Inland Fisheries

Major Rivers

Classification of major rivers

The rivers with a catchment area of 20000 km² and above are called major rivers. There are 14 such major rivers in India. The major rivers of India can be classified into Himalayan rivers and Peninsular rivers on the basis of origin. All major rivers of India originate from one of the three main watersheds.

1. The Himalaya and the Karakoram ranges
2. Vindhya and Satpura ranges and Chotanagpur Plateau in central India
3. Sahyadri or Western Ghats in western India

These major rivers are broadly grouped into five systems that include the followings.

1. The Ganga riverine system (Himalayan rivers)
2. The Brahmaputra riverine system (Himalayan rivers)
3. The Indus riverine system (Himalayan rivers)
4. The East coast riverine system (Peninsular rivers)
5. The West coast riverine system (Peninsular rivers)