Journal of Global Resources
Volume 4 (02)
July 2018
ISSN: 2395-3160 (Print), 2455-2445 (Online)

Page 41-46

06
MORPHOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF MANDAKINI DRAINAGE BASIN: A GEOSPATIALAPPROACH
Sandeep Kumar1 and S. K. Bansal21
Research Scholar 2Professor
Department of Geography, M. D. University, Rohtak, India
Email: bansal_sudhir@rediffmail.com
Abstract: Remote sensing and geographical information systems are technological tools thatcan be used to study features and specific locations on the earth’s surface. The present study
analyzes the linear aspect of Mandakini River drainage basin using the afore-mentioned tools.
Morphometry is a numerical way or mathematical measurement and analysis of different aspectsof a drainage basin. This study is based on spatial data acquired from a survey of India toposheets and satellite data - ASTER GDEM. Mandakini River is a major tributary of Alaknanda
River and drain in near about 1666.34Km² areas from to its source. The parameters of its linear
aspects of morphometry such as stream ordering, bifurcation ratio, and sinuosity indices havebeen calculated using Arc-Hydro tool in Arc GIS software. Stream ordering was calculated A.N.
Strahler’s method. The results of the study showed that Mandakini River basin is classified as 5thorder drainage basin and with mainly dendritic type of drainage pattern. The study concluded
that the development of Mandakini River is influenced greatly by hydrology.
Key words: Arc-Hydro tool, Dendritic, Morphometry, Remote Sensing and GIS
Introduction
Morphometry is the measurement and mathematical analysis of the configuration of the earth
surface, shape and dimension of its land forms (Reddy et.al. 2002). In the last few decades ingeomorphology, physiographic methods have been developed for the description of surface
drainage networks. The channel network of the drainage basin plays an important role inunderstanding the geomorphological setup of a drainage basin. The main objective of present
study is to explore the geometrical characteristics of the Mandakini River drainage basin byusing remote sensing and geographical information system (GIS) technology.
Study Area
Mandakini River is a major tributary of Alaknanda River which flows in the part of Rudraprayagand Tehri Garhwal districts in higher Garhwal Himalaya (Fig.1). It originates from the Chorabariglacier, located just 02 kms. upstream from Shri Kedarnath shrine. The total catchment area of
the River is near 1666.34 Km². It geographically lies between 30º 35’N to 30º 49’ N latitudes and78° 59’ E to 79° 22’ E longitudes. The major tributary of this River is Madhya Maheshwar,
whereas smaller tributaries include are Laster Gad, Helaun Gad, Kakra Gad, Kyunja Gad, Kyar
Gad, Ghasta Gad, Markanda Ganga, Kali Ganga and Vasuki Ganga. The Mandakini River finallymerges into Alaknanda River at Rudraprayag.
Methodology
Both types of data, primary (satellite data – LISS III, 2013 and ASTER GDEM, 2011) as well as
secondary data were used in this study. The boundary of study area has been demarked on thebasis of Survey of India Topo-sheet numbers (H44H1, 2, 3, 5 open series) on 1:50,000 scale
and Global Digital Elevation Model (GDEM) generated from Advanced Space borne ThermalEmission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data 2011. Stream ordering to the River network
has been assigned as per A.N. Strahler’s method. A number of morphometric parameters havebeen applied to study the linear aspect of drainage basin. These are presented in Table 1.

41

\Figure 01: Location of Study Area

Table 01: Formulae
lae adopted for computation of Morphometric
M
Parameter
arameter#1
2
3MorphometricParameters
Stream order (u)Stream length (Lu)Mean stream length(Lsm)

4

Stream length ratio (RL)

5

Bifurcation ratio (Rb)

6

Mean bifurcation ratio(Rbm)

7

Weighted mean
Bifurcation Ratio
Channel Index(CI)Valley Index (VI)
Hydrological Sinuosity
Index (HSI)
Topographic Sinuosity
Index (TSI)
Standard
Sinuosity
Index (SSI)

89101112

Formulae

Reference

Hierarchical rank
Length of the stream
Lsm= Lu /NuWhere, Lsm = Mean stream length
Lu =Total stream length of order ‘u’
Nu = Total no. of stream segments of order ‘u’
RL = Lu /Lu -1
Where, RL = Stream length ratio
Lu =The total stream length of the ‘u’
Lu – 1 = The total stream length of its next
lower order
Rb = Nu / Nu +1
Where, Rb = Bifurcation ratio
Nu = Total no. of stream segments of the order‘u’Nu +1= Number of segments of the next higherorder
Rbm = Average of bifurcation ratios of allorders

Strahler (1964)
Horton (1945)
Strahler (1964)

Sum of Product of Column III&I/
Sum of Total Number of Stream Involved
Channel Length (CL) / Air Length (AL)
Valley length (VL) / Air Length (AL)percent equivalent of CI-VI/CI-1

Nilpercent equivalent of VI-1/CI-1

J.E. Miller (1968)

