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Morphometric Anaysis of The Major Valley Systems Around Bengaluru

The three major Valley systems of Bengaluru namely Vrishabhavathi Valley, Hebbal Valley and Kormangala-Challaghatta Valley houses many lakes and play a very important role in its hydrological processes. The morphometric analysis helps us to learn about the characteristics of the underlying rock type, pervious nature of soil, slope gradients, runoff behavior and water retention potential within the Valley systems. Morphometric analysis was carried out for Linear, areal and relief aspects. The Sur

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
81 views12 pages

Morphometric Anaysis of The Major Valley Systems Around Bengaluru

The three major Valley systems of Bengaluru namely Vrishabhavathi Valley, Hebbal Valley and Kormangala-Challaghatta Valley houses many lakes and play a very important role in its hydrological processes. The morphometric analysis helps us to learn about the characteristics of the underlying rock type, pervious nature of soil, slope gradients, runoff behavior and water retention potential within the Valley systems. Morphometric analysis was carried out for Linear, areal and relief aspects. The Sur

Uploaded by

IJAR JOURNAL
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ISSN: 2320-5407 Int. J. Adv. Res.

9(07), 991-1002

Journal Homepage: - www.journalijar.com

Article DOI: 10.21474/IJAR01/13202


DOI URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.21474/IJAR01/13202

RESEARCH ARTICLE
MORPHOMETRIC ANAYSIS OF THE MAJOR VALLEY SYSTEMS AROUND BENGALURU

Pavithra C.J1, Balakrishna H B2 and Aravinda P.T3


1. Reseach Scholar, Bangalore Institute of Technology, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
2. Professor and Head, Department of Civil Engineering, Bangalore Institute of Technology, Bengaluru,
Karnataka, India.
3. Assistant Professor, Government Engineering College, Ramanagara, Karnataka, India.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………....
Manuscript Info Abstract
……………………. ………………………………………………………………
Manuscript History The three major Valley systems of Bengaluru namely Vrishabhavathi
Received: 25 May 2021 Valley, Hebbal Valley and Kormangala-Challaghatta Valley houses
Final Accepted: 29 June 2021 many lakes and play a very important role in its hydrological processes.
Published: July 2021 The morphometric analysis helps us to learn about the characteristics of
the underlying rock type, pervious nature of soil, slope gradients, runoff
Key words:-
Hebbal Valley, Kormangala- behavior and water retention potential within the Valley systems.
Challaghatta Valley(K-C Valley), Morphometric analysis was carried out for Linear, areal and relief
Morphometry, Vrishabhavathi Valley(V- aspects. The Survey of India topographical maps and Digital Elevation
Valley)
Model data were used to prepare the base map and the drainage maps
with the help of GIS software. The Strahler system of stream ranking
was adopted. Among the three Valleys, Vrishabhavathi Valley is
observed to be the largest Valley in terms of area and perimeter.
Vrishabhavathi Valley basin has sixth order stream as the highest
stream order where as the other two Valleys have fifth order stream as
the highest order. The drainage pattern formed within the Valley
systems was observed to be dendritic. The watershed shape factor
showed that the Vrishabhavathi Valley is elongated in shape where as
the K-C Valley and the Hebbal Valleys are less elongated in shape
comparatively. The drainage density of the three Valleys revealed that
they fall under coarse drainage density classification. The relief aspects
of the three Valleys exhibit low reliefs indicating a flat surface. This
helps in designing a sustainable management plan for the three major
Valley systems in terms of their conservation and also ensure
sustainable soil and water usage within the Valley systems.

Copy Right, IJAR, 2021,. All rights reserved.


