the Western Ghats. 41 of them flow westward and 3 eastward. The rivers of Kerala are small, in terms of length, breadth and water discharge. The rivers flow faster, owing to the hilly terrain and as the short distance between the Western Ghats and the sea. All the rivers are entirely monsoon-fed and many of them shrink into rivulets or dry up completely during summer.

Features

Kerala is wedged between the Lakshadweep Sea and the Western Ghats. Geographically, the state can be divided into three climatically distinct regions: the eastern highlands; rugged and cool mountainous terrain, the central mid-lands; rolling hills, and the western lowlands; coastal plains.[1] The eastern region of Kerala consists of high mountains, gorges and deep-cut valleys immediately west of the Western Ghats' rain shadow.[1] 41 of Kerala's west-flowing rivers,[2] and 3 of its east-flowing ones originate in this region.[3] [4] The 41 west-flowing rivers, each of which having at least a length of 15 km, gradually slopes towards the Arabian Sea coast in the western region and empty either into backwaters or Arabian Sea there. The longer rivers have several tributaries and streams too. The Western Ghats form a wall of mountains interrupted only near Palakkad; hence also known Palghat, where the Palakkad Gap breaks.[5] The river Bharathappuzha flows through the Palakkad Gap. The 3 east-flowing rivers also originate in Western Ghats, but flow eastwards either into Karnataka or Tamil Nadu.

Kerala's western coastal belt is relatively flat compared to the eastern region, and is criss-crossed by a network of interconnected brackish canals, lakes, estuaries,[6] and rivers known as the Kerala Backwaters.[7] Kuttanad, also known as The Rice Bowl of Kerala, has the lowest altitude in India, and is also one of the few places in world where cultivation takes place below sea level.[8] [9] The country's longest lake Vembanad, dominates the backwaters; it lies between Alappuzha and Kochi and is about 200km2 in area.[10] Around eight percent of India's waterways are found in Kerala.[11] Kerala's 44 rivers include the Periyar; 244km (152miles), Bharathapuzha; 209km (130miles), Pamba; 176km (109miles), Chaliyar; 169km (105miles), Kadalundipuzha; 130km (80miles), Chalakudipuzha; 130km (80miles), Valapattanam; 129km (80miles) and the Achankovil River; 128km (80miles). The average length of the rivers is 64km (40miles). Many of the rivers are small and entirely fed by monsoon rain.[12] As Kerala's rivers are small and lacking in delta, they are more prone to environmental effects. The rivers face problems such as sand mining and pollution.[13]

West flowing rivers

This is a list of the westward-flowing rivers of Kerala state in southern India, in order of length, and their tributaries. These rivers all originate in the Western Ghats range and flow westward into the Kerala Backwaters or into the Arabian Sea. Length in kilometers is in parentheses. Kasaragod district have the maximum number of west-flowing rivers in Kerala - 12.