Channel Length (CL) / Valley length (VL)

J.E. Miller (1968)

Horton (1945)

Schumn (1956)

Strahler (1957)

J.E. Miller (1968)
J.E. Miller (1968)
J.E. Miller (1968)

Results and Discussion
The linear aspects of morphometric parameters of the Mandakini River drainage basin havebeen computed and are summarized as follows:
Stream Order (u)The “stream order is defined as a measure of position of a stream in the hierarchy of tributaries”(Leopol et.al 1964).Historically,
Historically, many types of stream ordering method has been developed bydifferent scholars i.e. Gravelius (1914), Horton’s (1945), Strahler’s (1952, 1964), and Shreve(1966).But
But the Strahler’s and the Horton’s method are famous and more commonlycommon used.
Strahler’s and Horton’s stream order methods were applied in present study showing
owing at map 2.
Law of Stream Number
Generally in Strahler’s stream ordering method
method, the calculations of stream channel in its order
are known as stream number. The number of stream segment decreases as the orderincreases, the higher amount stream order indicates lesser permeability and infiltration(Khadriet.al, 2013). In present study with this method a total of 246 streams were identified, outof which 192 in 1st, 40 in2nd, 10 in 3rd, 3 in 4th and 1 in 5thare shown in table 2.
Law of Stream Length (Lu)By this method the stream length is measured from the farthest drainage, divided
divide by the mouthof River of stream length, a law proposed by Horton (1945). It is one of the most significant
hydrological features of the basin as it reveals surface runoff characteristics.
characteristics. Stream of relatively
smaller length are characteristic of areas with larger slopes and finer textures (Nageswara Rao.
K et.al, 2010). Usually in the 1st order streams,, the entire length of stream segments ismaximum. It will decrease as stream order increases. TheThe different order numbers
number of stream iscounting of the basin area and measured the total length of each order. In present study thehighest length of first order stream is 329 kms. followed by 2nd-196 kms, 3rd-139
139 kms,k
4th-39 kms
thand 5 order 38 kms. The total length of stream
streams is 714 kms. (Table 2)
Figure 02: Stream order Methods

Stream Length Ratio (R˪)
The stream length ratio is the ratio of total length of streams one order to the next lower order ofstream segment. The stream length ratio of Mandakini River basin (Table-2) varies from 0.60 to0.97.. The length ratio is not rising consistently. The highest stream length ratio is between the 5thand 4th orders i.e. 0.97. The lowest stream length ratio is between the 4th and 3rd orders i.e. 0.28.
Mean Stream Length (Lsm)
Mean stream length is a characteristic property related to the drainage network components andits associated basin surfaces (Strahler, 1964). It is a product of stream length of any order totheir numbers. It is noted that the tabletable 2 shows the variation in meanean stream length values
from1.71 to 38. The average value of Mean stream length is 3.01. The value of Mean stream
length is increase up to 3rd and 5th order but suddenly decreases in 4th order.. It indicates thatthe correlation between mean stream length and basin order is positive as well as negative
between Cumulative Mean stream Lengths and Stream Ordering showing Fig.5.
Bifurcation Ratio (Rb)
Bifurcation ratio is a ratio of stream number of a given order to the number of streams of the next
higher order. Generally, the perfect Rb values of any basin area ranges from 3 to 5.The
Bifurcation ratio of the present drainage basin is range
ranges from 3 to 4.8.The higher value of Rbindicates a strong structural controlcontrol. The lower value indicates the less structural disturbances inany drainage basin. The relation between Bifurcation ratio and Stream Order is presented inFigure 3.
Figure: 03 Based on table - 2(A) Exponential Negative Relationship between Number of Stream and Stream Order(B) Positive Relationships between Cumulative Mean Lengths and Stream Order(C) Relation between Bifurcation ratio and Stream OrderTable 02: Linear aspects of the drainage network of the study area using Strahler’s method

StreamOrder(u)Number ofStreams
(Nu)

12345
Total

192
40
1031246

1st order/
2nd order

Total Length ofStreams in km(Lu)Mean
Length(Km.)
(Lsm)

329
1.71
196
4.9
139
13.9
39
1338
38
741
3.01*
Bifurcation Ratio(Rb)nd
2 order/
3rd order/
rd3 order
4th order

4.8

4

3.3

StreamLengthRatio (RL)

Log
NuLog Lu

0.60
0.71
0.28
0.97

2.29
1.60
1.00
0.480.00

2.52
2.29
2.14
1.59
1.58

4th order/
5th order

MeanBifurcation
Ratio(Rbm)

33.378**Source: Base on Author calculation from ASTER data, *- Mean Length (Km.) (Lsm), **- Mean bifurcation ratio (Rbm)