……………………………………………………………………………………………………....
Introduction:-
Bengaluru, popularly called as "The City of Lakes" is located in the semi-arid peninsular plateau in the south-
eastern part of Karnataka. Bengaluru and its surrounding regions are not supported by perennial river system, but
has three major Valley systems namely Vrishabhavathi Valley, Hebbal Valley and Kormangala-Challaghatta Valley
and few minor Valleys. These three major Valleys play an important role in Bengaluru's hydrological processes.
Morphometric analysis is very important to analyse the physical, characteristics, hydrological processes and
drainage patterns in the study area. Linear aspects, areal aspects and relief aspects of the catchment area are
considered for the morphometric analysis. Morphometric analysis helps to obtain the mathematical relationships

Corresponding Author:- Pavithra C J 991


Address:- Reseach Scholar, Bangalore Institute of Technology, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
.
ISSN: 2320-5407 Int. J. Adv. Res. 9(07), 991-1002

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.

Materials and Methods:-


Preparation of the Base Map
The road networks, railway lines, water bodies, stream networks were digitized using the Survey of India (SOI)
Topographical map of 1:50,000 scale using ArcGIS Software. Satellite data was used to update the data in the
preparation of the base map.

Figure 1 :-Base Map of the study area

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.

Stream order (Nu)


The drainage map was first prepared using SOI Topographical map and SRTM (Digital elevation model) satellite
data. Stream ordering is very important for the drainage basin analysis and systematic mapping of any river
system/streams. Strahler system of stream ranking [22] was followed in the present study and ArcGIS Spatial
Analyst Hydrology tool was used for stream ordering. Strahler system of stream ordering is a "top down" approach
where stream segments are ordered numerically from stream's headwater to a desirable point downstream called an
outlet. In this system, the ordering begins with the tributaries at the stream’s headwaters being assigned as
one(smallest, outermost, unbranched tributaries). When the two-first order streams joins, a second-order stream is
formed. When two second-order stream segments meet, a third-order stream is formed and so forth. The higher
order stream is always associated with the high discharge, The stream segment of the highest order called the trunk
stream/principal stream. It is the one through which all the discharge of sediments and water passes.

Bifurcation ratio( Rb)


Bifurcation ratio is defined as the ratio of number of segments of a given order (N u) to the number of streams of the
next higher order (Nu+1) by Schumm [18]. According to Horton, the bifurcation ratio varies from a minimum of 2 in

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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)

Where, Rb = Bifurcation ratio;


Nu= number of stream segments of u or
N(u+1) = number of streams of the (u+1) order.

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.

Mean Stream length( Lu )


The mean stream length is calculated by dividing the total stream length of order u(L u) by the number of
streams(Nu). The unit of mean stream length is represented in Kms. It indicates the characteristic size of the
components of a drainage network and its contributing basin surfaces. Topography of the catchment has influence
on the mean stream length. The following equation was used to calculate the mean length of the channel.
N

L
i 1
u
Lu 
Nu

Where Lu is the Mean length of channel of order u in Km


Lu is the total stream length of order u i
Nu is the total number of stream segments of order u.

Stream length ratio ( u )


L
It is defined as the ratio of the stream length of any stream order to the next lower order of the stream segments
(Horton, 1945). Horton also states that the stream length ratio will remain constant throughout the successive orders
of the stream and the variation is mainly due to the slope as well as topographical changes in the basin area. The
equation used to calculate the stream length ratio is expressed as
Lu
RL 
L(u 1)

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

Length of Overland Flow (L0)


Length of overland flow is the flow of water over the surface before it gets drained into a definite stream channel.
The length of overland flow is a measure of its erodibility. It is one of the independent variables affecting both the
hydrologic as well as physiographic development of the drainage basin. Horton[7] defined the length of overland
flow as the length of flow path, projected to a horizontal plane of the rain flow from a point on the drainage divide to

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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.

Area and Perimeter


The area and perimeter of the Valley basins were directly measured with the help of ArcGIS software using
calculate geometry tool.

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.

Watershed shape factor


Watershed shape is the shape of projected surface on the horizontal plane of the watershed map. The shape of a
watershed has a profound impact on the runoff and sediment transport process. The shape of the catchment also
regulates the rate at which water enters the stream. The quantitative expression can be characterized in terms of form
factor, compaction coefficient, circularity ratio, and elongation ratio.
Form factor (Rf)

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

Where, Rf = Form factor


A = Area of the watershed in sq.km
L =Length of the watershed in km

Compactness coefficient (Cc)


Compactness coefficient of a watershed is the ratio of perimeter of watershed to the circumference of circular area,
which is equal to the area of that watershed. The Cc is independent of size of watershed and depends only on the
slope. A circular watershed is most susceptible to runoff from a drainage stand point as it yields the shortest time of
concentration before peak flow occurs in the watershed. Compactness coefficient is directly proportional to
elongation of the basin and a perfectly circular basin has its Cc as unity.

