16.

1 LANDFORM

The term landform can have a variety of meanings, depending on the specific
discipline involved.

The geologist may describe landform in terms of surface characteristics that yield evidence as
to the geologic structure of features of the Earths crust and may use such terms as faults,
joints, domes, and basins.

The geologist is interested in landform for academic reasons as well as for specific purposes
mining, engineering, and petroleum exploration,

The soil scientist is more interested in studying landform for the purpose of identifying parent
soil material, soil texture, potential fertility, soil moisture, soil,drainage, and erodability.

The hydrologist studies landforms to analyze water movement.

The city and regional planner studies landform for land-use planning and zoning purposes .

The forester, being a combination ecologist, geologist, soil scientist, and engineer, must
study landform to obtain clues to the physical and chemical characteristics of the soil as well
as the visual significance of a particular surface feature or combination of features.

16.2 RECOGNITION OF LANDFORM

There are seven basic pattern elements that the photo interpreter can use to identify and
categorize landforms and landscapes.
1. Topography
2. Drainage patterns
3. Drainage texture
4. Drainage density
5. Stream frequency
6. Relative infiltration
7. Gully types
8. Photo tone and photo texture
9. Vegetation patterns
10.Land-use patterns

1. Topography

The most obvious characteristic of any landform is its three-dimensional shape, easily
analyzed in a stereoscopic model. Thus, the interpreter can quickly determine if the
topography is relatively flat or steep, whether the hills are rounded or sharp, and so on. Just
this much information gives the geologist or soil scientist a good clue as to the soil
characteristics.

2 Drainage Patterns

Drainage patterns, which are closely related to topography and rainfall, are the most
important characteristics for the classification of landforms. Stream erosion produces many
types of valleys, most of which exhibit topographic.features revealing the lithology, the
conditions of erosion and the geomorphological history of the area during erosion. The
drainage system, which develops on a
regional surface is controlled by the slope of the surface, the types and attitudes of
the underlying rocks, and the climatic conditions. Drainage patterns, which are easily visible
on aerial pho tographs reflect, to varying degrees, the lithology and structure of a region.

1. Dendritic
2. Parallel
3. Trellis
4. Rectangular
5. Radial

Dendritic.

The dendritic pattern shown in Figure 16.1 is the most common and is characterized by a
treelike, branching system where the branches (tributaries) join the stem (main stream) at
acute angles. This drainage system indicates homogeneous rock and soil materials with little
or no structural control. Soft sedimentary rocks, volcanic tuff, and dissected deposits of thick
glacial till typify the dendritic pattern

.
Parallel.
Parallel drainage systems shown in Figure 16.2 generally develop on gentle to moderate,
uniform slopes whose main collector streams may indicate a fault or fracture. The tributaries
characteristically join the main stream at about the same angle. There are many transitions
possible between this pattern and the
dendritic and trellis types.

Trellis.

Trellis drainage patterns shown in Figure 16.3 are modified dendritic forms where secondary
streams occur at right angles to the main stream with the tertiary streams at right angles to
the secondary streams. This type of pattern is typical of tributaries eroded in belts of tightly
folded sedimentary rock.
Rectangular.

Rectangular drainage patterns shown in Figure 16.4 are also modifications of the dendritic
form, but the secondary streams joining the main stream are more at right angles. This
pattern lacks the orderly repetitive quality of the trellis pattern and the right angles are
slightly acute. Rectangular patterns frequently reflect the regional pattern of intersecting
joint systems or a set of joints with cross belts of bedrock at a high angle. These patterns
are often formed in slate, schist, or in resistive sandstone in arid climates, or in sandstone in
humid climates where little soil profile has developed.
/Radial. The radial drainage pattern shown in Figure 16.5 is characteristic of volcanoes and
other domelike landforms. It is characterized by a circular network of stream channels
flowing away from a central high point.
3 Drainage Texture

Drainage texture, as contrasted to photo texture, refers to the number and spacing of
drainages (with or without permanent streams). Drainage texture be classified as fine,
medium, or coarse, as illustrated in Figure 16.7 for the dendritic pattern. Drainage pattern
and texture are important to the photo interpreter
because they reveal valuable clues as to the geologic structure of the landform and the
permeability of the soil mantle that we will call internal of drainage. Drainage texture can be
quantified by drainage density, stream frequency, and infiltration. These quantifications
should be considered as only relative measures because they change between regions due
to different climates and, if the values
a re determined from aerial photos, the results change with changes in photo scale. The
tendency is to calculate a greater drainage density on larger-scale photography because the
smaller drainages are more easily identified.
Medium-textured drainage patterns have average first-order tributary spacings
of from about 400 to 3,200 feet. Coarse-textured patterns have spacings greater
than 3,200 feet. Medium-textured patterns are associated with medium levels
of runoff and soils with mixtures of fine and coarse textures. Coarse-textured
patterns typify more resistant bedrock that weathers to form coarse, permeable
soils with relatively little runoff.

