See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/235994552

The significance of morphometric analysis for obtaining groundwater

potential zones in a structurally controlled terrain

Article · January 2005

CITATIONS READS

85 2,279

3 authors, including:

Pd Sreedevi Shakeel Ahmed

National Geophysical Research Institute National Geophysical Research Institute
32 PUBLICATIONS   1,082 CITATIONS    47 PUBLICATIONS   1,820 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Aquifer Mapping View project

Geophysical Application in Earth Sciences View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Shakeel Ahmed on 20 May 2014.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Original article
The significance of morphometric
analysis for obtaining groundwater
potential zones in a structurally
controlled terrain
P.D. Sreedevi Æ K. Subrahmanyam Æ Shakeel Ahmed
Abstract Watershed development and management
plans are more important for harnessing surface
water and groundwater resources in arid and semi-
arid regions. To prepare a comprehensive watershed
development plan, it becomes necessary to
understand the topography, erosion status and
drainage patterns of the region. This study was
undertaken to determine the drainage characteristics
of Pageru River basin using topographical maps on a
scale of 1:50,000. The total area of the Pageru River
basin is 480 km2. It was divided into X sub-basins
for analysis. The drainage patterns of the basin are
dendritic and include a sixth order stream. The
quantitative analysis of various aspects of a river
basin drainage network characteristics reveals
complex morphometric attributes. The streams of
lower orders mostly dominate the basin. The
development of stream segments in the basin area is
more or less affected by rainfall. The elongated
shape of the basin is mainly due to the guiding effect
of thrusting and faulting. The erosional processes of
fluvial origin have been predominately influenced by
the subsurface lithology of the basin.
Keywords Drainage density Æ Bifurcation ratio Æ
Relief ratio Æ Pageru River basin Æ India
Received: 24 May 2004 / Accepted: 16 August 2004
Published online: 20 October 2004
ª Springer-Verlag 2004
P.D. Sreedevi (&) Æ K. Subrahmanyam Æ S. Ahmed
National Geophysical Research Institute,
Uppal Road, Mail Box no. 77,
500 007 Hyderabad, India
E-mail: pd_sreedevi@yahoo.co.in
Tel.: +91-40-23434711
Fax: +91-40-27171564
412 Environmental Geology (2005) 47:412–420
Introduction
Pageru River basin is a chronically drought prone area of
the Rayalaseema region, Cuddapah district, Andhra Pra-
desh, India. The main occupation of the people in this area
is agriculture. They depend on groundwater because sur-
face water sources are scarce. Due to erratic rainfall pat-
tern, and uncontrolled abstraction groundwater levels
have declined to deeper levels. Therefore, watershed
development schemes become more important for devel-
oping the surface and groundwater resources in these
areas. To prepare a comprehensive watershed develop-
ment plan, it becomes necessary to understand the
topography, erosion status and drainage pattern of the
region. In this paper an attempt has been made to study
the drainage characteristics of the basin by analysing the
topographical maps and land-sat imageries.
Study area
The Pageru River basin covers an area of 480 km2 in the
Survey of India toposheet numbers 57 J/6, J/7,J/10 and J/11
on a scale of 1:50,000. The basin area lies between latitudes
14
39¢04¢¢ and 14
39¢51¢¢ N and longitudes 78
19¢12¢¢ and
78
41¢32¢¢ E (Fig. 1).
The general climate of the Pageru River basin is semi-arid
in nature. The temperature reaches its high in the month
of April and low in the month of December, with the
monthly mean maximum of 40.7
C, a mean minimum of
27.6
C and a mean temperature of 34.2
C in the month of
April. The monthly mean maximum of 27.9
C, a mean
minimum of 24.0
C and a mean temperature of 26.0
C
are observed in the month of December.
The basin receives an average annual rainfall of 580.8 mm
with significant seasonal variations. The intensity and
amount of rainfall are unpredictable during the southwest
monsoon period (June to September). The maximum
rainfall occurs during the northeast monsoon period
(October and November). The period between January and
May is the main dry season.
Geology
The rock formations of the study area are classified as
Cuddapah Super Group and Kurnool Group. The oldest
DOI 10.1007/s00254-004-1166-1

