THE RIVER SYSTEM OF THE INDIAN OCEAN Bounded as the Indian Ocean is on three sides by Africa, Asia, and Australia, its river-system is naturally divisible into three sections—the African, Asiatic, and Aus tralian.
Of the African section it will suffice to remark that the central equatorial regions are drained by the Nile into the Mediterranean, and that, consequently, there is no area for the development of any large rivers east of the Nile basin. With the exception of the Gananeh, Shebeyli, and Rovuma, the streams that drain the easterly slope of the central plateaux of Africa are unimportant. Further south, however, we have the two large rivers of the Zambesi and Limpopo. From Delagoa Bay to Cape Agulhas, a considerable number of "streams drain the counter-slope of the Drakensberg, and other ranges of South Africa, The Asiatic section comprises some of the largest rivers of the globe, which drain the continent south of the Armenian Mountains, and the table land of Tibet. The
Euphrates and Tigris fall into the Persian Gulf ; the Indus, Nerbudda, and other rivers of Western India, fall into the Arabian Sea; while the Cauvery, Krishna, Godavery, Maha middy, Ganges, Brahmapootra, and other rivers of Eastern Hindostan, and the Martaban, Sitang, and Irrawaddy, drain ing Further India, fall into the Bay of Bengal.
Of the Australian section of the river-system of the Indian Ocean, the only large rivers are the Murray and its three principal tributaries—Darling, Lachlan, and Minium bidjee, draining South-East Australia. The rivers draining the western and northern parts of the continent are of no great length or importance, the principal being the Swan, Murchison, Gascoigne, Victoria, Daly, and Flinders. The following table gives the locality, length, and drainage area of the principal rivers falling into the Indian Ocean.