Environ Earth Sci (2012) 66:11631174
DOI 10.1007/s12665-011-1324-1
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Drainage morphometry of Himalayan Glacio-fluvial basin, India:
hydrologic and neotectonic implications
Rameshwar Bali K. K. Agarwal S. Nawaz Ali
S. K. Rastogi Kalyan Krishna
Received: 6 June 2010 / Accepted: 16 August 2011 / Published online: 6 September 2011
Springer-Verlag 2011
Abstract Morphometric analysis, being widely used to
assess the drainage characteristics of the river basins, has
been found to be a useful tool to delineate the glacial till
covered overburden material as well as to identify areas
prone to flash floods in present studies. A number of
parameters including the stream frequency, drainage den-
sity and drainage texture suggest that the unconsolidated,
unstratified and highly permeable glacially deposited
overburden till material facilitates the infiltration of
snowmelt and rainwater in the Pindari glacio-fluvial basin,
Eastern Kumaun Himalaya, India. Likewise, other till
overburden covered glacial and proglacial areas of Higher
Himalayan regions have been contributing to the ground-
water budget. The shape parameters further suggest that the
sub-basins with higher form factor are more prone to flash
floods. Besides this, the anomalies in the morphometric
parameters have been found to be a useful tool to delineate
zones of active tectonics in such areas.
Keywords Morphometric analysis 
Glacio-fluvial Basin  Himalaya 
Water infiltration  Flash flood  Neotectonics
Introduction
Morphometry has been defined as quantitative measure-
ments of landscape shape (Keller and Pinter 1996). The
morphometric descriptors represent relatively simple
R. Bali (&)  K. K. Agarwal  S. Nawaz Ali 
S. K. Rastogi  K. Krishna
Centre of Advanced Study in Geology,
University of Lucknow, Lucknow 226007, India
e-mail: rameshbali@rediffmail.com
approach to describe basin processes and to compare basin
characteristics. Geology, relief and climate are the primary
determinants of running water functioning, at the basin
scale (Lotspeich and Flatts 1982 and Frissel et al. 1986).
Morphometric analysis of drainage basin carried out by
Horton (1945), Strahler (1952) and others is based on the
fact that for the given conditions of lithology, climate,
rainfall and other relevant parameters of the basin, the river
network, slope and the surface relief tend to reach a steady
state in which the morphology is adjusted to transmit the
sediment and excess flow produced. Morphometric studies
also delineate physical changes in drainage system over
time in response to natural disturbances or anthropogenic
activity (Thompson et al. 2001). In the classic review of
drainage basin morphometry, Gardiner and Park (1978)
have argued that basin morphometry affords a simple way
of measuring landforms which further has several appli-
cations. Drainage basin morphometry has been of use in
attempting to explain and possibly predict longer term
aspects of basin dynamics resulting in morphological
changes within the basin. The geometry of fluvial land-
forms was earlier not considered to be significant; however,
Jennings (1973) has suggested that morphometry is a basic
component of contemporary geomorphology. Similarly,
Chorley (1969) suggested that fluvial processes and forms
are of utmost significance in virtually all landscapes.
Morphometric analysis has of late been used for applied
purposes. The original Horton formulation of basin mor-
phometry was carried out partly with a view of deriving a
hydrological method by which discharge events could be
predicted for ungauged rivers. Despite the large number of
indices proposed by various workers, often for different
purposes and in different geographical areas and scientific
disciplines, relatively few aspects of basin forms are
measured by available indices (Gardiner and Park 1978).
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Fig. 1 Location map of the
Pindari Glacio-fluvial Basin
The present studies have been carried out along the
NESW elongated Pindari glacio-fluvial basin. The basin
(Fig. 1) located in the upper reaches of Bageshwar district
of Uttarakhand, has an area of 632.67 km2. It lies between
latitude 30160 1500 30190 1000 N and longitudes 79590 0000
80010 5500 E and is located in the Survey of India (SOI)
Toposheet Nos. 62 B/3, 62 B/4, 53 N/15 and 53 N/16. It
can further be divided into glaciated (126.02 km2) and non-
glaciated areas. The main glaciers of the basin include the
Pindari glacier, Kaphni glacier and Sunderdunga glacier,
which drain into the Pindari River (Fig. 1). The basin is
constituted of the Central Crystalline rocks of the Higher
Himalaya in the upper reaches and the Lesser Himalaya in
the lower reaches. The Precambrian metamorphic rocks of
the central belt of Himalaya have been designated as the
Vaikrata Group (Valdiya 1973, 1979, 1981) and as the
Central Crystalline Zone by Heim and Gansser (1939).
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Environ Earth Sci (2012) 66:11631174
The Vaikrata group, made up of coarse mica-garnet-
kyanite and sillimanite-bearing psammitic metamorphic
rocks are divisible into Joshimath Formation, Pandukesh-
war Formation, Pindari Formation and Budhi Schist
(Table 1; Fig. 2). Geologically, the area under investiga-
tion consists of the rocks of Pindari Formation.
During the present study, various aspects of drainage
characteristics of Pindari River Basin have been studied in
order to evaluate their hydrological characteristics and the
geomorphic modifications in the river channel under the
influence of various factors.
Morphometric analysis
The drainage network of the Pindari glacio-fluvial basin
and its sub-basins has been digitized using the SOI
Environ Earth Sci (2012) 66:11631174 1165

