The drainage pattern commonly exhibited by rivers originating in the Nilgiri and Anaimalai hills of Kerala, where tributaries join the main stream at acute angles resembling the branches of a tree, is known as:

💡 Solution & Explanation

A dendritic pattern resembles the branching geometry of tree roots because the underlying rock strata are uniform and offer equivalent resistance to weathering. This pattern develops naturally across homogeneous terrain without structural control from underlying faults or folds. Unlike trellis or radial patterns, dendritic systems are the most common drainage configuration found globally in river basins.