page_title: Chambal River
section_title: Origin, drainage and mouth
hierarchical_section_title: Chambal River / Origin, drainage and mouth
caption_attribution_description: The Chambal River near Kota, Rajasthan.
context_page_description: The Chambal River is a tributary of the Yamuna River in central India, and thus forms part of the greater Gangetic drainage system. The river flows north-northeast through Madhya Pradesh, running for a time through Rajasthan, then forming the boundary between Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh before turning southeast to join the Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh state.
  It is a legendary river and finds mention in ancient scriptures. The perennial Chambal originates at janapav, south of Mhow town, near manpur Indore, on the south slope of the Vindhya Range in Madhya Pradesh. The Chambal and its tributaries drain the Malwa region of northwestern Madhya Pradesh, while its tributary, the Banas, which rises in the Aravalli Range, drains southeastern Rajasthan. It ends a confluence of five rivers, including the Chambal, Kwari, Yamuna, Sind, Pahuj, at Pachnada near Bhareh in Uttar Pradesh state, at the border of Bhind and Etawah districts.
context_section_description: The1,024 kilometres (636 mi) long Chambal River originates from the Singar Chouri peak on the northern slopes of the Vindhyan escarpment near Mandav,67.5 kilometres (41.9 mi) South-West of Mhow in Indore District, Madhya Pradesh state, at an elevation of about 843 metres (2,766 ft). The river flows first in a northerly direction through Madhya Pradesh (M.P.) for about 376 kilometres (234 mi) and then in a generally north-easterly direction for 249 kilometres (155 mi) through Rajasthan. The Chambal flows for another 216 kilometres (134 mi) between M.P. and Rajasthan and a further 150 kilometres (93 mi) between M.P. and Uttar Pradesh(U.P.). It enters U.P. and flows for about 33 kilometres (21 mi) before joining the Yamuna River in Jalaun District at an elevation of 122 metres (400 ft), to form a part of the greater Gangetic drainage system.
  From its source down to its junction with the Yamuna, the Chambal has a fall of about 732 metres (2,402 ft). Of this, around 305 metres (1,001 ft) is within the first 26 kilometres (16 mi) reach from its source. It falls for another 195 metres (640 ft) in the next 312 kilometres (194 mi), where it enters the gorge past the Chaurasigarh Fort. During the next 157 kilometres (98 mi) of its run from the Chaurasigarh Fort to Kota city, the bed falls by another 91 metres (299 ft). For the rest of its 529 kilometres (329 mi) run, the river passes through the flat terrain of the Malwa Plateau and later the Gangetic Plain with an average gradient of 0.21 m/km.
  The Chambal is a rainfed catchment with a total drained area up to its confluence with the Yamuna of 144,591 square kilometres (55,827 sq mi). The drainage area resembles a rectangle up to the junction of the Parvathi and Banas Rivers with the Chambal flowing along its major axis. The Chambal Basin lies between latitudes 22° 27' N and 27° 20' N and longitudes 73° 20' E and 79° 15' E. On its south, east and west, the basin is bounded by the Vindhyan mountain ranges and on the north-west by the Aravallis. Below the confluence of the Parvathi and Banas, the catchment becomes narrower and elongated. In this reach, it is bounded by the Aravalli mountain ranges on the North and the Vindhyan hill range on the south.
  The Vindhyan scarps, in the northwest, flank the left bank of the Chambal, and subsequently, is mainly drained by it. The Chambal rising within about 16 km of the Narmada river, appears as a consequent on the Mesozoic surface, superimposed on the scarps, and cuts straight through them, with subsequent tributaries on the softer shales. The River Chambal and its tributaries Kali Sindh and Parbati have formed a triangular alluvial basin, about 200–270 metres (660–890 ft) above the narrow trough of the lower Chambal in Kota. It is a typical anterior-drainage pattern river, being much older than the rivers Yamuna and Ganges, into which it eventually flows.
  The tributaries of the Chambal include Shipra, Choti Kalisindh, Sivanna, Retam, Ansar, Kalisindh, Banas, Parbati, Seep, Kuwari, Kuno, Alnia, Mej, Chakan, Parwati, Chamla, Gambhir, Lakhunder, Khan, Bangeri, Kedel and Teelar.
  According to Crawford (1969), the Chambal river valley is part of the Vindhyan system which consists of massive sandstone, slate and limestone, of perhaps pre-Cambrian age, resting on the surface of older rocks.
  Hillocks and plateaus represent the major landforms of the Chambal valley. The Chambal basin is characterised by an undulating floodplain, gullies and ravines. The Hadauti plateau in Rajasthan occurs in the upper catchment of the Chambal River to the southeast of the Mewar Plains. It occurs with the Malwa plateau in the east. Physiographically, it can be divided into Vindhyan scarp land and Deccan Lava (Malwa) plateau. According to Heron (1953), the eastern pediplain, occurring between the Vindhyan plateau and the Aravalli hill range, contains a thin veneer of Quaternary sediments, reworked soil and river channel fills. At least two erosional surfaces can be recognised within the pediplain are the Tertiary age. The Vindhyan upland, the adjoining Chambal valley
caption: Chambal River near Kota, Rajasthan
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