Godavari

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River Godavari ranks 34th and 32nd in terms of catchment area and water discharge respectively, amongst the 60 largest rivers of the world. It is the third largest river in India, after Ganges River and Brahmaputra. The Godavari river originates near Nashik, at an elevation of 1065 m in the Western Ghats, about 80 kms east of the western coast. The river flows in an east southeasterly direction for a distance of 1465 kms before it empties into the Bay of Bengal through three main distributaries namely, Goutami, Vainateyam and Vasishta. The Godavari catchment is spread out in an area of 3.1x 105 km2, with an annual discharge of 105 km3. The catchment receives about 82% of the total annual rainfall during the southwest monsoon between June and October, and the remaining between November and January. The daily temperature over the basin varies from a minimum of 9 degree C in the winter to as high as 48 degree C in summer. About 61% of the catchment area is under agricultural cover.

The geology of the area consists of Deccan Basalts in the upstream end, while granitic gneiss predominates in Indravati, Sabari and partly Pranhita catchments. Sedimentary rocks like sandstone, quartzite and shales are found in the lower part of the catchment area. The river basin has a large number of coal deposits and mines, largely in the central part of the catchment.