are Tadipatri Formations belonging to the lower Cuddapah
Super Group essentially composed of slaty shales with
interbedded thin layers of siliceous limestone, quartzite
and basic intrusives. The Tadipatri Formations are over-
lain by the rocks of the Kurnool Group, which include
quartzite, limestone and shale.
Hydrogeomorphology
Remote sensing data has been used to interpret the land-
forms (IRS-IB LISS-II FCC on 1:50,000 scale) to identify
groundwater prospect zones. The various geomorphic
units are classified as favourable, moderately favourable
and poor zones for groundwater (Fig. 2). Groundwater
development is promising in the floodplains, alluvial
plains and valley fills which are associated with thick
alluvium and weathered material having high porosity and
permeability characteristics. Only a small area is occupied
Original article
Fig. 1
Drainage
by these landforms, hence favourable zones for ground-
water are very limited in the basin area (Sreedevi and
others 2001). A large part of the area is occupied by
pediments, pediplains, structural hills, mesas and buttes
that do not favour infiltration and hence generally are not
favourable for groundwater exploration.
Materials and methods
The morphometric analysis of the Pageru River basin was
based on published topographical maps on a 1:50,000
scale. The quantitative analysis of the morphometric
characteristics of the basin include stream orders, stream
numbers, stream lengths, bifurcation ratios, basin circu-
larity, drainage density, drainage frequency, drainage
Fig. 2
Hydrogeomorphology
Environmental Geology (2005) 47:412–420 413
 Original article

texture, relief ratio, etc., which determines the geomorphic
stage of development of the area on the basis of hypso-
metric integrals.
The drainage network of the basin is analysed as per the
laws of Horton (1945) and stream ordering is made after
Strahler (1964).
The lower number of streams in sub-basins II, III, IV and
V indicate the occurrence of matured topography adjacent
to the stream concerned. In the case of sub-basins VI and
VII the higher number of streams in each order indicates
that the topography is still under erosion as it is evidenced
from the ground checks.

Stream length (Lu)

Results and discussion
The total drainage area of Pageru River basin is 480 km2
and it is divided into ten sub-basins for the analysis
(Fig. 1). The area of sub-basins I to X are shown in
Table 1. The drainage pattern of Pageru River basin is
dendritic in nature, which is commonly found in hori-
zontal sedimentary rocks.
The details of stream characteristics confirm to Horton’s
(1932) ‘‘ laws of stream numbers’’ which state that the
number of streams of different orders in a given drainage
basin tends closely to approximate an inverse geometric
ratio. It also confirms to Horton’s (1932) the ‘‘laws of
stream length’’ which states that the average length of
streams of each of the different orders in a drainage basin
tends closely to approximate a direct geometric ratio.
Stream order
The streams of the Pageru River basin have been ranked
according to the Strahler’s (1964) stream ordering system
and the number of streams of each segment (Nu) of the order
(U) is presented in Table 2.
It is obvious that the total number of streams gradually
decreases as the stream order increases. From the stream
order analysis sub-basin X is designated as a 6th order
stream covering an area of 94.33 km2. Whereas sub-basin
VII is designated as a 5th order stream covering an area of
about 100.78 km2. Sub-basins II, III, IV, V, and VI are
identified as 4th order sub-basins with an area covering
65.31, 88.69, 22.56, and 57.57 km2, respectively. Sub-basin
I is identified as a 3rd order sub-basin with an area cov-
ering 20.16 km2. Sub-basins VIII and IX are identified as
2nd order sub-basins with areas covering 11.29 and
11.57 km2, respectively. The variation in order and size of
the tributary basins is largely due to physiographic and
structural conditions of the region.
The stream lengths for all sub-basins of various orders
have been measured on topographical maps. Horton’s law
(Horton 1932) of stream lengths supports the theory that
geometrical similarity is preserved generally in the basins
of increasing order (Strahler 1964). It is clear that the
length of stream segments is maximum in case of first
order streams except in sub-basins I, IV and VIII. In
almost all cases, the basin length decreases as the order
increases except in sub-basins V and X and it is lowest in
case of the highest order streams. However, a sudden
increase in total length of 2nd order of I, IV and VIII sub-
basins and 4th order of V sub-basin and 5th order of X
sub-basins is noticed. This is due to the variation in relief
over which the segments occur.
Mostly all streams rise from the basic intrusives and
quartzite hilly terrains. It is noticed that stream segments
up to 3rd order traverse parts of the high altitudinal zones,
which are characterised by steep slopes, while the 4th, 5th
and 6th order stream segments occur in comparatively
plain lands.
This geometric relationship is shown graphically in the form
of a straight line when the log values of these variables are
plotted on an ordinary graph (Fig. 3a and b). Using the log
values of stream numbers and the order of streams, the
regression lines are fitted for the basin as a whole, as well as
for ten sub-basins.
This observation is the basis of Horton’s (1932) law of
stream number, which states that the number of stream
segments of each order form an inverse geometric
sequence with order number. The law has received veri-
fication by accumulated data from many localities
(Strahler 1952; Leopold 1956; Schumm 1956; Smith 1958;
Melton 1958). When the logarithm of the number of
streams is plotted against order, most drainage networks
show a linear relationship, with a small deviation from a
straight line (Chow 1964).

