Analyze the drainage characteristics of the Indian subcontinent: Which of the following rivers forms an extensive inland drainage basin terminating in the salt flats of the Thar Desert without reaching the sea?

💡 Solution & Explanation

The Luni River originates in the western slopes of the Aravalli Range near Ajmer and flows through the Thar Desert before disappearing into the marshy salt flats of the Rann of Kutch, exhibiting an inland drainage pattern. Sabarmati and Mahi flow westward into the Gulf of Khambhat in the Arabian Sea, while Banas is a tributary of the Chambal river system draining eastward into the Yamuna. Inland drainage systems occur in arid or semi-arid regions where evaporation rates exceed surface runoff volumes. The water of the Luni becomes increasingly saline as it flows downstream through desert saline soils.