Drainage

Q50. Where do the rivers Indus and Ganga have their origin?

Ans. The headwaters of the Ganga, called the ‘Bhagirathi’ is fed by the Gangotri Glacier and joined by the Alaknanda at Devaprayag in Uttarakhand. At Haridwar the Ganga emerges from the mountains on to the plains.

The Indus flows through Baltistan and Gilgit and emerges from the mountains at Attock.

Q51. Mention the course of river Mahanadi.
Or
What is the length of the river Mahanadi?

Ans. Mahanadi

                        i.        The Mahanadi rises in the highlands of Chhattisgarh. It flows through Odisha to reach the Bay of Bengal.

                       ii.        The length of the river is about 860 km.

                      iii.        Its drainage basin is shared by Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Odisha.

Q52. The Narmada basin creates many picturesque locations. Name two of them.
Or
Name any two picturesque locations formed by Narmada basin.
Or
Name the peninsular river that creates picturesque locations.
Or
Where does Narmada originate? Name any picturesque locations formed by it.

Ans. The Narmada rises in the Amarkantak hills in Madhya Pradesh. It flows towards the west in a rift valley formed due to faulting. On its way to the sea, the Narmada creates many picturesque locations. The ‘Marble rocks’, near Jabalpur where the Narmada flows through a deep gorge, and the ‘Dhuadhar falls’ where the river plunges over steep rocks, are some of the notable ones.

Q53. From where does the river Ganga originate and which tributaries join it?

Ans. The headwaters of the Ganga, called the ‘Bhagirathi’ is fed by the Gangotri Glacier and joined by the Alaknanda at Devaprayag in Uttarakhand. At Haridwar the Ganga emerges from the mountains on to the plains. The Ganga is joined by many tributaries from the Himalayas, a few of them being major rivers such as the Yamuna, the Ghaghara, the Gandak and the Kosi.

Q54. What are the major sources of river pollution?
Or
In what different ways river do get polluted?

Ans. The growing domestic, municipal, industrial and agricultural demand for water from rivers naturally affects the quality of water. As a result, more and more water is being drained out of the rivers reducing their volume. On the other hand, a heavy load of untreated sewage and industrial effluents are emptied into the rivers. This affects not only the quality of water but also the self-cleansing capacity of the river.

Q55. Write a short note on Krishna basin.

Ans. Krishna Basin

                         i.        Rising from a spring near Mahabaleshwar, the Krishna flows for about 1400 km and reaches the Bay of Bengal.

                        ii.        The Tungabhadra, the Koyana, the Ghatprabha, the Musi and the Bhima are some of its tributaries.

                       iii.        Its drainage basin is shared by Maharasthra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

Q56. Write a short note on Sundarban Delta.
Or
What is Sundarban Delta? Why is it so called?

Ans. Sundarban Delta

                        i.        The delta formed by Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers is known as the Sunderban delta.

                       ii.        The Sundarban Delta derived its name from the Sundari tree which grows well in marshland.

                      iii.        It is the world’s largest and fastest growing delta.

                      iv.        It is also the home of Royal Bengal tiger.

Q57. Describe three main features of Narmada basin.

Ans. Main features of Narmada basin are:

                          i.        The Narmada rises in the Amarkantak hills in Madhya Pradesh. It flows towards the west in a rift valley formed due to faulting.

                         ii.        On its way to the sea, the Narmada creates many picturesque locations like the ‘Marble rocks’ and the ‘Dhuadhar falls’.

                        iii.        All the tributaries of the Narmada are very short and most of these join the main stream at right angles.

                        iv.        The Narmada basin covers parts of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

Q58. Give an account of Tapi Basin.

Ans. Tapi Basin

                           i.        The Tapi rises in the Satpura ranges, in the Betul district of Madhya Pradesh.

                          ii.        It also flows in a rift valley parallel to the Narmada but it is much shorter in length.

                         iii.        Its basin covers parts of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

                         iv.        The coastal plains between Western Ghats and the Arabian sea are very narrow. Hence, the coastal rivers are short.

                         v.        The main west flowing rivers are Sabarmati, Mahi, Bharathpuzha and Periyar.