List of rivers of Kerala


There are 44 major rivers in Kerala, all but three originating in the Western Ghats, with 41 flowing westward and three eastward. The rivers of Kerala are small, in terms of length, breadth and water discharge. The rivers flow faster, owing to the hilly terrain and as the short distance between the Western Ghats and the sea. All the rivers are entirely monsoon-fed and half of them shrink into rivulets or dry up completely during summer but the major rivers flow perennial and plays an important role in the landscape of Kerala.

Features

Kerala is wedged between the Lakshadweep Sea and the Western Ghats. Geographically, the state can be divided into three climatically distinct regions: the eastern highlands; rugged and cool mountainous terrain, the central mid-lands; rolling hills, and the western lowlands; coastal plains. The eastern region of Kerala consists of high mountains, gorges and deep-cut valleys immediately west of the Western Ghats' rain shadow. Forty-one of Kerala's west-flowing rivers, and three of its east-flowing ones originate in this region. The 41 west-flowing rivers, each of which having at least a length of 15 km, gradually slopes towards the Arabian Sea coast in the western region and empty either into backwaters or Arabian Sea there. The longer rivers have several tributaries and streams too. The Western Ghats form a wall of mountains interrupted only near Palakkad; hence also known Palghat, where the Palakkad Gap breaks. The river Bharathappuzha flows through the Palakkad Gap. The three east-flowing rivers also originate in Western Ghats, but flow eastwards either into Karnataka or Tamil Nadu.
Kerala's western coastal belt is relatively flat compared to the eastern region, and is criss-crossed by a network of interconnected brackish canals, lakes, estuaries, and rivers known as the Kerala Backwaters. Kuttanad, also known as The Rice Bowl of Kerala, has the List of [extreme points of India#Altitudes|lowest altitude in India], and is also one of the few places in world where cultivation takes place below sea level. The country's longest lake Vembanad, dominates the backwaters; it lies between Alappuzha and Kochi and is about in area. Around eight percent of India's waterways are found in Kerala. Kerala's 44 rivers include the Periyar;, Bharathapuzha;, Pamba;, Chaliyar;, Chalakudypuzha;, Kadalundipuzha;, Valapattanam; and the Achankovil River;. The average length of the rivers is. Many of the rivers are small and entirely fed by monsoon rain. As Kerala's rivers are small and lacking in delta, they are more prone to environmental effects. The rivers face problems such as sand mining and pollution.
File:Athirappilly Waterfalls after the Monsoons.jpg|thumb|center|The famous Athirapally Falls which sits on the Chalakudy River is an example for a river that transitions from the Mountainous Highlands to the Plainer Midlands via rapids and waterfalls

West flowing rivers

This is a list of the westward-flowing rivers of Kerala state in southern India, in order of length, and their tributaries. These rivers all originate in the Western Ghats range and flow westward into the Kerala Backwaters or into the Arabian Sea. Length in kilometers is in parentheses. Kasaragod district have the maximum number of west-flowing rivers in Kerala - 12.
  1. Periyar River
  2. # Edamala River
  3. # Cheruthoni River
  4. # Mullayar River
  5. # Muthirapuzha River
  6. # Perinjankutti River
  7. # Ambazhachal River
  8. # Kaniyampuzha River
  9. # Muttar River
  10. # Panniyar
  11. Bharatapuzha River
  12. # Thuthapuzha River
  13. # Kanjirappuzha
  14. # Gayathripuzha River
  15. # Kalpathipuzha River
  16. # Kannadipuzha River
  17. Pamba River
  18. # Azhuthayar
  19. # Kakkiyar
  20. # Kakkattar
  21. # Kallar
  22. # Perunthenaruvi
  23. # Madatharuvi
  24. # Thanungattilthodu
  25. # Kozhithodu
  26. # Varattar
  27. # Utharappalli River
  28. # Kuttemperoor
  29. Chaliyar River
  30. # Cherupuzha (Mavoor)
  31. # Iruvanjippuzha
  32. # Thottumukkam River
  33. # Kuthirappuzha
  34. # Kuruvanpuzha
  35. # Karimpuzha
  36. # Pandippuzha
  37. # Neerppuzha
  38. Chalakudy River
  39. #Parambikulam River
  40. Kadalundy River
  41. Achankoil River
  42. # Utharappalli River
  43. Kallada River
  44. Muvattupuzha River
  45. # Thodupuzha River
  46. # Kothayar River
  47. # Kaliyar River
  48. # Kariyar River
  49. # Thevalakkadu River
  50. # Uzhavoor River
  51. Valapattanam River
  52. # Bavali River
  53. # Pulloopi River
  54. # Payyavoor River
  55. # Mundayapuzha River
  56. # Veni River
  57. # Aralam River
  58. Chandragiri River
  59. # Kudumbur River
  60. Manimala River
  61. Vamanapuram River
  62. Kuppam River
  63. # Kuttikol River
  64. Meenachil River
  65. # Meenachal River
  66. # Kodoor River
  67. # Karapuzha River
  68. # Pulinackal River
  69. # Moorkankavu River
  70. Kuttiyadi River
  71. Karamana River
  72. Shiriya River
  73. Kariangode River
  74. # Chaithravahini River
  75. Ithikkara River
  76. Neyyar River
  77. Mahe River
  78. # Mundathode River
  79. Keecheri River
  80. Perumba River
  81. # Vayalapra River
  82. Uppala River
  83. Karuvannur River
  84. #Kurumali River
  85. #Manali River
  86. Anjarakandy River
  87. Tirur River
  88. Neeleshwaram River
  89. Pallikkal River
  90. Kallayi River
  91. Korapuzha River
  92. Mogral River
  93. Kavvayi River
  94. #Kankol
  95. #Vannathichal
  96. #Kuppithodu
  97. #Kuniyan
  98. Thanikkudam River
  99. Thalassery River
  100. # Ummanchira River
  101. Mamam river
  102. Chithari River
  103. Ramapuram River
  104. Ayiroor River
  105. Manjeswaram River

East flowing rivers

There are three rivers that rise in Kerala and flow eastwards, Kabani into Karnataka and the other two into Tamil Nadu. All the three rivers ultimately join the Kaveri river.
  1. Kabani
  2. Bhavani
  3. Pambar