Question

Which is the longest river of the peninsular plateau?

Answer 1

Hint:The Rivers originating from the peninsular plateau are named as peninsular rivers and these rivers receive water from rainfall in the region. Hence, they are also known as non – perennial or seasonal rivers. These rivers are mainly found in the southern part of India.

Complete answer:
Rivers are like lifeline for a country and the living beings residing there as it fulfil the demand for the most valuable thing required for survival, i.e. water. The main rivers India can be classified as –
Himalayan rivers – those which originate from the Himalayan ranges and are snow – fed, i.e. they receive water from the melting ice/ glaciers in the mountains and the rain and are perennial in nature. The main Himalayan Rivers are – Ganga, the Indus and the Brahmaputra.
Peninsular rivers – these rivers originate either from the peninsular plateaus or small hills of India and are seasonal in reason as they are fed by rainwater. Compared to the Himalayan Rivers these rivers are shorter, have smaller basins and catchment areas. Some of the famous peninsular rivers are – Kaveri, Godavari, Mahanadi, Tapi & Narmada etc.
Now the peninsular rivers cover around 34% of the country’s total area, the area coverage percentage and length of the peninsular rivers are as follows –
a. Godavari – length – 1465km and percentage of total area covered of the country is – 9.50%.
b. Krishna – length – 1401 and percentage of area covered is – 7.90%.
c. Mahanadi – length – 851 km and percentage of area covered is – 4.30%.
d. Narmada – length – 1312 km and percentage of are covered is – 3.00%.
e. Tapi – length – 724 km and percentage of area covers is – 2.00%.
Other remaining peninsular rivers have lesser area coverage and length as compared to the above mentioned. Now, as per the facts and explanation given we can see that the longest peninsular river is – the Godavari.

Note:1. The peninsular rivers are considered as old rivers as they have reached maturity in comparison to the Himalayan Rivers which are running in their youth stage.
2. Some of the peninsular rivers form estuaries and others form delta. Examples are – Narmada & Tapi, and Mahanadi & Godavari respectively.
3. These rivers are also known as consequent rivers as they flow in the direction of the slope.