Table 1
Morphometric parameters of Basin/sub-basin Area (km2) Drainage Length Form factor Elongation Circulatory
Pageru River basin frequency (km) ratio ratio
(km/km2)

Sub-basin-I 20.16 0.55 10.00 0.20 0.46 0.26

Sub-basin-II 65.31 1.09 18.50 0.19 0.49 0.47
Sub-basin-III 88.69 1.16 17.50 0.29 0.61 0.54
Sub-basin-IV 17.74 0.28 7.00 0.36 0.68 0.65
Sub-basin-V 22.56 2.04 10.50 0.20 0.51 0.45
Sub-basin-VI 57.57 3.24 21.00 0.11 0.37 0.28
Sub-basin-VII 100.78 1.56 28.00 0.13 0.41 0.37
Sub-basin-VIII 11.29 0.44 5.00 0.45 0.76 0.52
Sub-basin-IX 11.57 0.52 6.00 0.32 0.64 0.65
Sub-basin-X 94.33 1.27 37.00 0.07 0.30 0.13
Pageru river basin 480.00 1.41 47.00 0.22 0.53 0.50

414 Environmental Geology (2005) 47:412–420

 Original article

According to Horton’s principle the number of streams is

0.85
1.40
5/6
negatively correlated with the order (Horton 1932). Pageru
River basin shows a near perfect correlation with the plots
falling very near the regression line and even at the sub-

1.68

0.10
2.08
4/5
Stream length ratio

basin level the correlation is perfect.

Stream length ratio (RL)

3.00

0.41
0.61
0.71

8.30
1.23
3/4

The stream length ratios of the drainage basin of the study

region have been calculated by applying the following
5.00
2.25
2.00

3.20
2.42
1.73

1.32
2.27
2/3

formula:
RL ¼ Lu=Lu
1 ð1Þ
0.90
1.33
2.60
0.83
2.37
2.78
3.90
0.87
3.40
3.80
2.48
1/2

where RL = Stream length ratio, Lu = Mean stream length

order ‘u’ and Lu-1= Mean stream length of segment of the
next lower order.
Total

105.0

124.0
135.0

126.5
655.5
21.0
79.0

11.0
35.5

11.0
7.5

The stream length ratios (RL) are changing haphazardly at

the basin and sub-basin levels. The values of the RL vary
from 0.10 to 8.30 for sub-basins, while it ranges from 1.23
17.5
17.5
Order wise total stream lengths (Km)

to 2.48 for the whole basin. It is noticed that the RL

between successive stream orders of the basins vary due to
15.0
24.5
9.5

differences in slope and topographic conditions (Sudheer

5

1986; Sreedevi 1999). The RL has an important relation-

ship with the surface flow discharge and erosional stage of
17.0
16.0

51.0
4.0
6.5

6.0

1.5

the basin (Table 2).

4

Stream frequency (Fs)

12.0
12.0

10.5
11.5

12.5
63.0
2.0

2.5
3

The stream frequency (Fs) of a basin may be defined as the

ratio between the total number of segments cumulated for
all orders within a basin and the basin area (Horton 1945):
143.5
10.0
27.0
24.0

25.5
20.0

16.5
6.0
8.0

4.0
2.5
2

X
Fs ¼ Nu=A ð2Þ
356.0
36.0
62.5

19.0
71.0
78.0

63.5
9.0

5.0

3.5
8.5
1

where SNu = Total number of stream segments of all

orders and A = Total area of the basin
The Fs of the whole basin is 1.41 km/km2, while the Fs for
Total

103

154
157

120
678
11
71

46
5

5
6

sub-basins I to X are shown in Table 1. The development

of the stream segments in the basin area is more or less
affected by rainfall and temperature.
6

1
1
Stream numbers in different orders

Basin length (L)

Basin length (L) has been given different meanings by
5

1
2

different workers (Schumm 1956; Gregory and Walling

Stream orders and stream lengths of Pageru River basin

1973; Gardiner 1975 and Cannon 1976). According to

Gregory and Walling (1973), the L is the longest length of
4

1
1

1
1
2

2
8

the basin, from the catchment to the point of confluence.

