Kaveri
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Overview
The Kaveri rises at Talakaveri in Kodagu and flows through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to the Bay of Bengal, where, like the Mahanadi, Godavari and Krishna, it builds a delta. Its waters are a long-running inter-state dispute.
The Kaveri delta was the heartland of the early Cholas. Karikala built the Kallanai (Grand Anicut) on the Kaveri, one of the oldest working water-regulating structures, and Puhar (Kaveripattinam) was the Chola port.
Geography and key facts
- Source: Talakaveri, Kodagu (Karnataka)
- East-flowing; forms a delta on the Bay of Bengal
- Kallanai (Grand Anicut), built by the Chola king Karikala
- Cauvery water disputes tribunal set up in 1990
Why it matters for UPSC
Asked in national park–river pairs (2013). The inter-state water dispute is a regular GS2 federalism topic.
Note for UPSC
Rises at Talakaveri (Kodagu) and flows through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu; its waters are a long-running inter-state dispute.
Prelims asks about tributaries, the states a river flows through, its basin and the projects on it, so trace the course on the map.
Asked in PYQs
- UPSC Prelims 2013 · Q32Consider the following pairs: National Park : River flowing through the Park Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?…
Questions from our Prelims bank whose text names Kaveri.
Key facts
- Type
- River
- States / UTs on its course
- Karnataka, Tamil Nadu
- River system
- Peninsular
- Basin
- Kaveri
- Extent on map
- 10.8°–12.6°N, 75.5°–79.9°E
- Asked in Prelims
- 1 question · 2013
From the Map Explorer data; positions are for orientation.
In the lessons
- Physical Features and Drainage of India
- Brainstorming: Multi-dimensional Thinking
- The Sangam Age: Cheras, Cholas, Pandyas and Tamil Literature
- South Indian Kingdoms: Pallavas, Chalukyas and the Imperial Cholas
- Physiographic Divisions of India in Depth
- Drainage Systems of India: Himalayan and Peninsular Rivers