The Koraiyar River is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

in the Ambasamudram taluk of the Tirunelveli district of the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

. It is a right-bank tributary of the

Thamirabarani River The Thamirabarani or Tamraparni or Porunai is a perennial river that originates from the Agastyarkoodam peak of Pothigai hills of the Western Ghats, above Papanasam in the Ambasamudram taluk. It flows through Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi dis ...

, which flows through Tirunelveli and

Thoothukudi district Thoothukudi District is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The district was formed by bifurcation of Tirunelveli district on 20 October 1986. Thoothukudi is the district headquarters and largest city of the distr ...

s. It is formed by the confluence of the minor Vadakkur Koraiyar and Therkku Koraiyar rivers, which are its

headwater stream The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

s, on the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats. It flows for a total length of before flowing into the Kannadian channel near the village of Vellankuli upstream of the Kannadian anicut. The channel bypasses the anicut before joining the Thamirabarani downstream and to the east of the dam. Along its course it is joined by three tributaries, the Vandal Odai, Elumichaiyar, and Koppuraiyar rivers. The Koraiyar's drainage basin covers an area of and has a recorded maximum flood discharge of 12000 cusecs.

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