Rivers - Kerala

Rivers in Kerala

There are 44 rivers in Kerala, all originating in the Western Ghats. 41 of them flow westward and 3 eastward. The rivers of Kerala are small, in terms of length, breadth and water discharge. The rivers flow faster, owing to the hilly terrain and as the short distance between the Western Ghats and the Arabian sea. All the rivers are entirely monsoon-fed and many of them shrink into rivulets or dry up completely during summer.

The following is a list of the westward-flowing rivers of Kerala state in southern India, in order of length, and their tributaries. These rivers all originate in the Western Ghats range and flow westward into the Kerala Backwaters or into the Arabian Sea. Length in kilometers is in parentheses.

1. Periyar River (244 KM)
   
1. Edamala River
2. Cheruthoni River
3. Mullayar River
4. Muthirapuzha River
5. Perinjankutti River
2. Bharatapuzha River (209 KM)
   
1. Thuthapuzha River
2. Gayathripuzha River
3. Kalpathipuzha River
4. Kannadipuzha River
3. Pamba River (176KM)
   
1. Azhuthayar
2. Kakkiyar
3. Kakkattar
4. Kallar
5. Perunthenaruvi
6. Madatharuvi
7. Thanungattilthodu
8. Kozhithodu
9. Varattar
10. Kuttemperoor
4. Chaliyar River (169  KM)
   
1. Cherupuzha (Mavoor)
2. Iruvanjippuzha
3. Cherupuzha (Areekode)
4. Kuthirappuzha
5. Kuruvanpuzha
6. Kanjirappuzha
7. Karimpuzha
8. Pandippuzha
9. Neerppuzha 
5. Chalakudy River (169 KM)
   
1. Parambikulam River
6. Kadalundy River (130 KM)
7. Achankoil River (128 KM)
8. Kallada River (121 KM)
9. Muvattupuzha River (121 KM)
10. Valapattanam River (110 KM)
11. Chandragiri River (105 KM)
12. Manimala River (90 KM)
    
13. Vamanapuram River (88 KM)
14. Kuppam River (88 KM)
15. Meenachil River (78 KM)
16. Kuttiyadi River (74 KM)
17. Karamana River (68 KM)
18. Shiriya River (68 KM)
19. Kariangode River (64 KM)
20. Ithikkara River (56 KM)
21. Neyyar River (56 KM)
    
22. Mahé River (54 KM)
23. Kechery River (51 KM)
24. Perumba River (51 KM)
25. Uppala River (50 KM)
26. Karuvannur River (48 KM)
1. Kurumali River
27. Anjarakkandi River (48 KM)
28. Tirur River (48 KM)
29. Neeleshwaram River (46 Km)
30. Pallikkal River (42 KM)
31. Kallayi River (40 KM)
32. Korapuzha River (40 KM)
33. Mogral River (34 KM)
34. Kavvai puzha River (31 KM)
35. Pannagam River (30 KM)
36. Thanikkudam River (29 KM)
37. Mamam River (27KM)
38. Thalassery River (28KM)
39. Chittary River (25KM)
40. Ramapuram River (19KM)
41. Ayiroor River (17KM)

East flowing rivers

There are three rivers rise in Kerala and flow eastwards, Kabini into Karnataka and the other two into Tamil Nadu.

1. Kabani (57KM)
   
2. Bhavani (38KM)
3. Pambar (25 KM)