Perimeter of the watershed


Compactnes s coefficien t 
Circumfere nce of a circle whose area is
equal to the area of the watershed

P
Compactnes s Coefficien t 
2 A

Where, P = Perimeter of the watershed in km

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A= Area of the watershed in sq. km


Circularity ratio (Rc)
Circularity ratio is the ratio of the area of watershed to the area of circle having the same circumference as that of
the perimeter of the watershed (Miller, 1953)[11]. The value of Circularity ratio ranges from 0.2 to 0.8. Lower Rc
values indicate strongly elongated basin. It is expressed as

4A
Rc 
P2
Where, Rc = circularity ratio
A = watershed area in sq. km
P = Perimeter of watershed in km

Elongation ratio (Re)


The elongation ratio is defined as the ratio of diameter of a circle of the same area as the watershed to the maximum
watershed length (Schumm,1956)[17]. It is expressed as

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.

Table 1:-Watershed shape ratio


Watershed Shape ratio
Circular 0.9
Oval 0.8-0.9
Less elongated 0.7-0.8
Elongated 0.5-0.7
More elongated <0.5

Drainage density (Dd)


Drainage density is defined as the ratio of total length of all streams to the area of the basin or watershed. It
represents the closeness of the spacing of channels. It is expressed as km/Sq.km. It is one of the important
indications of the linear scale of landform elements in stream eroded topography and it varies inversely with the
length of the overland flow. In the areas of higher drainage density the infiltration is less and runoff is more. The
wells in this region of low drainage density will have good water potential leading to higher specific capacity of
wells. Thus, it indirectly indicates the groundwater potential. Drainage density is collectively influenced by climate,
topography, soil infiltration capacity, vegetation, and geology. It is mathematically expressed as:
N

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

Where = Cumulative length of all streams in km.


A = Area of watershed in sq. km.

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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.

Constant of channel maintenance (c)


Constant of channel maintenance is defined as the inverse of drainage density (Schumm, 1956)[17]. It indicates
number of Sq.km of watershed required to sustain one linear Km of channel and is expressed as sq km/km. It
depends on relief, rock type permeability, vegetation, climatic regime along with the duration of erosion. The
equation can be expressed as

1
C Sq. km / km
Dd
Where, Dd = Drainage density.

Stream frequency (Sf )


K

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

Where, = Total no. of stream segments,


A = Total area of watershed in Sq. km

The pattern of stream frequency based on number of streams/Sq. km. given by Horton is shown in table 2 below

Table 2:- Stream frequency pattern based on Number of streams/ Sq. km


Stream frequency No. of streams/Sq.kms
Low 0-5
Moderate 5-10
Moderate high 10-15
High 15-20
Very high 20-25

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.

Watershed relief (H)


Watershed relief is the difference in the elevation between the highest point of a watershed and the lowest point on
the Valley floor or watershed. It can be either measured on contour map or satellite derived DEM or field
measurements. It is expressed by the following equation
H= Elevation of the highest point of watershed - Elevation at the watershed outlet

Relief ratio (Rh)


Relief Ratio is the ratio of maximum watershed relief to the horizontal distance along the longest dimension of the
basin parallel to the principal drainage line (Schumm, 1956)[17]. It measures the overall steepness of the drainage

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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.

Relative relief (Rr)


Relative relief is defined as the ratio of the maximum watershed/catchment relief to the perimeter of the watershed.
It is expressed by the equation

H
Rr 
P
Where Rr = Relative relief
H = Maximum relief in km.
P = Perimeter in km.

