Geology
The river basin mainly consists of Pre-Cambrian rocks. The two major groups of rocks found in the Sharavathi river basin are the Dharwar system and the peninsular gneiss.
- The Dharwar system: This system contains metamorphic rocks that are considered to be among the oldest in India. These rocks are derived from ancient sediments like conglomerates, ferruginous quartzites, greywackes, schists and limestones. They are rich in iron and manganese.
- Peninsular gneiss: These are crystalline rocks and are made up of granite, granodiorite, granito-gneiss, migmatite etc.
Soils in the Sharavathi basin are mainly lateritic in origin and tend to be acidic and reddish to brownish in colour. The various type of soil found here are clay loamy, clayey, clayey-skeletal, and loamy. Four soil orders are found in the upstream river basin viz. ultisols, alfisols, inceptisols and entisols.
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