The Pager River meets the Papaghni at the point of con-
29
3

1
2
2

2
7
8

fluence in the extreme eastern part of the study area. The

length of the Pageru River basin is 47.0 km while the
lengths of the ten sub-basins are shown in Table 1.
120
18

29
30

20
2

3
8

1
9

1
1
117
116

518
60
82

34

89
1

4
5

Dimensionless factors
Pageru river basin

Form factor (Ff)

Basin/Sub-basin

Sub-basin-VIII

The form factor of a drainage basin is expressed as the

Sub-basin-VII
Sub-basin-III
Sub-basin-IV

Sub-basin-VI

Sub-basin-IX
Table 2

Sub-basin-II

Sub-basin-V

Sub-basin-X

ratio of average width of the basin where axial length is the

Sub-basin-I

horizontal distance along the longest basin dimension

parallel to the main drainage line. Therefore, the Ff is
expressed as:

Environmental Geology (2005) 47:412–420 415

 Original article

Fig. 3a, b
a Geometric relationship between stream orders, stream
lengths and stream numbers. b Geometric relationship
between stream orders, stream lengths and stream
numbers

416 Environmental Geology (2005) 47:412–420

 Original article

Ff = Au / Lb2
The length of the basin is the longest dimension from the
mouth to the farthest point on the perimeter of the basin
and the width is measured normal to the length.
The Ff of the Pageru River drainage basin is 0.22 while the
Ff of ten sub-basins are shown in Table 1. The index of Ff
shows the inverse relationship with the square of the axial
length and as a direct relationship with peak discharge.
Elongation ratio (Re)
Elongation ratio (Re) is the ratio between the diameter of a
circle of the same area as the basin and the maximum
basin length. The Re is calculated by using the following
formula:
Re ¼ 2A=p=L
where Re is the elongation ratio, 2 is constant, A = area
and L is the maximum length of the basin.
The Re of the Pageru River basin is 0.53, and the ten
sub-basins are shown in Table 1, these ratios indicate
extremely elongated sub-basins. The variations of the
elongated shapes of the basins are due to the guiding effect
of thrusting and faulting in the basin.
Circularity ratio (Rc)
The circularity ratio (Rc) has been used as a quantitative
measure and is expressed as the ratio of basin area (Au) to
the area of a circle (Ac) having the same perimeter as the
basin (Miller 1953; Strahler 1964). It is affected by the
lithological character of the basin and is expressed as:
Rc ¼ 4p A=P2
where Rc is the basin circularity, ‘P’ is basin perimeter, ‘4’
is constant and ‘A’ is the area of the basin.
The ratio is more influenced by length, frequency (Fs), and
gradient of streams of various orders rather than slope
conditions and drainage pattern of the basin. It is a
significant ratio, which indicates the dendritic stage of a
basin. Its low, medium and high values are indicative of
the youth, mature and old stages of the life cycle of the
tributary basins.
ð3Þ The Rc of the Pageru River basin is 0.50, while that of the
ten sub-basins are shown in Table 1. The high value of the
ratio is more influenced by length, frequency (Fs), and
gradient of streams of various orders besides slope con-
ditions and drainage pattern of the basin. It is a significant
ratio, which indicates the dentritic stage of a basin. Its low,
medium and high values are indicative of circularity ratio
for sub-basins IV and IX significance a late topographical
maturity stage and the other sub-basins reveal an early
topographical mature stage. This anomaly is due to
diversity of slope, relief and structural conditions pre-
vailing in this basin.
Measure of intensity of dissection
ð4Þ
Drainage density (Dd)
According to Horton (1932), the drainage density (Dd) is
defined as the length of streams per unit area divided by
the area of the drainage basins. It is expressed as:
Dd ¼ Lu=A ð6Þ
where Lu = Lengths of all the ordered channels and
A = Area of the basin
The Pageru River basin is a fairly well-drained basin with a
dendritic pattern. The significance of a stream network has
been recognised based on Dd, Fs, and T, which are sen-
sitive parameters that provide the link between the form
attributes of the basin and processes operating along the
stream course. These parameters serve as valuable indices,
which reflect the topographic, lithological, pedological,
and vegetational controls.
ð5Þ The Dd of Pageru River basin as a whole is 1.37 km / km2
while those of the ten sub-basins are shown in Table 3.
The Dd of Pageru River basin as well as those of the sub-
basins reveals that the nature of subsurface strata is per-
meable, which is a characteristic feature of coarse drainage
as the density values are less than 5.0.
Drainage texture (T)
The drainage texture (T) depends upon a number of nat-
ural factors such as climate, rainfall, vegetation, rock and