Ruggedness number (Rn)


Ruggedness number is defined as the product of the watershed relief and drainage density (Strahler 1964)[22]. It
combines steepness of the slope with its length. Larger values of the ruggedness is due to high relief and high
drainage density. The lower value of ruggedness number implies that the area has intrinsic structural complexity and
is less prone to erosion. It also indicates low relief and drainage density.

Rn  HDd

Where Rn = Ruggedness number


H = Watershed relief in km.
Dd = Drainage density in km/Sq.km.

Results and Discussion:-


The various morphometric parameters computed based on the above mentioned criteria are tabulated in the table 3
below.

Table 3:- Morphometric parameters of the three major Valley system.


Sl Morphometric Unit Vrishabhavathi Hebbal Valley Kormangala-
No parameter Valley Challaghatta Valley
I Linear aspects
1 Stream Order
Highest stream order - Sixth Fifth Fifth
Sixth order streams - 647 - -
Fifth order streams - 170 295 302
Fourth order streams - 41 75 74
Third order streams - 9 17 19
Second order streams - 2 5 7
First order streams - 1 1 1
2 Total number of - 870 393 403
streams
3 Mean Bifurcation ratio - 3.80 4.17 4.42
4 Cumulative stream Km 721.48 365.61 387.58
length

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5 Length of overland Km 0.265 0.426 0.373


flow
II Areal aspects
1 Area of the delineated Sq.Km 382.5 311.26 289.68
Valley system
2 Perimeter of the Valley Km 136.36 133.97 118.71
system
3 Basin elongation Km 34.6 28 25.26
4 Drainage pattern - Dendritic Dendritic Dendritic
5 Watershed shape factor -
Form factor - 0.320 0.397 0.454
Compactness - 3.130 2.519 2.203
coefficient
Circulatory ratio - 0.258 0.218 0.258
Elongation ratio - 0.638 0.711 0.760
6 Drainage density Km/Sq.Km 1.886 1.175 1.338
7 Drainage texture Per Km 6.380 2.933 3.395
8 Constant of channel Sq.Km 0.530 0.851 0.747
maintenance /Km
9 Stream frequency No/Sq. km 2.275 1.263 1.391
III Relief aspects
1 Total relief Km 0.280 0.095 0.105
2 Relief ratio - 0.008 0.003 0.004
3 Relative relief - 0.002 0.001 0.001
4 Ruggedness number - 0.528 0.112 0.140

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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Figure 2:- Stream order map- Vrishabhavathi Valley.

Figure 3:- Stream order map- Hebbal Valley.

Figure 4:- Stream order map- Kormangala-ChallaghattaValley.

Table 4:-Bifurcation ratios of the three major Valley system


Sl No Vrishabhavathi Valley Hebbal Valley Kormangala-Challaghatta Valley
Number of Bifurcation Number of Bifurcation Number of Bifurcation ratio
streams ratio streams ratio streams
1 647 3.80 295 3.93 302 4.08
2 170 4.15 75 4.41 74 3.89
3 41 4.56 17 3.40 19 2.71
4 9 4.50 5 5.00 7 7.00
5 2 2.00 1 - 1 -
6 1 - - - - -

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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er of m strea h er of m strea h er of m strea h


stream length m ratio stream length m ratio stream length m ratio
s (Kms lengt s (Kms lengt s (Kms lengt
) h ) h ) h
(Kms (Kms (Kms
) ) )
1 647 365.8 0.47 - 295 174.1 0.59 - 302 192.4 0.64 -
2 170 171.7 1.01 0.47 75 93.9 1.25 0.54 74 90.4 1.22 0.47
3 41 83.4 2.04 0.48 17 48.5 2.85 0.52 19 55.60 2.93 0.62
4 9 67.7 7.53 0.81 5 22.2 4.44 0.46 7 28.27 4.04 0.51
5 2 7.6 3.80 0.11 1 26.8 26.78 1.21 1 20.84 20.83 0.74
6 1 25.2 25.23 3.32 - - - - - - -

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.

References:-
[1] Arbind K.Verma and Madan K.Jha, (2019) : "Extraction of Watershed Characteristics using GIS and Digital
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