Table 1 Litho-tectonic
subdivision of the study area
(after Valdiya 1973; Valdiya
and Goel 1983)

topographical maps and quantitative analysis of various of drainage depends upon the subsurface geology, pre-
morphometric parameters of the basin has been calcu- cipitation, exogenic and endogenic forces operating in
lated using Arc View 3.2 software. The development the area (Reddy et al. 2004; Agarwal and Sharma 2011).

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Fig. 2 Geological map of the study area (Modified after Valdiya and Goel 1983)
Fig. 3 Drainage map of the
study area
The overall drainage pattern of basin is sub-dendritic in
the lower reaches and deranged towards upper reaches
(Fig. 3). The entire basin has been subdivided into 27
sub-basins (Fig. 3). The morphometric parameters have
been divided into three categories viz. Basic parameters,
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Environ Earth Sci (2012) 66:11631174
Derived parameters and Shape parameters. The overall
morphometric analysis of the drainage network
(Tables 2, 3, 4) has been carried out following the
common laws of morphometry (Horton 1945; Strahler
1964).
Environ Earth Sci (2012) 66:11631174 1167

Table 2 Basic parameters of the Pindari drainage basin

S. no. A (km2) P (km) L (km) Stream order (Nu) R Nu Stream length (km) (Lu)
N1 N2 N3 N4 N5 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5

1 2.85 7.06 2.71 9 2 1 12 4.93 0.93 1.59

2 4.50 9.75 3.27 12 3 1 16 7.31 2.04 1.85
3 6.12 10.22 3.86 15 4 1 20 10.53 4.21 2.11
4 1.60 5.36 2.28 7 2 1 10 4.25 0.37 1.19
5 1.43 5.96 2.28 6 2 1 9 2.76 1.19 1.08
6 64.00 39.78 14.94 144 27 4 1 176 93.63 22.62 8.31 5.62
7 2.34 7.93 3.57 8 3 1 12 4.32 1.84 2.12
8 3.32 7.76 3.23 9 3 1 13 4.49 2.81 1.27
9 82.58 39.00 10.39 35 5 1 41 35.51 8.58 3.18
10 6.82 11.03 4.25 7 2 1 10 5.23 1.46 0.62
11 7.49 11.36 4.53 26 5 1 32 18.69 3.95 2.70
12 3.63 8.99 3.11 16 4 1 21 9.53 2.02 2.44
13 2.49 6.48 2.77 11 2 1 14 6.72 1.14 1.46
14 1.77 5.50 2.01 8 2 1 11 5.06 1.14 0.80
15 3.40 7.67 3.36 19 3 1 23 8.81 3.13 1.70
16 3.60 7.99 3.16 9 3 1 13 6.67 2.47 1.26
17 5.61 10.98 3.94 11 3 1 15 6.38 1.64 1.62
18 48.24 28.43 8.90 25 9 1 35 22.57 8.03 2.30
19 77.97 39.77 14.61 74 8 1 83 51.27 5.05 5.50
20 3.15 8.38 3.52 7 2 1 10 6.37 0.61 2.06
21 4.45 9.64 4.07 13 2 1 16 8.38 2.24 1.06
22 8.83 14.56 5.31 22 5 1 28 16.04 3.83 3.36
23 6.03 10.91 4.65 15 4 1 20 9.59 1.38 2.73
24 6.19 10.29 3.79 12 3 1 16 8.95 2.17 2.32
25 24.31 22.19 9.04 64 15 3 1 83 41.67 9.96 3.15 6.88
26 16.32 18.65 7.30 69 17 5 1 92 36.39 9.26 5.78 3.45
27 102.05 48.30 17.72 324 74 19 4 1 422 202.4 45.95 21.51 9.07 13.8

Basic parameters Stream order (Nu)

