Kerala Rivers
One of the richest states in resources of water in India is Kerala. These water resources are of different forms like rivers, lakes, backwaters, ponds etc. Maximum portion of the water needs of the state are met by these resources. There are 44 rivers in Kerala, out of these 41 flow towards west and 3 flow towards east. The rivers which flow to the west join either the Arabian sea or the back water lakes which in turn join the seas.
The source of most of the rivers is in the Western Ghats. The main rivers include The Bharatapuzha, The Periyar, The Meenachil, The Pampa, The Manimala etc. The Bharatapuzha river joins the Arabian sea and the rest merge into Vembanadu or Ashtamudi lakes. All the above rivers start as small streams and as they go on many other streams join them and form a large river. The rivers which flow towards the east flow only for a short distance in Kerala like Paambaar and Bhavani which go through Tamilnadu and Kabani through Karnataka.
The Periyar is the longest river in Kerala flowing 244 km. Bharatapuzha and Pampa take the second and third places with 209 km and 176 km respectively. The shortest rivers are Puraparamba and Kalnadu and flow for less than 10 km. There is a holy river called the Pampa which starts from Peermadu near Sabarimala. Because of all these big and small rivers including their tributaries and other streams and rivulets the land in Kerala is fertile and suitable for greenery. In many places in Kerala these rivers form the main way of transport. These water sources are also useful for irrigation, drinking, hydroelectric power production etc. They even give way for fishing.
The rivers in south are small compared to those which originate from the Himalayas and are rain-fed and snow-fed. So, the southern rivers become small or even dry up during summer as they are only rain-fed.
Lakes and Backwaters of Kerala:
Backwaters are also known as Lagoons. These are shallow water bodies that are separated from sea by land and hence free from waves. This is a special feature of Kerala. These backwaters stretch along the coast line of Kerala. Vembanad Lake and Ashtamudi are the biggest and second biggest backwaters spread in an area of 260 sq.km and 55 sq.km. respectively. The largest fresh water lake is Sastamkota lake spread over an area of 4 sq.km. Veli, Kadhinamkulam, Anjuthengu, Edava, Nadayara, Paravoor, Kayamkulam, Kodungallur and Chetuva are some more backwaters. As the deltas of the rivers join these backwaters they provide good means of transport to the coastal areas. Backwaters are an excellent tourist attraction of the state and provides a lot of income to the state by drawing the attention of innumerable tourists. Cruises on luxury house boats, boating, boat races etc. are a part of Backwater tourism. The most famous boat race held in kerala on the Punnamada backwaters of Alappuzha district is the Nehru trophy boat race.