Godavari River

The Godavari (<a href="/facts/IAST/pkGIHRcw">IAST</a>: Godāvarī, [ɡod̪aːʋəɾiː]) is India's second longest <a href="/facts/River/GxdjEX21">river</a> after the <a href="/facts/Ganges_River/q0IGurvB">Ganga</a> River and drains the third largest <a href="/facts/Drainage_basin/lzsx0XJS">basin</a> in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its <a href="/facts/River_source/08NFsHeG">source</a> is in <a href="/facts/Trimbakeshwar_Range/0PAH952C">Trimbakeshwar</a>, <a href="/facts/Nashik/H7LqSFvJ">Nashik</a>, <a href="/facts/Maharashtra/4hAVYlb4">Maharashtra</a>. It flows east for 1,465 kilometres (910 mi), draining the states of <a href="/facts/Maharashtra/4hAVYlb4">Maharashtra</a> (48.6%), <a href="/facts/Telangana/oE5VoLuj">Telangana</a> (18.8%), <a href="/facts/Andhra_Pradesh/d51Lb0kX">Andhra Pradesh</a> (4.5%), <a href="/facts/Chhattisgarh/zUPy1wyT">Chhattisgarh</a> (10.9%) and <a href="/facts/Odisha/ofAWpAgu">Odisha</a> (5.7%). The river ultimately empties into the <a href="/facts/Bay_of_Bengal/xqKAj4bJ">Bay of Bengal</a> through an extensive network of distributaries. Its 312,812 km2 (120,777 sq mi) drainage basin is one of the largest in the <a href="/facts/Indian_subcontinent/0XUWGXpx">Indian subcontinent</a>, with only the <a href="/facts/Ganga/q0IGurvB">Ganga</a> and <a href="/facts/Indus/7vTRHA4t">Indus</a> rivers having a larger drainage basin. In terms of length, catchment area and discharge, the Godavari is the largest in peninsular India, and had been dubbed as the Dakshina Ganga (Southern <a href="/facts/Ganges/q0IGurvB">Ganges</a>).
The river has been revered in <a href="/facts/Hindu_texts/ItJyVEyn">Hindu scriptures</a> for many millennia and continues to harbour and nourish a rich <a href="/facts/Culture_of_India/GjHPLXPR">cultural heritage</a>. In the past few decades, the river has been barricaded by several <a href="/facts/Barrage_(dam)/L3nmesAI">barrages</a> and <a href="/facts/Dams/BroJFhEI">dams</a>, keeping a head of water (depth) which lowers evaporation. Its broad <a href="/facts/River_delta/fmWuaRqX">river delta</a> houses 729 persons/km2 – nearly twice the Indian average population density and has a substantial risk of flooding, which in lower parts would be exacerbated if the global sea level were to rise.

Godavari River open-in-new

Godavari River