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Maharashtra presents an interesting range
of landforms. The Narmada River, flowing into the Arabian Sea through a
rift valley, marks a part of the northern boundary of the State. The other
rift valley, of the Tapti River, also flowing into the Arabian Sea, marks
the other part of the northern boundary. These two river valleys are
separated by a horst known as the Satpura Range.
South of the Tapti valley, stretches the Konkan coastland along the
Arabian Sea flanked in the east by an escarpment known as the Sahyadri
Mountain or the Western Ghats. The foothills of the Sahyadri Mountains
reach within 6.4-km of the Arabian Sea in the Konkan. The Konkan coastland
is narrow, interspersed with hilly spurs from the Sahyadri mountains and
is drained by many small swift west-flowing rivers - of these, the Ulhas
in the north is the biggest.
The Sahyadri Mountains run like a wall with a north-south trend, almost
continuously for 640-km. But several passes through it provide important
road and rail links between the coastlands and the interior. The eastern
slopes of the Sahyadris descend gently to the Deccan Plateau sculptured by
the east sloping valleys of the Godavari, Bhima, and Krishna rivers. The
inter-fluves of these rivers form the Mahadeo, Ajanta, Balaghat, and other
hill ranges.
These hill ranges and valleys within Maharashtra are
formed of trap lava with thickness reaching close to 3,050 m in places.
Differential erosion of the lava results in characteristic step-like
flanks with tabletop appearance in many hills. In the east, beyond Nagpur,
the trap country ends, yielding to landforms made of ancient crystalline
rocks. From the Mahadeo hills and the Maikal range further east, many
important tributaries of the Godavari River flow towards the southeast, of
which the Wardha, Wainganga, and the Penganga are the most important. This
region abounds in lakes. Further east, the country is rugged with many
hills covered with forests and is relatively inhospitable.
Godavari River rises near Nasik in
Maharashtra at an elevation of 1067m and flows for a
length of about 1,465-km before out falling into the Bay of Bengal. The
principal tributaries of the river are the Parvara, the Purna, the Manjra,
the Penganga, the Wardha, the Wainganga, the Indravati and the Kolab.
Godavari Basin extends over an area of 312,812 km2, which is nearly 9.5%
of the total geographical area of the country. The basin lies in the
states of Maharashtra (152,199 km2), Andhra Pradesh (73,201 km2), Madhya
Pradesh (65,255 km2), Orissa (17,752 km2) and Karnataka (4,405 km2).
Godavari River has a catchments area of 31.3 m.ha. The Godavari basin
consists of large undulating plains divided by low flat-topped hill
ranges. The important soil types found in the basins are black soils, red
soils, lateritic soils, alluvium, mixed soils and saline and alkaline
soils.
An average annual surface water potential of 110.5 km3 has been assessed
in this basin. Out of this, 76.3 km3 is utilisable water. Cultivable area
in the basin is about 18.9 Million ha, which is 9.7% of the total
cultivable area of the country.
Present use of surface water in the basin is 41.0 km3. Live storage
capacity in the basin has increased significantly since independence. From
just about 1.6 km3 in the pre-plan period, the total live storage capacity
of the completed projects has increased to 19.5 km3.
In addition, a substantial storage quantity of over 10.6 km3 would be
created on completion of projects under construction. An additional
storage to the tune of over 8.2 km3 would become available on execution of
projects under consideration. The hydropower potential of the basin has
been assessed as 5091 MW at 60% load factor. Asia's largest Lift
irrigation project named "Vishnupuri Prakalp" is constructed on
the river just 5-km away from Nanded city.
Krishna River rises in the Western Ghats at an elevation of
about 1337m just north of Mahabaleshwar,
about 64-km from the Arabian Sea and flows for about 1400-km and outfalls
into the Bay of Bengal. The principal tributaries joining Krishna are the
Ghataprabha, the Malaprabha, the Bhima, the Tungabhadra and the Music.
Krishna Basin extends over an area of 258,948 km2, which is nearly 8% of
total geographical area of the country. The basin lies in the states of
Karnataka (113,271 km2), Andhra Pradesh (76,252 km2) and Maharashtra
(69,425 km2). Krishna River has a catchments area of 25.9 m.ha.
Most part of this basin comprises rolling and undulating country except
the western border, which is formed by an unbroken line of ranges of the
Western Ghats. The important soil types found in the basin are black
soils, red soils, laterite and lateritic soils, alluvium, mixed soils, red
and black soils and saline and alkaline soils.
An average annual surface water potential of 78.1 km3 has been assessed
in this basin. Out of this, 58.0 km3 is utilisable water. Culturable area
in the basin is about 20.3 Million ha, which is 10.4% of the total
culturable area of the country. Present use of surface water in the basin
is 50.0 km3.
Live storage capacity in the basin has increased significantly since
independence. From just about 3.2 km3 in the pre-plan period, the total
live storage capacity of the completed projects has increased to 34.5 km3.
In addition, a substantial storage quantity of over 4.9 km3 would be
created on completion of projects under construction. An additional
storage to the tune of over 0.1 km3 would become available on execution of
projects under consideration. The hydropower potential of the basin has
been assessed as 2997 MW at 60% load factor.
