The Son, A Vindhyan River

Abstract

The Son River originates in the Amarkantak hills of Maikal range at an elevation of ~600 m in Madhya Pradesh and then flows through the north of Kaimur plateau of Vindhya ranges. This river is an important tributary of the Ganga River, and after flowing through the parts of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar states, it joins the Ganga River on its southern bank near Patna. The major tributaries of the Son River emerge in the highlands and flow in a northward direction to join the main river. The major tributaries of the river are the Rihand, North Koel, Gopad, Banas and Kanhar rivers. The Son River drains through the Gondwana and Vindhyan Supergroups, Mahakoshal Group, Central Granitic Complex (CGC) and Quaternary alluvium. Five widespread alluvial formations have been proposed by others in the Son River valley, namely the Sihawal, Khunteli, Patpura, Baghor and Khetaunhi, in the oldest to youngest sequence. The Son River water has been found good to excellent in quality for irrigation and also suitable for drinking purposes. Many dams, reservoirs and hydropower generation plants occur on the Son River and its tributaries; these resources are serving for irrigation and electricity generation in the Son River valley. It has been reported that the hydropower generation has been decreasing in the last three decades for the Son River valley.