Drainage System of Bihar, List of Rivers, Lakes, Waterfalls

Drainage System of Bihar

Drainage systems, commonly referred to as river systems in geomorphology, are the patterns created by the streams, rivers, and lakes in a specific drainage basin. A drainage system is governed by the topography of the land, which is dominated by hard as well as soft rocks.

Bihar is situated in the central portion of the Indo-Gangetic plain. The portion lying on the northern side of the left bank of the Ganga is known as north Bihar and that lying on the southern side as south Bihar. Under the existing drainage system in Bihar, mainly rivers, lakes, wetlands, waterfalls and various hot water bodies are included. Under this drainage system, irrigation is done in the entire state through canals and tube wells, ponds and wells extracted from various rivers. Check the Drainage System of Bihar overview in the table below:

Drainage System and Rivers of Bihar

Bihar has an area of 3.82 lakh hectares of water, which is 4.1 per cent of the total geographical area of the state. The base of the drainage system of Bihar is the river Ganges. The Ganges and its tributaries have played an important role in developing the topographical features of Bihar. On the basis of the origin of the rivers, the rivers of Bihar can be divided into two categories-

Rivers of North Bihar

The rivers of North Bihar originate from the mountain ranges of the Himalayas. These include Ghaghra, Gandak, Budhi Gandak, Bagmati, Kosi and Mahananda etc.

Rivers of South Bihar

The rivers of south Bihar originate from varied sources. These include Son, Karmnasha, Punpun, Ajay, Kiul, Falgu,

Drainage System: 14 Drainage Basins of Bihar

As per the “Second Bihar State Irrigation Commission 1994” report, the rivers of Bihar have been divided into 14 basins such as:

The Ganga flowing from west to east in this state is the main drainage channel with seven major rivers/basins namely Ghaghra, Gandak, Burhi-Gandak, Kamla Balan, Bagmati, Kosi and Mahananda on its north and six namely Karmnasa, Sone, Punpun, Kiul-Harohar, Badua and Chandan on its south.

All the rivers excluding Burhi-Gandak joining Ganga on its left bank in Bihar originate from the Himalayas, flow through a considerable length in Nepal and a large part of their catchment falls in the glacial regions of the great Himalayas. These rivers are snow-fed and hence perennial.

About 80% to 90% of the annual rainfall occurs in monsoon months on account of the southwest monsoon. As a result, the entire northern region of this state is affected by flooding almost every year due to excessive rainfall in their catchment. The average annual rainfall in Bihar is 1205 mm with significant variations in its areal distribution.

Drainage System of Bihar Map

Check the Drainage System of Bihar Map for a better understanding of Bihar’s drainage system:

List of Rivers in Bihar 

The List of Rivers of Bihar has been mentioned in the table provided below with their tributaries, flood-prone area etc:

List of Lakes in Bihar

In the northern plains of Bihar, many natural visarpa lakes have been formed as a result of the discharge of rivers like Ganga, Budhi Gandak, Kosi and Mahananda, because due to the gentle slope in the plains, the velocity of the rivers becomes very slow, as a result of which the rivers unable to transport the sediments carried by them. These lakes are also known by the names of Taal, Chaur or Man etc. in the local language. A Lakes of Bihar has been mentioned below with their location:

List of Waterfalls in Bihar

The List of major Waterfall in Bihar has been provided in the table below:

List of Hot Springs in Bihar

Most of the hot springs in Bihar are located in Rajgir and Munger districts. Apart from this, hot springs are also found in Gaya and Nalanda districts. Generally, they are related to dead volcanic activities or radioactive minerals located in the ground. Sulphur, minerals and salts etc. are found in sufficient quantity in the water coming out of hot water bodies. Hot water bodies are mainly found in igneous and metamorphic rocks. The temperature of their water is about 70°C, which remains almost the same throughout the year. Check the List of Hot Springs of Bihar below:

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