Krishna River Basin covers an area of 258,948 sqkm, which is nearly 8 percent of total geographical area of the country. The basin covers the states of Andhra Pradesh (113,271 sqkm), Maharashtra (69,425 sqkm) and Karnataka (76,252 sqkm).

An average annual surface water potential of 78.1 cubic km has been detected in this basin. Out of this, 58.0 cubic km is utilizable water. Cultivable area in the basin is about 203,000 sqkm, which is 10.4 percent of the total cultivable area of the nation.

Most of the topography of this basin is rolling and undulating except the western border, which is formed by a regular line of ranges of the Western Ghats. The significant soil categories found in the basin are black soils, laterite, red soils and lateritic soils, alluvial, mixed soils, red and black soils and saline and alkaline soils.

Course of Krishna River
Krishna River begins in the Western Ghats at an elevation of about 1337 m just north of Mahabaleshwar, about 64 km from the Arabian Sea and flows for 1400 km and outfalls into the Bay of Bengal at Hamasaledevi. The principal tributaries of Krishna are the Ghataprabha, the Malaprabha, the Bhima, the Tungabhadra and the Musi. It flows through the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

Tributaries of Krishna River
The major Tributaries of Krishna River are as follows:

Tungabhadra River: Most important tributary of Krishna River is the Tungabhadra River. The Hindus consider this river sacred and is mentioned as "Pampa" in Ramayana. The river flows through the states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

Malaprabha River: One of the tributaries of the Krishna River is the Malaprabha River, which flows through the state of Karnataka. The river originates in the Western Ghats at an elevation of 792 metres above the mean sea level.

Ghataprabha River: A major tributary of the Krishna River, the Ghataprabha River flows in state of Karnataka. The river originates in the Western Ghats at an elevation of 884 meters.

Bhima River: Rising in the Western Ghats to the east of Mumbai, the Bhima River is one of the major tributaries of the Krishna River. The river rises from the Bhimashankar hills near Karjat on the western side of the Western Ghats at an altitude of about 945 m above the sea level.

Kundali River: Kundali River is a significant tributary of Krishna River. It originates in the Kundali Hills of the Western Ghats in the state of Maharashtra and flows across the Upper Bhima River Basin.

Other tributaries of Krishna include the Venna River, Koyna River, Yerla River, Warna River, Dindi River, Paleru River, Musi River, Urmodi River, Tarli River and Dudhganga River. The rivers Venna, Koyna, Vasna, Panchganga, Dudhganga, Ghataprabha, Malaprabha and Tungabhadra join Krishna from the right bank; while the Yerla River, Musi River, Paleru and Bhima rivers join the Krishna from the left bank.

In 2009 October heavy floods occurred, isolating 350 villages and leaving millions homeless, which is believed to be first occurrence in 1000 years.