Gandikota canyon of South India was created by which one of the following rivers? [2022]

Gandikota canyon of South India was created by which one of the following rivers?

Cauvery
Manjira
Pennar
Tungabhadra

Explanation

Option (c) is correct

The gorge of Gandikota is situated on the Pennar River in Andhra Pradesh and is known as the Grand Canyon of India. The Pennar River carved the granite rock of Erramala Hills and formed Gandikota Canyon.

Additional Information

Photograph of Horseshoe Bend, a meander in the Colorado River surrounded by steep red rock cliffs during sunset. The scene highlights the river's curved path around a central rock formation with vibrant colors and dramatic lighting.

A gorge is any valley formed by a source of water flowing between tall slabs of steep rocks. Gorges are formed as a result of erosion of rocks over a long period of time.

Pennar River

The Pennar (also known as Uttara Pinakini) is one of the major rivers of the peninsula.
The Pennar rises in the Chenna Kasava hill of the Nandidurg range, in Chikkaballapura district of Karnataka and flows towards east eventually draining into the Bay of Bengal.
The total length of the river from origin to its outfall in the Bay of Bengal is 597 km.
Located in peninsular India, the Pennar basin extends over states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka having an area of ~55 thousand Sq.km
The fan shaped basin is bounded by the Erramala range on the north, by the Nallamala and Velikonda ranges of the Eastern Ghats on the east, by the Nandidurg hills on the south and by the narrow ridge separating it from the Vedavati valley of the Krishna Basin on the west.
The other hill ranges in the basin to the south of the river are the Seshachalam and Paliconda ranges.
The major part of basin is covered with agriculture accounting to 58.64% of the total area.

Map showing Penner River Basin across Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka with major rivers Penner, Chitravati, Papagni, and Cheyyeru highlighted in blue. Key locations like Somasila Reservoir, Dharmavaram, Anantapur, Kadapa, and Nellore are labeled, with a small inset map indicating basin's position in southern India near Bay of Bengal.

Option (a) is incorrect

The Kaveri (Cauvery) River rises at an elevation of 1,341 m at Talakaveri on the Brahmagiri range near Cherangala village of Kodagu (Coorg) district of Karnataka. The total length of the river from origin to outfall is 800 km. The Cauvery basin extends over the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala, and the Union Territory of Puducherry, draining an area of 81,000 sq km.
Tributaries of the Cauvery River
- Left Bank: the Harangi, the Hemavati, the Shimsha and the Arkavati.
- Right Bank: Lakshmantirtha, the Kabbani, the Suvarnavati, the Bhavani, the Noyil, and the Amaravati join from the right.

Map showing Cauvery River Basin across Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu with major rivers, reservoirs, and cities labeled. Key features include Krishna Raja Sagara, Hemavathy Dam, Stanley Reservoir, and cities like Bengaluru, Mysuru, and Salem, highlighting water flow from Western Ghats to Bay of Bengal.

Option (b) is incorrect

The Manjira River originates from Gaurwadi in the Balaghat Hills of Ahmednagar District, Maharashtra.
Flowing through Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Telangana, it spans approximately 724 kilometres. The Manjira is a significant right-bank tributary of the Godavari River.

Option (d) is incorrect

It is formed by the unification of the Tunga and the Bhadra originating from Gangamula in the Central Sahyadri (Western Ghats). Tungabhadra is a tributary of Krishna river that flows through Hampi, the capital of Vijayanagara Empire.
Tributaries: Bhadra, Haridra, Vedavati, Tunga, Varda and Kumdavathi.
The famous Virupaksha temple is on the banks of Tungabhadra.

Map showing Krishna River Basin spanning Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh with major dams and reservoirs labeled, including Koyna, Ujjani, Almatti, Narayanapura, Tungabhadra, Bhadra, Nagarjuna Sagar, Srisailam, and Prakasam Barrage. Key rivers like Krishna and its tributaries are marked in blue, highlighting water resource distribution and infrastructure across the basin.

Answer: (c) Pennar; Difficulty Level: Medium

2022, PYQs