44 Major Rivers of Kerala

Periyar River is the longest river of Kerala/Image Credit: Challiyan

There are 44 major rivers in Kerala, out of which 41 are west flowing and 3 (Kabani, Bhavaniand Pampar) are east flowing. Kerala is is rich in water resource, however it does not have any long river. Periyar with its modest length of 248 km is the longest river of Kerala. The Bharatapuzha river traverses 209 km out its total 250 km path in Kerala, which makes it second longest river in the state of Kerala.

The major rivers of Kerala are Nila (bharathapuzha), Periyar, Pampa, Kunthipuzha, Chandragiripuzha, Korapuzha and Chaliyar. These rivers perform two function. They provide a cheap water transport and they make land fertile. The harbours at river mouths provide a safe anchorage to trading ships and fishing boats.

The rivers of Kerala also played an important role in development of earlier societies. Almost 24 out of the 32 Brahmin settlements are on the banks of rivers. A number of historic and religious places are situated on river banks. Alos most of the earlier literary and artistic forms originated in the river valleys.

Westward Flowing Rivers in Kerala
The westwarf flowing rivers of Kerala originate from the Western Ghats and flows either into Kerala backwaters or Arabian Sea.

1. Periyar River (248)
    Idamalayar (Edmala river)
    Cheruthoni River
    Mullayar
    Muthirapuzha
    Perinjankutti
2. Bharatapuzha River (250km, out of which 209 is in kerala)
    Thuthapuzha
    Kanjirappuzha
    Gayathripuzha
    Kalpathipuzha
    Kannadipuzha
3. Pamba River (176)
    Azhuthayar
    Kakkiyar
    Kakkattar
    Kallar
    Perunthenaruvi
    Madatharuvi
    Thanungattilthodu
    Kozhithodu
    Varattar
    Kuttemperoor
4. Chaliyar River (169)
    Cherupuzha (Mavoor)
    Iruvanjippuzha
    Cherupuzha (Areekode)
    Kuthirappuzha
    Kuruvanpuzha
    Karimpuzha
    Pandippuzha
    Neerppuzha
5. Chalakudy River (145)
    Parambikulam River
6. Kadalundy River (130
7. Achankoil River (128)
8. Kallada River (121)
9. Muvattupuzhayaar (121)
    Thodupuzhayarr
    Kothaayar
    Kaliyar
10. Valapattanam River (110)
11. Chandragiri River (105)
    Kudumbur River
12. Manimala River (90)
13. Vamanapuram River (88)
14. Kuppam River (88)
15. Meenachil River (78)
16. Kuttiyadi River (74)
17. Karamana River (68)
18. Shiriya River (68)
19. Kariangode River (64)
    Chaithravahini River
20. Ithikkara River (56)
21. Neyyar River (56)
22. Mahé River (54)
23. Kechery River (51)
24. Perumba River (51)
25. Uppala River (50)
26. Karuvannur River (48)
    Kurumali River
27. Anjarakandy River (48)
28. Tirur River (48)
29. Neeleshwaram River (46)
30. Pallikkal River (42)
31. Kallayi River (40)
32. Korapuzha River (40)
33. Mogral River (34)
34. Kavvai puzha River (31)
35. Thanikkudam River (29)
36. Mamam River (27)
37. Thalassery River (28)
38. Chithari River (25)
39. Ramapuram River (19)
40. Ayiroor River (17)
41. Manjeswaram River (16)

East flowing Rivers in Kerala
There are three east flowing river in Kerala. One of them, Kabini flows into Karnataka and other two into Tamil Nadu. All of them merges with Cauvery river and before finally flowing into Bay of Bengal.

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

Also Read:
Mountains of Kerala
Mountain Passes of Kerala

Sources:
1. Government of Kerala