Question

Which river has the second largest river basin in India?
A. Brahmaputra
B. Godavari
C. Indus
D. Narmada

Answer 1

Hint: The portion of land drained by a river and its tributaries is the river basin. It usually has few features to enter a lake, a sea, or even an ocean, such as a watershed, confluence, source, tributaries, and a mouth.

Complete step by step answer:
The Godavari, with its sources from Trimbakeshwar, Maharashtra, is the river that has the second largest river basin in India.
This river flows for 1,465 km to the east and drains Maharashtra, Telangana, Andra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha states via its vast network of tributaries, it gradually drained into the Bay of Bengal. This river collects all its water from an area of around 312812 sq km from a basin, Pravara, Manjra, Purna, Penganga, Wardha, Wainganga, Indravati and Kolab are major tributaries. For several centuries, the river has been revered in Hindu scriptures and continues to sustain and nourish a rich cultural heritage. The river has been barricaded by a number of barrages and dams over the past few decades, retaining a water head (depth) that reduces evaporation. The Godavari basin is bordered by the Satmala hills to the north, the Ajanta range and the Mahadeo hills to the south, the Eastern Ghats to the east, and the Western Ghats to the west. The entire drainage basin of the river comprises a rolling and undulating country, a series of ridges and valleys interspersed with low hill ranges, except for the hills forming the watershed around the basin.

So, the correct answer is Option B.

Note: In India, there are 20 river basins/drainage areas, big and small. While it is the second-largest river basin in India, the Godavari River is the first largest river basin in Peninsular India. This river comes from the Western Ghats of central India, 80 km from the Arabian Sea, near Nashik, Maharashtra.