Drainage – Very Short Answer Type Questions
50 Very Short Answer Questions — Drainage (NCERT-aligned)
Designed for CBSE Class 9 board exam revision. Topic-wise questions with concise, easy-to-remember answers.
- Concepts & definitions
- Drainage systems: Himalayan & Peninsular
- Detailed Ganga & Brahmaputra features
- Peninsular river basins
- Lakes, economic role of rivers, and river pollution
- Map practice & quick revision
- Concept of drainage, drainage basin, watershed
- Himalayan rivers: Ganga, Brahmaputra
- Peninsular rivers: Narmada, Tapti, Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna, Kaveri
- Lakes — tectonic, glacial, oxbow, artificial reservoirs
- Role of rivers in irrigation, transport, power, fisheries
- River pollution — causes, effects, control
A. Concepts & Drainage Systems (1–10)
The pattern of rivers and streams that drain an area.
Area drained by a river and its tributaries.
The boundary separating two adjacent drainage basins.
A smaller river or stream that joins a larger river.
The point where two or more rivers meet.
Himalayan rivers and Peninsular rivers.
Because they are fed by both rainfall and melting snow/glaciers.
They depend mainly on monsoon rainfall and have limited glacier feed.
A basin whose catchment area falls in more than one state.
The volume of water flowing in a river per unit time.
B. Himalayan Rivers — Ganga (11–20)
From the Gangotri Glacier (as the Bhagirathi) in the Himalayas.
Yamuna is a major right-bank tributary.
Ghaghara and Gandak are two left-bank tributaries.
The Bay of Bengal (via the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta).
A large fertile alluvial plain formed by the Ganga and its tributaries.
Irrigation for extensive agriculture.
A river branch that flows away from the main river; Hooghly is a distributary of Ganga.
Oxbow lakes occur frequently; local names vary (e.g., small cut-off meanders in Bihar plains).
Because of fertile alluvial soil and reliable water for farming.
High pollution from untreated sewage and industrial effluents.
C. Himalayan Rivers — Brahmaputra (21–22)
In Tibet (as the Yarlung Tsangpo) from the Chemayungdung Glacier.
It carries very high sediment load and causes severe floods and bank erosion.
D. Peninsular Rivers — Narmada & Tapti (23–30)
From the Amarkantak Plateau (Madhya Pradesh).
The Arabian Sea (westwards).
Because it flows through a rift valley with steep sides creating narrow gorges.
In the Satpura hills of Madhya Pradesh.
Westwards into the Arabian Sea.
Both flow westwards across central India and drain into the Arabian Sea.
Irrigation and hydroelectric projects.
No, they do not form large deltas like east-flowing rivers; they have narrow estuaries.
E. Peninsular Rivers — Godavari, Mahanadi (31–36)
In the Western Ghats near Nasik (Maharashtra).
Because it is the largest peninsular river and supports extensive agriculture like the Ganga.
In the highlands of Chhattisgarh (Sihawa/Tal)** (commonly stated as Chhattisgarh highlands).
The Bay of Bengal (eastwards).
Rice is extensively grown in the Mahanadi delta (Odisha).
Pranhita is a major tributary of the Godavari.
F. Peninsular Rivers — Krishna & Kaveri (37–44)
From the Western Ghats (near Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra).
The Bay of Bengal (eastwards).
Nagarjuna Sagar is a major irrigation and dam project on the Krishna.
In the Western Ghats (near Coorg, Karnataka).
Irrigation for crops in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Inland fisheries and agriculture are supported by these rivers.
They are largely seasonal but have significant base flow due to groundwater and reservoirs; not fully perennial like Himalayan rivers.
G. Lakes (45–48)
A lake formed by earth movements; example: Wular (Jammu & Kashmir).
A crescent-shaped lake formed when a river meander is cut off from the main channel.
Chandratal or Tso Moriri are examples of glacial lakes.
A man-made lake formed by damming; used for irrigation, water supply or hydropower.
H. Role of Rivers & River Pollution (49–50)
Irrigation for agriculture and generation of hydroelectric power.
Discharge of untreated domestic sewage into rivers.