Sharavathi River

About:

The river Sharavathi originates at a place called Ambutheertha in the Thirthahalli taluk of Shimoga district. According to a legend of the times of Ramayana, this is the place where the Hindu God Rama broke a bow to win the hand of Sita[1] The total length of the river is around 128 km and it joins the Arabian Sea at Honnavar near Uttara Kannada district. [2] On its way, the Sharavathi forms the Jog Falls where the river falls from a height of 253 mts. The river is dammed at Linganamakki and the portion of the river above the dam is upstream and the remaining is downstream. The major tributaries of the river are Nandihole, Haridravathi, Mavinahole, Hilkunji, Yennehole, Hurlihole, and Nagodihole.[2] Sharavathi river basin falls into two districts of Karnataka namely Uttara Kannada and Shimoga. The upstream river basin is extended to two taluks in Shimoga viz. Hosanagara and Sagara. The entire basin has an area of 2985.66 km². with upstream being 1988.99 km². and the downstream being 996.67 km².

The river basin mainly consists of Pre-Cambrian rocks. The two major groups of rocks found in the Sharavathi river basin are the Dharwar system and the peninsular gneiss.
* The Dharwar system: This system contains metamorphic rocks that are considered to be among the oldest in India. These rocks are derived from ancient sediments like conglomerates, ferruginous quartzites, greywackes, schists and limestones. They are rich in iron and manganese.
* Peninsular gneiss: These are crystalline rocks and are made up of granite, granodiorite, granito-gneiss, migmatite etc.

Soils in the Sharavathi basin are mainly lateritic in origin and tend to be acidic and reddish to brownish in colour. The various type of soil found here are clay loamy, clayey, clayey-skeletal, and loamy. [3] Four soil orders are found in the upstream river basin viz. ultisols, alfisols, inceptisols and entisols.

Location info:

Climate/Weather:

Temperature:-April is usually the hottest month with the mean daily maximum temperature at 35.8oC and the mean daily minimum at 22.2oC.[2]
Humidity:-During the morning, the relative humidity exceeds 75% for most times of the year. During the months of monsoon, the relative humidity during the afternoons is approximately 60%. During the driest months (January to March), the relative humidity in the afternoon is less than 35%

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Flora and fauna:- The Sharavathi river basin is rich in biodiversity. In a survey conducted in the basin, 23 amphibians belonging to the families of Bufonidae, Ichthyophiidae, Microhylidae, Ranidae and Rhacophoridae were recorded. Out of these 23 amphibians, 15 species are endemic to the Western Ghats. The river lends its name to the following species of fish that have been discovered in its waters:

* Batasio sharavatiensis: A bagrid catfish discovered near Jog Falls, Uttara Kannada district.
* Schistura sharavathiensis: A fish species discovered in Sharavathi river near Algod, Shimoga district.

Sharavathi Valley Wildlife Sanctuary:- A part of the Sharavathi river basin was declared as a wildlife sanctuary on 20 April 1972.[8] Spread over an area of 431.23 km²., it has dense evergreen and semi-evergreen forests. Linganamakki reservoir spread over an area of 128.7 km². is a part of this sanctuary. The remaining area has been divided into core zone (74.33 km².), buffer zone (170.67 km²) and tourism zone (57.53 km².).[8] The altitude in the sanctuary varies from 94 to 1102 mts, the highest point being Devarakonda on the southern edge of the sanctuary. Temperatures range from 15° to 38 °C and mean annual rainfall is 4500 mm.

Flora:- The sanctuary has mainly evergreen, semi-green and some moist deciduous forests. Trees in the evergreen forest include species such as Dipterocarpus indicus, Calophyllum tomentosum, Machilus macrantha, Caryota urens and Aporosa lindleyana. [8] In the semi-evergreen and moist deciduous forests, common species include Lagerstroemia lanceolata, Hopea parviflora, Dalbergia latifolia, Dillenia pentagyna, Careya arborea, Emblica officinalis, Randia sp., Terminalia sp. and Vitex altissima.[8]

Fauna:- The sanctuary is a refuge of the endangered Lion-tailed macaque. Other mammals include tiger, leopard (black panther), wild dog, jackal, sloth bear, spotted deer, sambar, barking deer, mouse deer, wild pig, common langur, bonnet macaque, Malabar giant squirrel, giant flying squirrel, porcupine, otter and pangolin. Reptiles include king cobra, python, rat snake, crocodile and monitor lizard.[8] Some of the avian species found in the sanctuary include three species of hornbill, paradise flycatcher, racket-tailed drongo, blue-throated barbet and Indian lories and lorikeets.

Mobile range info:

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Nearest Visiting places:

Honnemaradu:- Honnemaradu is an island on the reservoir formed by the Linganamakki dam. It is located in the Sagara taluk of Shimoga district. This place is good for watersports and hence attracts its enthusiasts. Some of the water sports possible here are canoeing, kayaking and wind surfing. Bird-watching enthusiasts also visit this place

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Gerusoppa dam:- The Gerusoppa dam project was completed in the year 2002 with the main purpose of generation of electricity. It was constructed near the Gerusoppa village in the Uttara Kannada district. It has a height of 56 metres and a length of 545 metres.

Hydroelectricity:- The Sharavathi Hydroelectric project was started to tap the electricity generating potential of the river. There are three power generating stations in this project viz.
☀ The Sharavathi Generating Station with 10 Units and an installed capacity of 1035 MW
☀ The Linganamakki Dam Powerhouse with 2 units and an installed capacity of 55 MW
☀ The Gerusoppa Dam Project with 4 units totalling to 240 MW.

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Sharavathi River Nearest Attraction