BALASAN BASIN: MORPHOLOGY AND LANDSCAPE EVOLUTION

– A MORPHOMETRIC ANALYSIS

Shuvasish Karmokar*

ABSTRACT: The purpose of the present study is to trace out the landscape evolution of Balasan
basin in the context of morphological analysis of landforms and drainage characteristics. The drainage
basin of Balasan, a sixth order stream, located in Darjeeling Himalaya, West Bengal, was
quantitatively analyzed using modern morphometric techniques. The area under study falls in the
Eastern Himalaya, a prominent physiographic region in the North east India. Humid sub tropical
climate with monsoonal influence prevails in this part of the world. Darjeeling gneiss of Archaeans
era, Gorubathan formation, Siwalik group and the alluvial formation of recent to sub recent of
Quaternary period are the major rock formations present in the area under study. Geologically the
basin exposes glacio-fluvial and fluvial surfaces of the landscape. The study identifies four erosional
surfaces and three distinct morphological units in the basin: a) Rugged Hilly terrain, b) Dissected foot
hills and c) Plain zone. The landscape of the basin came across the polygenetic process and developed
under multi cycle of erosion. At present the landscape of the basin going through the mature stage of
cycle of erosion.

Keywords: Landscape, Landform, Morphology, Morphometry.