Mean Bifurcation Ratio (Rbm)
Theoretically mean bifurcation ratio is an average of bifurcation ratios of all orders. In the present
study the mean bifurcation ratio is 3.775 that indicate the geological structures are lessdisturbing the drainage pattern.
Weighted Mean Bifurcation Ratio
This method introduced by Strahler (1952), is calculated by multiplying the bifurcation ratio foreach successive pair of orders by the total numbers of streams involved in the ratio and taking
the mean of the sum of these values. The weighted mean bifurcation ratio in the present study is4.57 that indicate the mature stage of the basin (table-3). This value depicts the Neo-tectonic
activity of the study area.
Table 03: Weighted Mean Bifurcation Ratio
StreamNumber of Bifurcation No. Stream
Product of Column
Order(I)Stream(II)of Ratio(III)
Involved(IV)
III&IV (V)11922404.8232
1113.6310450200433.3
1342.9513412Total
299
1368.5
Source: calculated by Authors

Weighted mean Bifurcation Ratio = Sum of Product of Column III&IV ÷ Sum of Total Number ofStream Involved= 1368.5/299 = 4.57
Sinuosity Indices
Generally, the sinuosity value varies from 1 to 4 or more. Rivers having a sinuosity of less than
1.5 are called straight or sinuous and those Rivers which are having a sinuosity index of 1.5 ormore than 1.5 are called meandering (Leopoled et.al, 1964). J.E. Miller (1968), proposed
sinuosity index in term of hydraulic and topographic sinuosity index in term of hydraulic andtopographic sinuosity, which is measured as the ratio between the channel lengths (CL), valley
lengths (VL) and their air distance from source to mouth of the River (AL). During youth stage
topographic sinuosity index (TSI)( greater than 60 percent) is greater than hydraulic sinuosity
index (HSI), while in mature, late mature and old stages, the hydraulic sinuosity index (HSI > 60percent) dominates the topographic sinuosity index (TSI) due to loss in relief by erosion factors.
This index indicates the stage of River.
45

Table 04: Mandakini River basin: Channel, Hydraulic and Topographic Sinuosity Indices
Mandakini CLVLALCIVIHSITSISSIRiver(KM)
(KM)
(KM)
basin
80
64
56
1.43
1.14
67.44
32.56
1.25
Source: calculated by Authors

The standard sinuosity index of Mandakini River is 1.25, which reveals that the River is insinuous course. The table - 4 shows that the hydraulic sinuosity index (67.44 percent) is high.
The topographic sinuosity index (32.56 percent) is low. HSI (Hydraulic Sinuosity Index) is higher
than the TSI (Topographic Sinuosity Index) indicating that basin is in mature stage. It is clearthat hydrology has greatly influenced the development of sinuosity in the Mandakini River basin.
Conclusion
The morphometric study of Mandakini River basin indicates that the basin is a 5th order drainage
basin with dendritic drainage pattern. The stream length ratio varies from 0.60 to 0.97.This
indicates that correlation between mean stream length and basin order is positive and reflects
same result in cumulative mean lengths and stream order. Bifurcation ratio is varying from 3 to4.8 which indicate that geological structures are not distorted. The standard sinuosity index (SSI)
is 1.25 which reveals that the River is in sinuous course. HSI (67.44 percent) is higher than TSI(32.56 percent) which acknowledge the mature stage of River. The study concluded that thedevelopment of Mandakini River is influenced greatly by hydrology.
References
1. Leopoled L.B et.al, ( 1964): “ Fluvial Processes in Geomorphology” 1stEdition, DoverPublications, W.H. Freeman, San Francisco, California.
2. Sharma,S.H.
(1982):“PerspectivesinGeomorphology
EssaysonIndianGeomorphology”1stEdition, Concept Publishing Company, Bali Nagar, New Delhi.
3. Singh Savindra (1998): “Geomorphology” 3rdEdition, Prayag Pustak Bhawan, Allahabad.
4. Nag S.K. (1998): “Morphometric Analysis Using Remote Sensing Techniques in The Chaka
Sub-Basin, Purulia District, West Bengal”, Journal of The Indian Society of Remote Sensing,Vol. 26.
5. Kale, S. et.al. (2001):“Introduction to Geomorphology” 1stEdition, Orient Longman Limited, 17
Chittarangan Avenue, Calcutta- 700072.
6. Reddy et.al. (2002):“Geomorphological Analysis For Inventory of Degraded Lands in a River
Basin of Basaltic Terrain Using Remote Sensing and GIS”, Journal of The Indian Society ofRemote Sensing, Vol.30.
7. Nageswara Rao. K et.al. (2010): “Morphometric Analysis of Gostani River Basin in Andhra
PradeshState,India Using
Spatial Information
Technology”International
Journal of Geomatics and Geosciences, Vol. 1
8. Khadri, S.F.R et.al. (2013): “Geomorphological Investigations of Bor River Basin (Tributary ofPedi River) Amravati District, Maharashtra using Remote Sensing and GIS techniques”,international Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Volume 4.
9. Chai Rinkiolu (2014):“Morphometric Analysis of Digaru River Basin, Lohit District, ArunachalPradesh”, IOSR Journal of Environmental Science, Toxicology and Food Technology (IOSRJESTFT) Vol. 8.

46