Table 3
Drainage density, texture and bifurcation ratios of Pageru River basin

Basin/Sub-basin Drainage Drainage Bifurcation ratios

density texture
(km/km2) Rb1 Rb2 Rb3 Rb4 Rb5 Mean Rb

Sub-basin-I 1.04 0.57 2.30 3.00 2.65

Sub-basin-II 1.21 1.32 7.50 4.00 2.00 4.50
Sub-basin-III 1.84 2.13 4.55 9.00 2.00 5.18
Sub-basin-IV 0.62 0.17 4.00 4.00
Sub-basin-V 1.57 3.20 3.77 4.50 2.00 3.42
Sub-basin-VI 2.61 8.46 4.03 4.14 7.00 5.05
Sub-basin-VII 1.34 2.09 3.86 3.75 4.00 2.00 3.40
Sub-basin-VIII 0.66 0.29 4.00 4.00
Sub-basin-IX 0.95 0.49 5.00 5.00
Sub-basin-X 1.34 1.70 4.45 2.85 3.50 2.00 1.00 2.76
Pageru river basin 1.37 1.03 4.31 4.13 3.62 4.00 2.00 3.61

Environmental Geology (2005) 47:412–420 417

 Original article
soil type, infiltration capacity, relief and stage of devel-
opment (Smith 1950). The soft or weak rocks unprotected
by vegetation produce a fine texture, whereas massive and
resistant rocks cause coarse texture. Sparse vegetation of
arid climate causes finer textures than those developed on
similar rocks in a humid climate. The texture of a rock is
commonly dependent upon vegetation type and climate
(Dornkamp and King 1971). In simple terms T is the
product of Dd and Fs.
It can be expressed by the equation (Smith 1950)
T = Dd X Fs ð7Þ
T = Drainage texture
Based on the values of T, it is classified as (Smith 1950):
for 4.0 and below Coarse
from 4.0 to 10.0 Intermediate
above 10.0 Fine
above 15.0 Ultra fine (bad land topography)
The T of the Pageru River basin as a whole is 1.03, while
that of the ten sub-basins are shown in Table 3. The T of
the whole basin and sub-basins are coarse texture as the
values are less than 4.0, while that of the sub-basin VI has
intermediate texture.
Bifurcation ratio (Rb)
Horton (1932) introduced the term ‘bifurcation ratio’ (Rb)
to express the ratio of the number of streams of any given
order to the number in the next lower order. According to
Strahler (1964), the ratio of number of streams of a given
order (Nu) to the number of segments of the higher order
(Nu+1) is termed as the Rb. Therefore, it is expressed as:
Rb ¼ Nu=Nu þ 1 ð8Þ Relief ratio = H
h=L where H = highest elevation in the
In the study area mean Rb varies from 2.65 to 5.18; the
mean Rb of the entire basin is 3.61 (Table 3). Usually these The relief ratio of the Pageru River basin is 0.0069, while
values are common in the areas where geologic structure that of the ten sub-basins are shown in Table 4. Generally
does not exercise a dominant influence on the drainage
pattern.
418 Environmental Geology (2005) 47:412–420
Chow (1964) stated that an Rb range between ‘3 to 5’ for
watersheds of a geologic structure does not exercise a
dominant influence on the drainage patterns.
Sub-basins Rb values range from 1.0 to 9.0. The higher Rb
for few sub-basins is the result of large variation in fre-
quencies between successive orders and indicates the
mature topography.
Measures involving heights
Relief
Basin relief is an important factor in understanding the
denudational characteristics (the denudational landforms
are formed as a result of active processes of weathering,
mass wasting and erosion caused by different exogenetic
geomorphic agents such as water, glaciers, wind etc., the
landforms formed by the agents of denudation are iden-
tified as pediments, pediplains etc.,) of the basin. Relief is
the difference between the maximum and minimum ele-
vations in the basin. The maximum height of the Pageru
River basin is 449 m and the lowest is 127 m. Therefore,
the relief of the basin is 322 m (Fig. 4).
Relief ratio
According to Schumm (1963) the relief ratio is the
dimensionless height-length ratio equal to the tangent of
the angle formed by two planes intersecting at the mouth
of the basin, one representing the horizontal, the other
passing through the highest point of the basin. The Relief
ratio is calculated by using the following formula:
basin, h = lowest elevation in the basin and L = longest
axis of the basin.
the relief ratios of the basin as well as the sub-basins are
Fig. 4
Relief
 Original article

