(upper river in image). Temple during 2005 floods The Godavari originates in the
Western Ghats of central India, near
Nashik in
Maharashtra, from the
Arabian Sea. It flows for , first eastwards across the
Deccan Plateau, then turns southeast, entering the
Eluru district and
Alluri Sitharama Raju district of Andhra Pradesh, until it splits into two distributaries that widen into a large
river delta at
Dhavaleshwaram Barrage, in
Rajamahendravaram, and then flows into the Bay of Bengal. The Godavari River has a coverage area of , which is nearly one-tenth of the area of India and is equivalent to the area of the
United Kingdom and
Republic of Ireland put together. The river basin is considered to be divided into 3 sections: • Upper (source to the confluence with
Manjira), • Middle (between confluence of Manjira and
Pranhita) and • Lower (Pranhita confluence to mouth). These put together account for 24.2% of the total basin area. The rivers annual average water inflows are nearly 110 billion cubic metres. Nearly 50% of the water availability is being harnessed. The water allocation from the river among the riparian states are governed by the
Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal. The river has highest flood flows in India and experienced recorded flood of 3.6 million
cusecs in the year 1986 and annual flood of 1.0 million cusecs is normal.
Within Maharashtra The river originates in
Maharashtra state and has an extensive course. The upper basin (origin to its confluence with
Manjira), of which lies entirely within the state, cumulatively draining an area as large as – about half the area of Maharashtra. Within
Nashik district, the river assumes a north-easterly course until it flows into the
Gangapur Reservoir, created by a dam of the same name. The reservoir along with the
Kashypi Dam, provides
potable water to Nashik, one of the largest cities located on its banks. The river, as it emerges through the dam, some upstream from Nashik, flows on a rocky bed, undulated by a series of chasms and rocky ledges, resulting in the formation of two significant waterfalls – the Gangapur and the Someshwar waterfalls. The latter, located at Someshwar, is more popularly known as the Dudhsagar Waterfall. About east of Gangapur, the river passes the town of
Nashik, where it collects its effluents in the form of the river Nandini on its right bank. About south of Nashik, the river bends sharply to the east, washing the base of a high cliff formerly the site of a
Mughal fort, but which is now being eroded away by the action of floods. About below Nashik is the confluence of the Godavari and one of its tributaries, the
Darna. The stream occupies, for nine months in the year, a small space in a wide and gravelly bed, the greyish banks being high, topped with a deep layer of black soil. A few kilometres after its meeting with the Darna, the Godavari swerves to the north-east, before the
Banganga, from the north-west, meets it on the left. The course of the main stream then tends more decidedly south. At Nandur-Madhmeshwar, the
Kadva, a second large affluent, brings considerable increase to the waters of the Godavari. The river begins its southeasterly course characteristic of rivers of the
Deccan Plateau. The river exits the
Niphad Taluka of
Nashik and enters the
Kopargaon taluka,
Ahmednagar District. Within Ahmednagar District the river quickly completes its short course, flowing alongside the town of
Kopargaon and reaching
Puntamba. Beyond this, the river serves as a natural boundary between the following districts: •
Ahmednagar and
Aurangabad: Along the boundary here, it receives its first major tributary the
Pravara River, draining the former district. The confluence is located at Pravarasangam. By virtue of a sub-tributary of Pravara – Mandohol, which originates in Pune District – the basin impinges the
Pune district. The river at Paithan has been impounded by the
Jayakwadi Dam forming the NathSagar Reservoir.
Kalsubai located in Godavari basin, is the highest peak in Maharashtra. •
Beed and
Jalna • Beed and
Parbhani: Located along here is its merger with
Sindphana, an important tributary which drains a considerably large area within Beed. The sub-tributary river
Bindusara forms a landmark at
Beed. The river beyond, near the village Sonpeth, flows into
Parbhani. In Parbhani district, the river flows through
Gangakhed taluka. As mentioned above, the Godavari is also called Dakshinganga so the city is called as Gangakhed (meaning a village on the bank of Ganga). As per Hindu rituals this place is considered quite important for after death peace to flow ashes into the river. Its course is relatively non-significant except for receiving two smaller streams – Indrayani and Masuli – merging at its left and right banks, respectively. Within the last taluka of the district Parbhani,
Purna, the river drains a major tributary of the same name:
Purna. It then exits into the neighbouring district of
Nanded where before reaching the town Nanded, it is impounded by the Vishnupuri Dam and thus with it, bringing Asia's largest lift irrigation projects to life. A little downstream from Nanded, the river receives Asna, a small stream, on its left bank. It then runs into the controversial
Babli project soon ends its course within
Maharashtra, albeit temporarily, at its merger with a major tributary –
Manjira. The river after flowing into Telangana, re-emerges to run as a state boundary separating the
Mancherial,
Telangana from
Gadchiroli, Maharashtra. At the state border, it runs between
Sironcha and Somnoor Sangam receiving one tributary at each of those nodal points – the
Pranhita and subsequently the
Indravati.
Within Telangana Godavari enters into Telangana in Nizamabad district at Kandakurthy where Manjira, Haridra rivers joins Godavari and forms Triveni Sangamam. The river flows along the border between
Nirmal and
Mancherial districts in the north and
Nizamabad,
Jagtial,
Peddapalli districts to its south. About after entering
Telangana it merges with the back waters of the
Sriram Sagar Dam. The river after emerging through the dam gates, enjoys a wide river bed, often splitting to encase sandy islands. The river receives a minor but significant tributary
Kadam river. It then emerges at its eastern side to act as a state border with Maharashtra only to later enter into
Bhadradri Kothagudem district. In this district, the river flows through an important Hindu pilgrimage town –
Bhadrachalam. The river further swells after receiving a minor tributary
Kinnerasani River and exits into
Andhra Pradesh.
Within Andhra Pradesh Within the state of
Andhra Pradesh, the river flows through hilly terrain of the
Eastern Ghats known as the
Papi hills which explains the narrowing of its bed as it flows through a gorge for a few km, only to re-widen at
Polavaram. The deepest bed level of a submarine
plunge pool in Godavari River, located 36 km upstream of Polavaram dam, is at 45 meters below the sea level. Before crossing the Papi hills, it receives its last major tributary
Sabari River on its left bank. The river upon reaching the plains begins to widen out until it reaches
Rajamahendravaram.
Arma Konda () is the highest peak in the Godavari river basin as well as in the Eastern Ghats.
Dowleswaram Barrage was constructed across the river in Rajamahendravaram. At Rajamahendravaram, the Godavari splits into two large branches which are called Gautami (Gautami Godavari) and Vasishta Godavari and five smaller branches. Similarly, the Vasishta splits into two branches named Vasishta and Vainateya. These four branches which join the
Bay of Bengal at different places, form a delta of length along the coast of the Bay of Bengal and is called the
Konaseema region. This delta along with the delta of the
Krishna River is called the
Rice Granary of
South India.
Within Puducherry The Gautami which is the largest branch of the whole passes along
Yanam enclave of
Union territory of Puducherry and empties into sea at
Point Godavery. In fact, Yanam is bounded on south by Gautami branch and the
Coringa River originates at Yanam which merges into the sea near
Coringa village in Andhra Pradesh. ==Discharge==