Exercise 39 Problems—Part I

Name: Mohamed Isa Section: GEOG-120L-

1185

The following questions are based on Map T-3, the “Deer Peak, Montana,” quadrangle (scale
1:24,000; contour interval 40 feet), and Figures 39-3 and 39-4, imagery and a stereogram of the
same area showing the drainage basin of Eds Creek .

The stream pattern within the drainage basin of Eds Creek on Map T-3 is reproduced at right

at a smaller scale. On this small map, trace the length of all first-order streams with blue lines,

the length of all second-order streams with red lines, and the length of Eds Creek (as a third-
2.
order stream) with a green line. If you don’t have colored pencils, number each segment as 1,

2, or 3.
 1. How many first-order streams are shown? _______14_______
3.
b. How many second-order streams are shown?
________5______

Part 2. Stream Ordering

Bifurcation Ratio
The Horton law of stream numbers states that there exists a geometric relationship between the
number of streams of a given order Nw and the corresponding order, w. The parameter of this
geometric relationship is the Bifurcation Ratio, B.R. In a drainage basin, the relationship
between the streams of one order of magnitude and those of the next highest order, is obtained by
dividing the number of lower-order streams by the number of the higher order. The lower the
number the greater the risk of flooding.
For example, if a drainage basin has 7 first-order streams, 4 second-order streams, and 2 third-
order streams, then to calculate the bifurcation ratio you divide the number of first-order streams
by the number of second-order streams (7/4=1.75), then divide the number of second order
streams by the number of third order streams (4/2=2).
1. How many first-order streams are there in the above chart? 13
2. How many second-order streams are there in the above chart? 5
3. How many third-order streams are there in the above chart? 2
4. What is the first-order bifurcation ratio for the above stream system? (divide the number in #1
by the count in #2)
2.6
5. What is the second-order bifurcation ratio? (divide the number in #2 by the count in #3) 2.5
6. What is the third-order bifurcation ratio? (divide the number in #3 by the count in #4) 0.77

Part 2.
Read p.285-286 in the Lab Manual. Identify the drainage patterns from the following charts and
fill in the blanks as radial, trellis, centripetal, deranged, dendritic, and rectangular.

1. What is the drainage pattern labeled as “1)”? Dendritic

2. What is the drainage pattern labeled as “2)”? Trellis
3. What is the drainage pattern labeled as “3)”? Radial
4. What is the drainage pattern labeled as “4)”? Centripetal
5. What is the drainage pattern labeled as “5)”? Rectangular
6. What is the drainage pattern labeled as “6)”? Deranged