Table 4
Relief and gradient aspects of Pageru River basin

Basin/Sub-basin Relief Gradient

Elevation in ‘m’ Relative Longest Relief ra- Elevation at Fall in Length of Gradient
relief axis ‘L’ tio (H-h/ height main ratio
Max ‘H’ Min ‘h’ (H-h) (km) L) Source ‘a’ Mouth ‘b’ (a-b) stream ‘L’ (a-b/L)

Sub-basin-I 156 131 25 10.0 0.0025 158 130 28 10.0 0.0028

Sub-basin-II 380 135 245 18.5 0.0132 280 135 145 18.5 0.0078
Sub-basin-III 363 158 205 17.5 0.0117 270 160 110 17.5 0.0062
Sub-basin-IV 220 160 60 7.0 0.0086 200 160 40 7.0 0.0057
Sub-basin-V 347 172 175 10.5 0.0166 230 172 58 10.5 0.0055
Sub-basin-VI 449 160 289 21.0 0.0137 449 160 289 21.0 0.0137
Sub-basin-VII 438 155 283 28.0 0.0101 430 155 275 28.0 0.0098
Sub-basin-VIII 164 140 24 5.0 0.0048 160 140 20 5.0 0.0040
Sub-basin-IX 165 140 25 6.0 0.0042 163 140 23 6.0 0.0038
Sub-basin-X 347 127 220 37.0 0.0060 306 127 179 37.0 0.0048
Pageru river basin 449 127 322 47.0 0.0069 449 127 322 47.0 0.0069

low which are characteristic features of less resistant rocks formations are characterized by low slope areas showing
of the area (Sudheer 1986; Sreedevi 1999). less than 2
in the remaining part of the basin.

Slope Gradient ratio

Slope analysis is an important parameter in geomorphic
studies. The slope elements, in turn, are controlled by the
climatomorphogenic processes in the area underlying the
rocks of varying resistance. An understanding of slope
distribution is essential, as a slope map provides data for
planning, settlement, mechanization of agriculture, refor-
estation, deforestation, planning of engineering structures,
morphoconservation practices, etc. Though various
methods are used to carry-out the slope analysis,
Wentworth’s (1930) average slope method was employed
in this study using topographic maps on a scale of 1:50,000
(Fig. 5). The Pageru River basin area slope varies from
0
54¢ to 16
37¢. A high degree of slope is noticed in the
western and southern parts of the basin, mostly occupied
by the quartzite and basic intrusives. Shale and limestone
Gradient ratio is an indication of channel slope from
which an assessment of the runoff volume could be eval-
uated. The basin has a gradient ratio of 0.0069, while that
of the ten sub-basins are 0.0028, 0.0078, 0.0062, 0.0057,
0.0055, 0.0137, 0.0098, 0.0040, 0.0038, and 0.0048, showing
low to moderate gradients (Table 4).
Conclusion and recommendations
The Dd of Pageru River basin, as well as those of the sub-
basins, reveals that the nature of subsurface strata is per-
meable. This is a characteristic feature of coarse drainage
as the density values are less than 5.0. The mean Rb (3.61)

