The Malaprabha river flows through Karnataka state. The Malaprabha river originates from Chorla ghats, which is a part of Western Ghats. It is a tributary river to the Krishna river and it flows through the Dharwad district. The Malaprabha river is an important river in north Karnataka. The ancient temple of Shri Mauli Devi, which is located at the origin of the Malaprabha river, is a well known pilgrimage center in India. Badami, Pattadakal and Aihole temples, which are situated on the bank of Malaprabha river are famous in India. Some historical places are located on the bank of the Malaprabha river as well as in the vicinity of the river.

Course

The Malaprabha river originates in the Western Ghats, in the Kanakumbi village of Belgaum district at an altitude of 792 meters above the sea level. The Kanakumbi village is 16 km west of Jamboti village, Khanapur Taluka, Belgaum District in Karnataka state. The Malaprabha river flows first in east direction and then north-west, for almost 300 km and then it merges with Krishna river, at Kudala Sangama in Bagalkot district, Karnataka state. Merging of these two rivers is done at height of 488 meters from sea level.
The Bennihalla, Tuparihalla and Hirehalla are the tributaries of the river. Including its tributaries, the Malaprabha river covers 11,549 Sq. km area. The catchment area of the river lies between 15° 00' and 16° 12 North latitude and 74° 14' and 76° 05' East longitude, in Karnataka state. The Malaprabha river flows from Kanakumbi, then Khanakpur-Soundatti-Nargund-KudalSangam, before it merges with the Krishna river at Kudal Sangama. The confluence of the Malaprabha river with the Krishna river is almost 304 km away from the origin of the Malaprabha river in Western Ghats.

Tributaries

The Bennihalla, Tuparihalla and Hirehalla are the main tributaries of the Malaprabha river. All these rivers originate in district Dharwad. The Bennihalla, Tuparihalla and Hirehall, all are small  streams. The Bennihalla originates at an elevation of 548 meters from sea level.

Malaprabha Reservoir

The Naviltheerth dam is built across the Malaprabha river in Belgaum district, near Munavalli. This dam has storage capacity of 1.07 km³ and it irrigates 2000 Sq. km land. The Malaprabha dam has a length of 155 meters and known as the shortest dam in Karnataka. The reservoir created by the dam is known as Renukasagar, which is the main source of water for the people in nearby areas.  Agricultural lands get supplies from the Renukasagar reservoir. The area of this reservoir is 11500 Sq.km. This dam is mainly built to fulfill the requirement of the people from nearest area, such as Dharwad, Belgaum, Bagalkot and Gadag. This dam is only 3 km away from the Saundatti Yellamma temple.