DRAINAGE OF NORTH GUJARAT - PRESENT AND PAST

The area bound by the rivers Sabarmati and Luni forming a part of Nort h Gujarat and Southwest Rajasthan alluvial plains has preserved in its sediments and landscape various changes which have occurred in the dr ainage systems during the Upper Quaternary times. The present day drai nage mainly cuts across the material deposited by a set of older river s which now stand disrupted. The present day rivers are observed to ha ve been superimposed over older river channels and dominantly follow n umerous tectonic lineaments and faults of a later date. The new channe ls reveal and have preserved relicts of the earlier fluvial system. Ge omorphic and drainage studies reveal existence of two ancient major ri ver systems, the remnants of which are now represented by the Banas an d Rupen rivers. The Banas, along with its major tributary Sipu is the sole survivor of the older fluvial system, whereas Rupen has been part ially destroyed.