Fig. 5
Slope

Environmental Geology (2005) 47:412–420 419

 Original article
indicates that the drainage pattern is not much influenced
by geological structures.
The Pageru River basin area slope varies from 0
54¢ to
16
37¢. A high degree of slope is noticed in the western and
southern parts of the basin, mostly occupied by the
quartzite and basic intrusives. Shale and limestone for-
mations are characterized by low slope areas showing
slopes less than 2
in the remaining part of the basin.
The quantitative analysis of various aspects of morpho-
metric characteristics of Pageru River basin reveals that
under almost homogeneous climatic and heterogeneous
morphological conditions, the basin exhibits some com-
plex morphometric attributes. The study reveals that the
drainage areas of the basin are passing through an early
mature stage of the fluvial geomorphic cycle. Lower order
streams mostly dominate the basin. The development of
stream segments in the basin area is more or less affected
by rainfall. The elongated shape of the basin is mainly due
to the guiding effect of thrusting and faulting. The ero-
sional processes of fluvial origin are predominantly
influenced by the subsurface lithology of the basin. The
foregoing analysis clearly indicates some relationships
among the various attributes of the morphometric aspects
of the basin and helps to understand their role in sculp-
turing the surface area of the region. The importance of
such analyses is emphasised in the utilisation of its results,
for locating sites for artificial recharge. For this area the
following remarks are attributed:
Mostly all streams originate from basic intrusives and
quartzite hilly terrains. It is noticed that stream segments
up to 3rd order traverse parts of the high altitudinal zones,
which are characterised by steep slopes, while the 4th, 5th
and 6th order stream segments occur in comparatively flat
lands, these are important locations for constructing check
dams.
Acknowledgements The authors wish to thank the Director
NGRI for having given permission to publish the paper. The first Strahler AN (1952) Hypsometric (area-altitude) analysis of
author gratefully acknowledges the Council of Scientific and
Industrial Research (CSIR) New Delhi, for financial assistance in Strahler AN (1964) Quantitative geomorphology of drainage
the form of a Research Associate grant.
References
Cannon JP (1976) Generation of explicit parameters for a quan-
titative geomorphic study of the Mill Creek Drainage Basin.
Oklahoma Geology notes 36(1):13–17
420 Environmental Geology (2005) 47:412–420
View publication stats
Chow Ven T (1964) (ed) Handbook of applied hydrology.
McGraw Hill Inc, New York
Dornkamp JC, King CAM (1971) Numerical analyses in geo-
morphology, an introduction. St. Martins Press, New York,
372 pp
Gardiner V (1975) Drainage basin morphometry. British Geom
Group, Tech Bull 14, 48 pp
Gregory KJ, Walling DE (1973) Drainage basin form and process
a geomorphological approach. Arnold, London
Horton RE (1932) Drainage basin characteristics. Trans Am
Geophys Union 13:350–361
Horton RE (1945) Erosional development of streams and their
drainage basins; hydrophysical approach to quantitative mor-
phology. Geol Soc Am Bull 56:275–370
Leopold LB, Miller JP (1956) Ephemeral streams: hydraulic
factors and their relation to the drainage net. U.S. Geol Surv
Profess, 282-A
Melton MA (1958) Geometric properties of mature drainage
system and their representation in an E4 phase space. J Geol
66:35–54
Miller VC (1953) A quantitative geomorphic study of drainage
basin characteristics in Clinch Mountain Area, Virginia and
Tennessee. Technical report, 3, Office of the Naval Research.
Dept. of Geology, Columbia Univ., New York
Schumm SA (1956) Evolution of drainage systems and slopes in
Badlands at Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Natl Geol Soc Am Bull
67:597–646
Schumm SA (1963) Sinuosity of alluvial rivers on the great plains.
Geol Soc Am Bull 74:1089–1100
Smith KG (1950) Standards for grading texture of erosional
topography. Am J Sci 248:655–668
Smith KG (1958) Erosional processes and landforms in
Badlands national monument South Dakota. Bull Geol Soc
69:975–1008
Sreedevi PD (1999) Assessment and management of groundwater
resources of Pageru River basin, Cuddapah district, Andhra
Pradesh, India. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Sri Venkateswara
Univ., Tirupati
Sreedevi PD, Srinivasulu S, Kesava Raju K (2001) Hydrogeo-
morphological and groundwater prospects of the Pageru River
basin by using remote sensing data. Environ Geol 40(8):1088–
1094
erosional topography. Bull Geol Soc Am 63:1117–1142
basin and channel networks. In: Chow VT (ed) Handbook
of applied hydrology. McGraw Hill Book Co., New York,
pp 4–76
Sudheer AS (1986) Hydrogeology of the Upper Araniar River
basin, Chittor district, Andhra Predesh, India. Unpublished
Ph.D. Thesis, Sri Venkateswara Univ., Tirupati
Wentworth CK (1930) A simplified method of determining the
average slope of land surfaces. Am J Sci 20:184–194