An Overview and Comparison of Small Coastal Rivers of Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats: Variations and Controls

Abstract

The small mountainous rivers draining the eastern and Western coast of India (area--200,000 km²) discharge approximately 280 km²/yr of fresh water annually, about the same as the combined estimated loads of rivers draining from all large rivers of peninsular India. Fresh water discharges are particularly high for rivers that drain the high mountains of Western Ghats rather than the eastern Ghats, where drainage basins are high and drainage areas are small. Owing to the generally narrow (< 25 km wide) shelf of western Ghats, much of the fluvial fresh water discharge may escape directly to the Arabian sea, as evidenced by the presence of sediment-filled trenches. In contrast, many of the rivers draining the Eastern Ghats part of the land discharge onto a fairly broad shelf, where much of the fresh water presumably remains, perhaps as pro-grading estuaries.