Manjira
Major tributary of Godavari, arising in Balaghat hills. It contributes to
around 6% of the total waters of Godavari. Manjira River flows along the
eastern boundary of the Nanded district towards the north. Later it meets
the Godavari. Manyad and Lendi are the tributaries of the river.
Mula And Mutha
Pune centre is bordered on the north by the River Mula and to the west by
the River Mutha - the two join in the Northwest to form the Mutha-Mula, at
Sangam Bridge (previously Wellesley Bridge).
Penganga
Penganga River is one of the tributaries of Godavari River. Kayadhu is
the tributary of this river. It flows along the northern boundary of the
Nanded district and a huge amount of land is irrigated by a project named
" Upper Penganga Prakalp" built on this river. The famous
Sahastrakund falls on this river.
RIVER PURNA
The river Purna which is tributary of Godavari, rises in Betul district
of Madhya Pradesh and flows due west across Akola district into Buldana
district of Maharashtra. It passes from east to west through the northern
part of the Parbhani district and joins the Godavari at Kantheshwar in
Purna Taluka.
The chief tributaries of the Purna on the south bank are the Pendhi, Uma,
Katepurna, Nirguna and Man. The Katepurna, the largest of all tributaries,
rises within a few kilometres of Washim and flows across the eastern side
of Akola tehsil and the northwestern corner of Murtizapur. Major Dams on
the Purna River are Yeldari Dam (Hydroelectric Power Station) in Jintur
Tehsil of Parbhani district.
TAPI RIVER
Tapi Basin extends over an area of 65,145 km2, which is nearly 2.0% of
total geographical area of the country. The basin lies in the states of
Maharashtra (51,504 km2), Madhya Pradesh (9,804 km2) and Gujarat (3,837
km2).
Tapi River rises near Multai in the Betul district of Madhya Pradesh at
an elevation of about 752 m and flows for about 724 km before outfalling
into the Arabian Sea through the Gulf of Cambay. Its principal tributaries
are the Purna, the Girna, the Panjhra, the Vaghur, the Bori and the Aner.
The basin consists plain areas, which are broad and fertile, suitable for
cultivation. The principal soils found in the basin are black soils,
alluvial clays with a layer of black soil above.
An average annual surface water potential of 18 km3 has been assessed in
this basin. Out of this 14.5 km3 is utilisable water. Cultivable area in
the basin is about 4.3 Million ha, which is 2.2% of the total cultivable
area of the country.
Present use of surface water in the basin is 4.5 km3. Live storage
capacity in the basin has increased significantly since independence. From
just about 0.05 km3 in first-plan period, the total live storage capacity
of the completed projects has increased to 8.5 km3. In addition, a storage
quantity of over 1.0 km3 would be created on completion of projects under
construction. An additional storage to the tune of over 2.0 km3 would
become available on execution of projects under consideration. The
hydropower potential of the basin is 119.7 MW at 60% load factor.
TAPTI RIVER
Like Narmada, Tapti also terminates into the Arabian Sea. It has its
origin in Madhya Pradesh near a place called Pachmari. Though smaller than
Narmada, Tapti is a rich source of alluvium and produces good agricultural
soil. It enters at sea near Surat.
Wardha:
Wardha is the tributary of River Godavari. It originates from the Mutai
plateau of the Satpuda range and flows along the entire northern and
western border of the Wardha district.
The main tributaries are Bor, Dham, Pothra, Asoda and Wunna. Upper Wardha
Dam is situated at Simbhora, 8-km towards the East from Morshi and 56-km
from Amravati. It is build up on the Wardha River. It is an earthen dam
with height of 36m and 7-km length and on the boundary of Amravati and
Wardha Districts. It irrigation capacity is nearly 75,000 Hectors of land
in these two districts. A tourism centre is being developed at this site.
It is now named as Nal - Damyanti Sagar.
Pench And Kanhan:
The chief rivers of the eastern tract are the Pench and Kanhan, both of
which flow down from the Saptura range in the Chindward district and meet
near Kamptee when they are also joined by the Kolar. The Kanhan entering
the Jalna district near Bargaon takes a south easterly course past Khapa
to Kamptee where it receives the Pench and Kolar. In its subsequent course
it marks the boundary of the Ramtek tehsil, and after receiving the Nag
river near the hills of Bhivakund, finally empties into the Wainganga at
Gondpipri in Bhandara.
Mira:
It is an important tributary of Bhima River. It flows along the northern
boundary of Satara district and latter southeastwards.
Sina:
A tributary of Bhima River, it flows from north to southeast parallel to
Bhima, drains eastern Karmala, Central Madha, Barshi, eastern Mohol and
Sholapur North and South.
Vaitarna:
Vaitarna is the principal river of Thane district. It rises in the
Tryambak hills in the Nashik district opposite the source of Godavari and
enters Thane at Vihigaon near Kasara. It has a length of 154-km, of its
tributaries the Pinjal, the Surya and Tansa are important.
Wainganga:
Wainganga is the tributary of River Godavari. Wainganga River receives
numerous tributaries on either bank and drains the western, central and
eastern regions of the Chandrapur and Nagpur district. The chief
tributaries of the Wainganga are Garhavi, Khobragadi, Kathani and
Potphondi on the left bank and Andhari on the Right Bank.
Nira:
Nira a tributary of Bhima River and it flows in southern boundaries of
Pune for a considerable distance.
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