Morphometric Anaysis of The Major Valley Systems Around Bengaluru
Morphometric Anaysis of The Major Valley Systems Around Bengaluru
9(07), 991-1002
RESEARCH ARTICLE
MORPHOMETRIC ANAYSIS OF THE MAJOR VALLEY SYSTEMS AROUND BENGALURU
between various attributes of streams. It also helps to understand the relationship of various aspects within a
drainage basin and compare various basins developed under different topographical and geo-morphological
regimes. The Linear aspects include stream order, stream length, bifurcation ratio etc. Areal aspects include area,
perimeter, watershed shape factor, drainage density, drainage texture, stream frequency etc. Relief aspects include
watershed relief, relief ratio, relative relief, ruggedness number etc. Remote sensing and Geographic information
systems are powerful systems which are very useful for carrying out the morphometric analysis.
Morphometric analysis
Morphometric analysis was carried out to analyze the physical characteristics, hydrological processes and drainage
patterns in the three Valley systems. Linear, areal and relief aspects were considered for the analysis.
Linear aspects
Linear aspects include the measurements of linear features of drainage such as stream order, stream length, stream
length ratio etc and are discussed below.
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"flat or rolling drainage basins" to 3 to 4 in "mountains or highly dissected drainage basins". Bifurcation ratio is a
prime parameter in the drainage basin analysis of the Valley systems because it helps to link the hydrological regime
of the watershed under topological and climatic conditions. It helps in interpreting the shape of the catchment and its
runoff behavior. The following expression was used to calculate the Bifurcation ratio
Nu
Rb
N (u 1)
Stream length(Lu)
Stream length is the total length of streams in the given catchment area or any watershed. The length of the stream is
an indication of the contributing area of the catchment. The streams of various order were counted and their lengths
measured using ArcGIS software. The total length of stream segments decreases with increasing order of the
streams. Deviation from this general behavior indicates that the terrain is characterized by moderately steep slopes
and/or high relief, underlain by varying lithology and probable uplift across the basin (Singh and Singh 1997)[19].
Steep well drained areas have numerous small tributaries.
L
i 1
u
Lu
Nu
L
Where u = Average length of the stream length of order u in Km
L (u-1) = Average length of stream of next lower order in Km
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a point on the adjacent stream channel. It is approximately equal to one half of the reciprocal of the drainage density.
The shorter the length of the overland flow, the surface runoff is more faster. It is inversely related to the average
slope of the channel.
Areal Aspects
Areal aspects of a watershed or basin is defined as the total area projected upon a horizontal plane contributing
overland flow to the channel segment/streams of the given order and includes all tributaries of lower order. Areal
aspects include area and perimeter of the drainage basin, drainage pattern, drainage density, stream frequency etc.
Drainage Pattern
A drainage system is the pattern formed by the rivers, streams and lakes in a particular fashion in the drainage
basin. It is the planimetric arrangement of streams on the land surface forming a drainage system. The drainage
pattern may reflect the bedrock type (hard rock or soft rock), the original slope and structure, landforms,
modification of the earth surface(uplift depression, tilting etc), structural elements (faulting, folding, warping etc)
and soil characteristics. It is also controlled by the topography of the land, structural and lithological aspects. The
drainage pattern may be dendritic or deranged, parallel, rectangular, radial, trellised, annual, angular and centripetal.
Horton[7] defined form factor as the ratio of the area of the watershed to the square of the watershed length and is
expressed as;
A
Form factor ( R f )
L2
P
Compactnes s Coefficien t
2 A
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4A
Rc
P2
Where, Rc = circularity ratio
A = watershed area in sq. km
P = Perimeter of watershed in km
2 A /
Re
L
Where, Re is the elongation ratio
A is watershed area in sq. km
L is length of the watershed in km
The value of the elongation ratio ranges from 0.4 to 1, lesser the value, more is the elongation of the watershed. We
can find many classifications and the one mentioned in the table 1 below is used in the present study.
