The Damanganga river rises in the Sahyadri hill ranges near village Ambegaon in Dindori taluka of Nasik district of Maharashtra State at an elevation of 950 m above MSL and traverses a total distance of about 131.30 km before it drains into the Arabian Sea at Daman. Damanganga along with its tributaries mainly flows through the hilly areas of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Union Territory Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman. It drains total area of 2318 sq km in Maharashtra State, Gujarat State and the Union Territories of Dadra, Nagar Haveli (DNH) and Daman & Diu before it drains into the Arabian Sea. The Damanganga River flows through Maharashtra State, Gujarat State and U.Ts. of DNH and Daman & Diu, while Vagh river up to Khargihill dam entirely lies in Maharashtra State.

The catchment of the river is fan shaped and the river is prone to severe flashy floods The important tributaries of the Damanganga river are Dawan, Shrimant, Val, Rayte, Lendi, Vagh, Sakartond, Dongarkhadi, Roshni and Dudhni. The Damanganga river drains total 2318 sq km.

The statement showing distribution of drainage area is given below:

The entire Damanganga Basin lies in the Western Ghats region. It is bound on the west by Arabian Sea and on the east by Sahyadri ranges. The climate of the basin is characterised by a hot summer, which is generally dry except the southwest monsoon during June to September. Accordingly to Koeppan’s Scheme, the climate of the basin is classified as AWTropical Savannah as most of the peninsular plateau, south of Tropic of Cancer, is classified. The climatic variations are experienced in the patterns of temperature, rainfall & winds, whether of seasons and degree of wetness or dryness. These are described as follows

The Temperature is maximum in the month of May and Minimum in the month of December to January.

The basin receives most of the rainfall from the South West monsoon during June to October. Almost 98% of the annual rainfall of the basin is received during this period.

The average wind speed in the Damanganga basin varies about 0.7 km/h to 4.3 km/h. in the pre and post monsoon period.

The relative Humidity in Damanganga basin varies between 65.5 % and 91.9 %, depending upon the season. Humidity reaches maximum value during the monsoon period in the range of about 91.9 to 81.8 %. In the winter months of November and December, it decreases.

The Great Trap region of the Deccan covers substantial part of the Basin. It is entirely of volcanic formation. The volcanic portion consists of compact, stratified basalts, and an earthy trap. The basalts are the most conspicuous geological feature. To the west they lie in flat-topped ranges, separated by valleys, trending from west to east. In some flows the basalt is columnar and then it weathers into the fantastic shapes. The formation at the base of the traps is chiefly amygdaloidal, containing quartz in vertical veins, crystals and zeolitic minerals, especially apophyllite weathering into a gray soil. The absence of laterite, which caps the summits of the hills to the south, is a curious feature in the geology of the area. The basalt is either fine textured or it is coarse and nodular.

Soils found in Damanganga basin can broadly be divided in three groups:

1) Red coarse soil

2) Coastal Alluvial soil

3) Black soil

The red soil is less common and is suitable for cultivation under a heavy and consistent rainfall. Red coarse soil is derived from disintegration of basaltic rock fragments under heavy rainfall. It is shallow in depth, coarse sandy loam to sandy loam in texture, rapidly drained and low in fertility. The alluvium is deep to very deep yellowish brown to grayish brown in colour and clay loam to salty loam in texture. This soil is normally free from salinity and alkalinity. The black soil is very fertile for cereals and pulses. The black soil contains high alumina and carbonates of calcium and magnesium with variable amounts of potash, low nitrogen and phosphorus.

The important project of this basin is Damanganga project. The salient features of the important components of Madhuban dam of Damanganga projects are as follows.

This is a composite dam constructed across the river Damanganga near village Madhuban of Dharampur Taluka, Valsad district of Gujarat state. The main purpose of the project is irrigation, other being water supply for domestic and industrial use and for generation of 2.0 MW of power. The project has a network of canal system on either bank of the river to provide irrigation to an area of 56630-ha of land. The dam has height of 50 m above the deepest foundation to store 567 Mm3 of water.

Water Year Book 2013-2014, West Flowing Rivers, CWC, Narmada and Tapi Basin Organization, Hydrological Observation Circle, Gandhinagar, March 2015.