According to ancient legend, the god Rama shot at the ground with his Ambu (translates to bow and arrow) because his wife, Sita, was thirsty.

[1] The total length of the river is around 128 km (80 mi) and it joins the Arabian Sea at Honnavar in Uttara Kannada district.

The major tributaries of the river are Nandihole, Haridravathi, Mavinahole, Hilkunji, Yennehole, Hurlihole, and Nagodihole.

The two major groups of rocks found in the Sharavati river basin are the Dharwar system and the peninsular gneiss.

[2] Soils in the Sharavati basin are mainly lateritic in origin and tend to be acidic and reddish to brownish in colour.

[2] The Linganamakki dam located in the Sagar taluk has a length of 2.4 km (1 mi) and was constructed across the Sharavati river in 1964.

The water from Linganamakki dam flows to Talakalale Balancing Reservoir through a trapezoidal canal with a discharge capacity of 175.56 cubic metres per second.

[citation needed] The Power House on the right bank of the Gerusoppa dam consists of four Francis-type turbines coupled to the generating units of 60 MW each.

The units are configured to operate at a design head of 47.5 m. An outdoor switchyard is located between the toe of the dam and the power house.

Power from the outdoor yard is evacuated through a 220 kV double circuit transmission line connected to the state grid at Talaguppa.

[5] The Sharavati river plunges 253 meters (830 ft) into a deep gorge here in four different segments called as Raja, Roarer, Rocket and Rani.

In a survey conducted in the basin, 23 amphibians belonging to the families of Bufonidae, Ichthyophiidae, Microhylidae, Ranidae and Rhacophoridae were recorded.

Trees in the evergreen forest include species such as Dipterocarpus indicus, Calophyllum tomentosum, Machilus macrantha, Caryota urens and Aporosa lindleyana.

[9] In the semi-evergreen and moist deciduous forests, common species include Lagerstroemia lanceolata, Hopea parviflora, Dalbergia latifolia, Dillenia pentagyna, Careya arborea, Emblica officinalis, Randia sp., Terminalia sp.