Morphometric Analysis of a Drainage Basin using Geographical Information System: A Case study

Abstract

Geographical information system (GIS) has emerged as an efficient tool in delineation of drainage pattern and ground water potential and its planning. GIS and image processing techniques can be employed for the identification of morphological features and analyzing properties of basin. The morphometric parameters of basin can address linear, areal and relief aspects. The present study deals mainly with the geometry, more emphasis being placed on the evaluation of morphometric parameters such as stream order (Nu), stream length (Lu), bifurcation ratio (Rb), drainage density (D), stream frequency (Fs), texture ratio (T), elongation ratio (Re), circularity ratio (Rc),and form factor ratio (Rf) etc.. Study area is Charthana, geographically located between 76° 30′, 76° 40′ E longitudes, and 19°30′, 19°45′ N latitudes located in Parbhani district of Maharashtra state in India. The GIS based Morphometric analysis of this drainage basin revealed that the Charthana is 4 th order drainage basin and drainage pattern mainly in sub-dendritic to dendritic type thereby indicates homogeneity in texture and lack of structural control. Total number of streams is 148, in which 95 are first order, 37 are second order, 12 are third order and 4 are fourth order streams. The length of stream segment is maximum for first order stream and decreases as the stream order increases. The drainage density (Dd) of study area is 1.45 km/km2.This study would help the local people to utilize the resources for sustainable development of the basin area.