4 Drainage Density

Drainage density is an expression of rainfall, infiltration capacity, and the underlying

geologic structures, and can be quantified by the following formula:

where:

Dd = drainage density in lineal feet per acre

_A = area of a given basin in acres
L = the sum of the lengths of all streams in a given basin in feet
When using this formula and data taken from aerial photographs, one must account for the
photo scale. From what we have previously learned in the chapters on scale and area, we
can easily derive the following:
5. Stream Frequency

Stream frequency is the number of drainage ways within a drainage basin per unit area of
land and can be expressed by:

where: F = Drainageway frequency per acre

N = Total number of drainageways in the drainage basin
A = Drainage basin area in acres and the other symbols are as
previously defined.

6 . Relative Infiltration

Relative infiltration (RI) is the product of drainage density and drainage frequency.
Using the data from the last two examples we get:

RI = (Dd)(F) = (47.0)(0.021) = 0.99

For the medium- and fine-textured patterns of Figure 16.7 we get relative infiltrations of 7.62
and 36.69, respectively. Remember that these are relative values to be compared with each
other as to water infiltration into the soil mantle. Despite the fact that drainage density
varies with geologic type and climatic
and vegetation conditions, it still provides information as to fluvial erosion and the
accessibility of an area. Of more importance is the fact that poor land management can lead
to additional erosion and increased drainage densities. These changes over time can be
detected on aerial photography that provides permanent records.

7. Gully Types

The type of gully formed in a given area can tell the soil scientist much about soil
cohesiveness and texture. Gullies are formed by runoff that collects and erodes through the
surface soils. These gullies adapt well-known cross-sectional shapes
 Figure 16.8. Characteristic gully profiles found in cohesive, moderately cohesive, and noncohesive
soil
types. ,
depending on the composition and cohesiveness of the soil. In Figure 16.8 we have three
typical gully cross-sections that are characteristic of different soil textures and cohesiveness.
The cross-section in Figure 16.8 (top) is typical in areas of gradual uniform slopes where the
soil consists of clays and silty clays with relatively high cohesiveness. This gully type is
usually found in lakebeds, marine terraces, or other areas of high clay content . Figure 16.8
(middle) is typical of moderately cohesive soil, consisting of sand, clay, and silt . This gully
type is usually found on moderate slopes of coastal plains and bedrock areas. Figure 16.8
(bottom) is typical of the noncohesive, semigranular soils (sands and gravels) usually found
in terraces and outwash plains where slopes are usually steep to very steep
.

8 Tone and Texture

Photographic tone refers to the various shades of gray from black to white (see Figure 15.4)
and photographic texture refers to the coarseness or fineness of a group of objects. Tone
indicates surface characteristics and is influenced by soil type, soil moisture, and vegetation
types (see Figure 15.5). In general, the darker tones indicate relative high soil moisture
content and associated high organic matter, which are often indicators of poor drainage and
little leaching. The lighter tones are associated with dry areas with little organic matter and
well-leached soils. Medium or gray tones usually indicate soils with good soil profiles and
adequate organic content. Very light tones (white) usually indicate barren areas such as
exposed sand, gravel, or salt deposits, and, of course, snow and ice. Since there is so much
tonal variation between different photographs taken and developed under different
conditions and between different seasons of the year, photographic tone should be
considered as relative, and therefore should be compared within stereoscopic pairs, or at
least within individual photographic missions.

9 Vegetation Patterns

Vegetation frequently prohibits the photo interpreter from viewing the ground, but its mere
presence or absence provides a useful clue as to the soil conditions belowas to texture,
permeability, and moisture availability. Because of different vegetative cover associated with
different geographic regions, local experience is absolutely necessary for an accurate
assessment of what different vegetation
patterns indicate.

10 Land-Use Patterns

Land-use patterns are manmade alterations of the landscape, and are valuable clues as to
soil conditions. Manmade patterns are conspicuous because they usually consist of straight
lines or other regular configurations. The location of transportation routes, cities, farms, and
industrial complexes gives valuable clues as to the land surface and subsurface conditions.
Winding roads indicate steep or hilly topography. Railroads must be located where grades
are minimal and can be separated from roads since their curves must be gradual. Farm
locations avoid poorly drained areas as well as rocky or other locations of poor or shallow
soils. Cities and industrial areas are often located in certain areas because of transportation
routes. Unfortunately, these areas are frequently of high-quality farmlands, but fortunately,
some of the better residential areas are developing in the foothills surrounding the cities and
occupy the less valuable agricultural land.

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OBJECTIVES
 1. Define the term landform in a way that it is independent of geographic location.
2. List seven pattern elements that the photo interpreter uses to identify and categorize
landforms.
3. Identifyon either schematic diagrams or aerial photographsthe drainage patterns
shown and
state the probable cause or significance of each pattern.
4. Calculate the drainage density, stream frequency, and relative infiltration of a given
drainage from either a schematic diagram or an aerial photograph.
5. Draw schematic diagrams of cross-sections of three different gully typesand state what
each gully type indicates in terms of soil texture, cohesiveness, and the general slopes
involved.