Kaveri River

Kaveri River
or Cauvery River

River, southern India.

Rising in northern Kerala, it flows southeast 475 mi (764 km) to enter the Bay of Bengal. On the border of Karnataka it forms the island of Sivasamudram, on either side of which are the Kaveri (Cauvery) Falls, which descend about 320 ft (515 m). The river is the source for an extensive irrigation system. It is considered one of India's sacred rivers.

* * *

Kaveri also spelled  Cauvery 

      sacred river of southern India. It rises on Brahmagiri Hill of the Western Ghats in southwestern Karnataka (Karnātaka) state, flows in a southeasterly direction for 475 miles (765 km) through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu (Tamil Nādu), and descends the Eastern Ghats in a series of great falls. Before emptying into the Bay of Bengal (Bengal, Bay of) south of Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, the river breaks into a large number of distributaries forming a wide delta called the “garden of southern India.” Known to devout Hindus as Daksina Ganga (“Ganges of the South”), the Kaveri River is celebrated for its scenery and sanctity in Tamil literature, and its entire course is considered holy ground. The river is also important for its irrigation canal projects.

      Its uppermost course is tortuous, with a rocky bed and high banks under luxuriant vegetation. After passing through a narrow gorge and tumbling about 60 to 80 feet (18 to 24 metres) in the rapids of Chunchankatte, the river widens about 900 to 1,200 feet (275 to 365 metres) across the Karnataka Plateau. There its flow is interrupted by a number of anicuts or weirs. At the Krishnaraja Sagara, the Kaveri is joined by two tributaries, the Hemavati and Lakshmantirtha, and dammed for irrigation, forming a 12-square-mile (31-square-km) reservoir.

      In Karnataka (Karnātaka) the river bifurcates twice, forming the sacred islands of Srirangapatnam and Sivasamudram, 50 miles (80 km) apart. Around Sivasamudram are the scenic Sivasamudram Falls, comprising two series of rapids, Bhar Chukki and Gagana Chukki, plunging a total of 320 feet (100 metres) and reaching a width of 1,000 feet (300 metres) in the rainy season. The falls supply hydroelectric power to Mysore, Bangalore (Bengaluru), and the Kolar Gold Fields, more than 100 miles (160 km) away.

      Upon entering Tamil Nadu, the Kaveri continues through a series of twisted wild gorges until it reaches Hogenakal Falls and flows through a straight, narrow gorge near Salem. There the Mettur Dam, 5,300 feet (1,620 metres) long and 176 feet (54 metres) high, impounds a lake (Stanley Reservoir) of 60 square miles (155 square km). The Mettur Project, completed in 1934, created an important agricultural and industrial area by improving irrigation and providing hydropower.

      After sweeping past the historic rock of Tiruchchirappalli, the Kaveri breaks at Srirangam Island (Srirangam), a major pilgrimage centre. There, in eastern Tamil Nadu state, its braided and extensively irrigated deltaic region of about 4,000 square miles (10,360 square km) begins. A dam called the Grand Anicut was built in the 2nd century at the point where the river divides. A second dam (1836–38) across the Coleroon River, the Kaveri's northern and larger channel, saved the old system from silting and extended irrigation. The open roadsteads of Nagappattinam and Karikal are on the seaward side of the delta. The Kaveri's main tributaries are the Kabbani, Amaravati, Noyil, and Bhavani rivers.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Kaveri River — The Kaveri River (Kannada: ಕಾವೇರಿ ನದಿ,Tamil: காவிரி ஆறு), also spelled Cauvery in English, is one of the major rivers of India, which is considered sacred by Hindus. The river originates at Talakaveri, Kodagu district in the Western Ghats in the… …   Wikipedia

  • Kaveri River Water Dispute — The waters of the river Kaveri has been the bone of contention of a serious conflict between Karnataka and the state of Tamil Nadu.The dispute at its root is a question of the sharing of the waters of the river Kaveri. While the state of Tamil… …   Wikipedia

  • Kaveri River —    See Cauvery River …   Encyclopedia of Hinduism

  • Kaveri palam — is a bridge in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, India.The bridge that connects Trichy mainland to the Srirangam island is referred to as the Kaveri palam .The construction of this bridge was completed recently. [ As of July 2008 ] This bridge came in as a… …   Wikipedia

  • river — river1 riverless, adj. riverlike, adj. /riv euhr/, n. 1. a natural stream of water of fairly large size flowing in a definite course or channel or series of diverging and converging channels. 2. a similar stream of something other than water: a… …   Universalium

  • Coleroon River — ▪ river, India       river, Tamil Nadu (Tamil Nādu) state, southeastern India. Formed by the northern bifurcation of the Kaveri (Cauvery) River (Kaveri River) at Srirangam, the Coleroon River flows between the South Arcot and Thanjavur regions… …   Universalium

  • Kaveri-Vaigai link canal — Tamil Nadu is one of the drier states in IndiaFact|date=June 2008 which depends heavily on water from the rivers originating from the neighboring states of kerala and karnataka. The state government has envisioned a project linking the kaveri,… …   Wikipedia

  • GTRE GTX-35VS Kaveri — The GTRE GTX 35VS Kaveri is a low bypass ratio afterburning turbofan being developed by the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), a lab under the DRDO in Bangalore, India. An indigenous Indian design, the Kaveri was intended to power… …   Wikipedia

  • Noyyal River — The Noyyal River rises from the Vellingiri hills in the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu, southeastern India and drains into the Kaveri River. The river s basin is 180 km (110 mi) long and 25 km (16 mi) wide and covers a total area …   Wikipedia

  • Kollidam River — The Kollidam (referred to as Coleroon in Colonial English) is a river in southeastern India. The Kollidam is the northern distributary of the Kaveri River as it flows through the delta of Thanjavur. It splits from the main branch of the Kaveri… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”