The Girna originates at Kem Peak in the Western Ghats mountain range and flows east across Nashik District—where it is joined by the Mausam River—and into Malegaon. It then swings north to join the Tapti River. The biggest dams on it are Chankapur Dam (built by the British near Abhona in the Kalwan tehsil, where the Sarpganga River joins the Girna) and Girna Dam (built in 1969). The river basin lies on the Deccan Plateau, and its valley has fertile soil that is intensively farmed.