L
i 1
u
Dd Cumulative length of all the stream segment
A
Drainage density ( Dd )
Area of the watershed
N
L
i 1
u
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Drainage texture
Drainage texture is the total number of stream segments of all the orders in a river basin/catchment to the perimeter
of the basin. Unit of drainage texture is km-1.
1
C Sq. km / km
Dd
Where, Dd = Drainage density.
N
i 1
u
Sf
A
Horton (1932) defined the stream frequency or channel frequency as the total number of stream segments of all
orders per unit area. Stream frequency is dependent on lithology of the basin and the drainage texture. The equation
used is given as
K
N
i 1
u
The pattern of stream frequency based on number of streams/Sq. km. given by Horton is shown in table 2 below
Relief Aspects
Relief aspects are the significant parameters which help to understand the denudation processes within the
catchment and are also the indicator of the water flow direction.
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basin and is an indicator of the intensity of erosion processes happening on the slopes of the basin. The high relief
ratio indicates high relief and steep slope, where as the low value of relief ratio is mainly due to the resistant
basement rocks in the basin and low degree of slope (Mahadevaswamy G. et. al)[9]. It is expressed by the following
equation
H
R
L
Where, H = Total catchment relief in k
L = Maximum length of the catchment in km.
H
Rr
P
Where Rr = Relative relief
H = Maximum relief in km.
P = Perimeter in km.
Rn HDd
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In the present study, the Vrishabhavathi Valley is measured as the largest Valley in terms of area and perimeter. It
has sixth order stream as its highest order where as Hebbal and Kormangala-Challaghatta Valleys have fifth order
stream as their highest order. The total number of streams respectively in the V-Valley are 870, in the Hebbal
Valley 393 and in K-C Valley 403. The stream order map of the three Valleys are shown in the below figures 2, 3
and 4 and the stream order numbers are represented in the above table 3. The bifurcation values calculated for all the
three Valleys stay within normal values indicating less structural disturbance and are tabulated in table 4. All the
three Valleys exhibit a dendritic drainage pattern. The pattern of the drainage formed in the study area shows well
integrated pattern formed by a main stream with its tributaries branching and re-branching freely in all the
directions. The dendritic drainage pattern indicates the semi-pervious nature of the soil.
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The stream lengths, mean stream lengths and stream length ratios calculated for the three major Valley system are
mentioned in the below table 5.
Table 5:- Stream lengths, mean stream lengths and Stream length ratios of the three major Valley system
Strea Vrishabhavathi Hebbal Kormangala-Challaghatta
m Valley Valley Valley
Order
Numb Strea Mean Lengt Numb Strea Mean Lengt Numb Strea Mean Lengt
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The watershed shape factor was calculated in terms of form factor, Compactness coefficient, circulatory ratio and
elongation ratios. The form factor value of Vrishabhavathi Valley is 0.320, Hebbal Valley is 0.397 and Kormangala-
Challaghatta Valley is 0.454. All the three Valleys are elongated in nature and flow for longer duration. The
compactness coefficient for Vrishabhavathi Valley is 3.130, Hebbal Valley is 2.519 and Kormangala-Challaghatta
Valley is 2.203. The results indicate Vrishabhavathi Valley is elongated and the other two Valleys are less elongated
comparatively. The value of Circularity ratio for Vrishabhavathi Valley is 0.258, Hebbal Valley is 0.218 and
Kormangala-Challaghatta Valley is 0.258. These values also indicate that the Valleys are elongated in nature. In the
present study, the value of elongation ratio for Vrishabhavathi Valley is 0.638 which also indicates that the Valley is
elongated. The elongation ratios of Hebbal Valley and Kormangala-Challaghatta Valley are 0.711 and 0.760
respectively, which also indicate that these Valleys are less elongated in shape comparatively.