  1. Periyar River (244)
    1. Edamala River
    2. Cheruthoni River
    3. Mullayar River
    4. Muthirapuzha River
    5. Perinjankutti River
    6. Ambazhachal River
    7. Kaniyampuzha River
    8. Muttar River
    9. Panniyar
  2. Bharatapuzha River (209)
        1. Thuthapuzha River Kanjirappuzha
    2. Gayathripuzha River
    3. Kalpathipuzha River
      1. Kannadipuzha River Pamba River (176)
    4. Azhuthayar
    5. Kakkiyar
    6. Kakkattar
    7. Kallar
    8. Perunthenaruvi
    9. Madatharuvi
    10. Thanungattilthodu
    11. Kozhithodu
    12. Varattar
    13. Utharappalli River
    14. Kuttemperoor
  3. Chaliyar River (169)
    1. Cherupuzha (Mavoor)
    2. Iruvanjippuzha
    3. Thottumukkam River
    4. Kuthirappuzha
    5. Kuruvanpuzha
    6. Karimpuzha
    7. Pandippuzha
    8. Neerppuzha
  4. Chalakudy River (145)
    1. Parambikulam River
  5. Kadalundy River (130)
  6. Achankoil River (128)
    1. Utharappalli River
  7. Kallada River (121)
  8. Muvattupuzha River (121)
    1. Thodupuzha River
    2. Kothayar River
    3. Kaliyar River
    4. Kariyar River
    5. Thevalakkadu River
    6. Uzhavoor River
  9. Valapattanam River (110)
    1. Bavali River
    2. Pulloopi River
    3. Payyavoor River
    4. Mundayapuzha River
    5. Veni River
    6. Aralam River
  10. Chandragiri River (105)
    1. Kudumbur River
  11. Manimala River (90)
  12. Vamanapuram River (88)
  13. Kuppam River (88)
    1. Kuttikol River
  14. Meenachil River (78)
    1. Meenachal River
    2. Kodoor River
    3. Karapuzha River
    4. Pulinackal River
    5. Moorkankavu River
  15. Kuttiyadi River (74)
  16. Karamana River (68)
  17. Shiriya River (68)
  18. Kariangode River (64)
    1. Chaithravahini River
  19. Ithikkara River (56)
  20. Neyyar River (56)
  21. Mahe River (54)
    1. Mundathode River
  22. Keecheri River (51)
  23. Perumba River (51)
    1. Vayalapra River
  24. Uppala River (50)
  25. Karuvannur River (48)
    1. Kurumali River
    2. Manali River
  26. Anjarakandy River (48)
  27. Tirur River (48)
  28. Neeleshwaram River (46)
  29. Pallikkal River (42)
  30. Kallayi River (40)
  31. Korapuzha River (40)
  32. Mogral River (34)
  33. Kavvayi River (31)
    1. Kankol
    2. Vannathichal
    3. Kuppithodu
    4. Kuniyan
  34. Thanikkudam River (29)
  35. Thalassery River (28)
    1. Ummanchira River
  36. Mamam river (27)
  37. Chithari River (25)
  38. Ramapuram River (19)
  39. Ayiroor River (17)
  40. Manjeswaram River (16)

East flowing rivers

There are three rivers rise in Kerala and flow eastwards, Kabini into Karnataka and the other two into Tamil Nadu. All the three rivers ultimately join the Kaveri river.

  1. Kabani (57)
  2. Bhavani (38)
  3. Pambar (25)

See also

Notes

Notes and References

  1. Book: Srikumar Chattopadhyay . Richard W. Franke . Striving for Sustainability: Environmental Stress and Democratic Initiatives in Kerala . 19 March 2019 . 2006 . 978-8180692949.
  2. Book: S. N. Sadasivan . River Disputes in India: Kerala Rivers Under Siege . 18 November 2012 . 2003 . Mittal Publications . 978-8170999133 . 223.
  3. Book: Pratiyogita Darpan . Pratiyogita Darpan . 18 November 2012 . September 2006 . Pratiyogita Darpan . 72.
  4. Book: Motilal (UK) Books of India . Tourist Guide Kerala . 18 November 2012 . 2008 . Sura Books . 978-8174781642 . 11.
  5. Web site: Chandran Nair . Dr.S.Sathis . India – Silent Valley Rainforest Under Threat Once More . rainforestinfo.org.au . 12 November 2015.
  6. Book: Danny Moss . Public Relations Cases: International Perspectives . 18 November 2012 . 2010 . Taylor & Francis . 978-0415773362 . 41.
  7. Book: Edgar Thorpe . The Pearson CSAT Manual 2012 . 18 November 2012 . 2012 . Pearson Education India . 978-8131767344 . 3.
  8. News: Kerala Boat Ferries Lone Passenger To Help Her Take Exam. Press Trust of India. 1 June 2020. 17 November 2020. NDTV.
  9. Web site: Thirst below sea level. Suchitra. M. 2003-08-13. The Hindu. 2020-11-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20190922101804/https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sundaymagazine/thirst-below-sea-level/article28523147.ece . 2019-09-22.
  10. Book: Majid Husain . Majid Husain . Understanding: Geographical: Map Entries: for Civil Services Examinations: Second Edition . 18 November 2012 . Tata McGraw-Hill Education . 978-0070702882 . 9 . 2011.
  11. Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI—Ministry of Shipping) . 2005 . Introduction to Inland Water Transport . IWAI (Ministry of Shipping) . https://archive.today/20050204175110/http://iwai.nic.in/Introduction.html . dead . 4 February 2005 . 19 January 2006.
  12. Book: India., Planning Commission . Kerala Development Report . 2008 . Academic Foundation . 978-8171885947 . 224 .
  13. Padmalal D, Maya K, Sreebha S & Sreeja R, (2007), "Environmental effects of river sand mining: a case from the river catchments of Vembanad lake, Southwest coast of India", Environmental Geology 54(4), 879–89. springerlink.com. Retrieved 17 July 2009.

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