Indian Geography – Rivers of India (Ganges)

Indian Geography – Rivers of India (Ganges)

1) Indian rivers can be broadly classified in how many categories? – 2 categories A) Rivers belonging to the Himalayan system B) Rivers belonging to Indian Peninsula

2) Which are the major rivers belonging to the Himalayan system, which flow through India? – Ganges, Indus and Brahmaputra

3) Which is the largest river of India? – Ganges or Ganga, length in India is about 2,500 Km (Indus (3,200Km) and Brahmaputra (2,900Km) are much longer than Ganges but length of their flow in India is smaller when compared with Ganges’ length of flow in India)

4) What is the originating point of river Ganges? – Gomukh or Gaumukh in Uttarakhand

5) Ganges is known by which name after it originates from Gomukh? – Bhagirathi

6) Bhagirathi joins which river at Devprayag (Uttarakhand) to become Ganges? – Alaknanda (It can be said that Bhagirathi becomes Ganges at Devprayag after meeting Alaknanda)




7) Which are the main tributaries of Ganges? – Yamuna, Ghaghara, Gandak, Kosi, Son and Damodar

8) Which are the important tributaries of Ganges, which flow northwards (i.e., from south) to join Ganges? – Son and Damodar

9) Which is the main tributary of the Ganges? – Yamuna (which meets Ganges at Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh)

10) Which mystical river is believed to meet Ganges and Yamuna at Allahabad in invisible form? – Saraswati (This river is believed to have changed its course and disappeared in Indian desert more than 2 thousand years ago)

11) What is the originating point of Yamuna? – Near Mansarovar Lake in China’s Tibet area (However, many Indian devotees believe Yamunotri in Uttarakhand as Yamuna’s originating point)

12) Which are the main tributaries of Yamuna? – Chambal, Ken and Betwa

13) What is the distinct feature of the tributaries of Yamuna? – These rivers flow northwards to meet Yamuna, which flows to their North

14) Ganges flows through which other country apart from India? – Bangladesh

15) Ganges is known by which name in Bangladesh? – Padma

16) Ganges is joined by which river in Bangladesh to form a huge delta, before they submerge in the Bay of Bangal? – Brahmaputra

17) Which delta is formed by juncture of Ganges and Brahmaputra? – The Sunderbans delta

18) What is the distinct feature of Sundarbans delta? – It is world’s largest delta and spreads over a large area of India and Bangladesh (Spread over 4000 sq. km. Majority of Sundarbans is spread over Bangladesh (about 80%) whereas Indian part constitute of the remaining 20%)

19) The name Sundarbans is derived due to – Presence of Sundari trees in this delta area

20) Which important cities are situated on the banks of the Ganges? – Rishikesh, Haridwar, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna and Kolkata