The drainage density value obtained for Vrishabhavathi Valley is 1.886 Km/Sq.km, Hebbal Valley is 1.175
Km/Sq.km and Kormangala-Challaghatta Valley is 1.338 Km/Sq.km. All the three values have low drainage density
values which may be due to low relief and permeable/semi-permeable sub-soil materials. The V-Valley exhibits
moderate to fine drainage texture and the other two Valleys coarse drainage texture. This is a collective result of all
the geo-morphological and the geological processes. Low value implies low risk of soil erosion. The value of
Constant of channel maintenance for Vrishabhavathi Valley is 0.530 Sq.km/km, Hebbal Valley is 0.851 Sq.km/km
and Kormangala-Challaghatta Valley is 0.747 Sq.km/km. The result here indicates the less lithological control in
the region. The values also depends on rock permeability. relief, vegetation and duration of the rainfall. For the
current study areas of Vrishabhavathi Valley, Hebbal Valley and Kormangala-Challaghatta Valley, the stream
frequency values are 2.275, 1.263 and 1.391 respectively. The stream frequency of the study exhibit low values and
indicates a positive co-relation drainage density.
The total relief calculated for the delineated Vrishabhavathi Valley is 0.280Kms, Hebbal Valley is 0.095Kms and
Kormangala-Challaghatta Valley is 0.105Kms. All the three Valleys have low reliefs indicating almost a pediplain
or a flat surface as a whole. The value of the relative ratio for Vrishabhavathi Valley is 0.008, Hebbal Valley is
0.003 and Kormangala-Challaghatta Valley is 0.004. The results show that the Slope in the Valley regions vary
from nearly level to gentle slope or very gentle slope. The relative relief value of Vrishabhavathi Valley is 0.002,
Hebbal Valley is 0.003 and Kormangala-Challaghatta Valley is 0.001. The results show that the Slope in the Valley
regions vary from nearly level to gentle slope or very gentle slope. (In few points within the Valley we can notice
moderate slope and steep slope). The values of the ruggedness number computed for Vrishabhavathi Valley is 0.528,
Hebbal Valley is 0.112 and Kormangala-Challaghatta Valley is 0.140. Low values of ruggedness number indicate
low relief and coarse drainage density.
Conclusions:-
Morphometric analysis was carried out for linear aspects, areal aspects and relief aspects. Among the three Valleys,
Vrishabhavathi Valley is larger in geographical area and perimeter compared to the other two Valley systems.
Vrishabhavathi Valley basin has the sixth order stream as its highest stream order where as the other two Valleys
have fifth order stream as their highest order. The mean bifurcation ratios stay within normal values indicating less
structural disturbance. The watershed shape factor calculated in terms of form factor, compaction coefficient,
circularity ratio and elongation ratio indicates that the Vrishabhavathi Valley is elongated in its shape, where as the
K-C Valley and the Hebbal Valley are less elongated in their shape. Drainage density reflects land use and land
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cover pattern, which affects the infiltration process and the watershed response time between the precipitation and
discharge. It measures how well or poorly a watershed or basin is drained by the stream channels. The V-Valley
exhibits moderate to fine drainage texture and the other two Valleys coarse drainage texture. Low Values indicate
permeable to semi-permeable subsoil material and low relief. The drainage pattern formed within the Valley
systems is dendritic, characterized in irregular branching of tributary streams in all the directions. The dendritic
drainage is an indication of lack of structural control. The dendritic drainage pattern is formed in areas with flat and
uniform bedrock type(that has not been folded). This drainage pattern indicates that the soil is semi-pervious in
nature. The relief aspects of the three Valleys exhibit low reliefs indicating almost a pediplain or a flat surface as a
whole. The results show that the Slope in the Valley regions vary from nearly level to gentle slope or very gentle
slope. (with few points moderate to steep slope). Relief and drainage density contribute to the ruggedness number.
Low values of ruggedness number indicate low relief and coarse drainage density. The morphometric analysis helps
us to learn about the characteristics of the underlying rock type, the pervious nature of soil, the slope gradients, the
runoff behavior and the water retention potential within the Valley systems. This helps in designing a sustainable
management plan for the conservation of three major Valley systems and ensure sustainable soil and water usage
within the Valley systems.
Acknowledgment:-
I acknowledge and thank Bangalore Institute of Technology, Karnataka for giving me the opportunity and facilities
to conduct my research work.
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