A river's basin (also called its drainage basin or catchment area) is the total area of land that drains all its rainfall into that river and its tributaries. The river with the largest such basin commands the most territory.
The Ganga basin contains 40% of India's total water resources despite covering only 26% of its land area — making it the most water-rich zone in the country and the agricultural powerhouse of India.
The Ganga River has the largest drainage basin in India.
Basin Area: Approximately 8.6 lakh square kilometres — covering about 26% of India's total geographical area.
The Ganga basin spans parts of 11 states:
This makes the Ganga basin home to the largest population of any river basin in the world — approximately 400+ million people.
The Ganga system collects water from an enormous network of rivers:
The Yamuna alone is a massive tributary, draining Haryana, Delhi, UP, and parts of MP.
The **Amazon River** in South America has the world's largest drainage basin — about 7 million sq km, covering 40% of South America.
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