Area, perimeter and basin length
The Pindari basin covering an area (A) of 632.67 km2 has a
perimeter (P) of 119.60 km. In case of sub-basins, the area
ranges from 102.05 (for sub-basin no. 23) to 1.43 km2
(sub-basin no. 5). Similarly, the perimeter for these sub-
basins ranges between 48.30 (sub-basin no. 27) to 5.63 km
(sub-basin no. 4). The area and perimeter of all the sub-
basins is given in Table 2. The basin length (L) corre-
sponds to the maximum length of the basin and sub-basins
measured parallel to the main drainage line (Mesa 2006).
The main basin length for Pindari basin is 40.55 km and
the basin lengths of all sub-basins are shown in the Table 2.
Sub-basin no. 27 has a maximum length of 17.72 km,
while sub-basin no. 14 has a minimum length of 2.01 km
(Table 2).
Stream ordering refers to the determination of hierarchical
position of stream within a drainage basin. Classification of
streams based on the number and type of tributary junction
has proven to be a useful indicator of stream size, discharge
and drainage area. Ordering of stream begins from the
fingertip tributaries, which do not have their own feeders
(Strahler 1952). Such fingertip streams are designated as
first order streams. Two first order streams when join
together, form second order stream just below the junction.
Similarly, two second-order streams meet to make stream
of third-order and this process continues till the trunk
stream is given the highest order. The number of streams
(N) of each order (u) for Pindari basin is given in details in
Table 2. The details of the stream characteristics confirm
Hortons first law of stream numbering (1945) which states
that the number of streams of different orders in a given

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1168 Environ Earth Sci (2012) 66:11631174

Table 3 Derived parameters of the Pindari drainage basin Table 4 Shape parameters of the Pindari drainage basin
Sub- Rb Rl RHO Stream Drainage Texture Sub-basin no. Elongation ratio Circularity ratio Form factor
basin no. frequency density
1 0.26 0.71 0.38
1 3.25 0.94 0.28 4.21 2.61 10.90 2 0.21 0.59 0.42
2 3.50 0.58 0.16 3.55 2.48 8.80 3 0.17 0.73 0.41
3 3.87 0.44 0.11 3.26 2.75 8.96 4 0.24 0.69 0.30
4 2.75 1.64 0.59 6.25 3.63 22.68 5 0.27 0.50 0.27
5 2.50 0.66 0.26 6.29 3.51 22.07 6 0.07 0.50 0.28
6 5.36 0.42 0.07 2.75 2.03 5.58 7 0.21 0.46 0.18
7 2.83 0.78 0.27 5.12 3.53 18.07 8 0.24 0.69 0.31
8 3.00 0.53 0.17 3.91 2.58 10.08 9 0.22 0.68 0.76
9 6.00 0.30 0.05 0.49 0.57 0.27 10 0.40 0.70 0.37
10 2.75 0.34 0.12 1.46 1.07 1.56 11 0.12 0.72 0.36
11 5.10 0.44 0.08 4.27 3.38 14.43 12 0.15 0.56 0.37
12 4.00 0.70 0.17 5.78 3.85 22.25 13 0.19 0.74 0.32
13 3.75 0.72 0.19 5.62 3.74 21.01 14 0.21 0.73 0.43
14 3.00 0.46 0.15 6.21 3.95 24.52 15 0.15 0.72 0.30
15 4.66 0.44 0.09 6.76 4.01 27.10 16 0.21 0.70 0.36
16 3.00 0.44 0.14 3.61 2.88 10.39 17 0.28 0.58 0.36
17 3.33 0.61 0.18 2.67 1.71 4.56 18 0.24 0.74 0.60
18 5.88 0.31 0.05 0.72 0.68 0.48 19 0.16 0.61 0.36
19 8.62 0.59 0.06 1.06 0.79 0.83 20 0.22 0.56 0.25
20 2.75 1.73 0.62 3.17 2.86 9.06 21 0.20 0.60 0.26
21 4.25 0.36 0.08 3.59 2.62 9.40 22 0.14 0.52 0.31
22 4.70 0.55 0.11 3.17 2.63 8.33 23 0.20 0.63 0.27
23 3.87 1.05 0.27 3.31 2.27 7.51 24 0.21 0.73 0.43
24 3.50 0.65 0.18 2.58 2.17 5.59 25 0.09 0.62 0.29
25 4.08 0.90 0.22 3.41 2.53 8.62 26 0.08 0.58 0.30
26 4.15 0.48 0.11 5.63 3.36 18.91 27 0.04 0.54 0.32
27 4.25 0.65 0.15 4.13 2.86 11.81

drainage basin tends closely to approximate an inverse
geometric ratio.
Stream length (Lu)
It is the total length of streams of a particular order. The
stream length of all sub-basins of various orders has been
measured on SOI topographical maps. The total stream
length of the Pindar basin is 912.81 km, while the stream
lengths of the sub-basins are given in Table 2.
Derived parameters
Bifurcation ratio (Rb)
This parameter expresses the ratio of number of streams of
a given order (Nu) to the number of stream segments of the
higher order (Nu ? 1) (Horton 1945). It is expressed as:
Rb Nu =Nu 1
Strahler (1952) demonstrated that Rb shows only a small
variation for different regions on different environment
except where powerful geological control dominates. The
present study shows that the entire Pindari basin has the
mean Rb value of 4.02, while for the sub-basins it varies
from 8.62 to 2.50 (Table 3). The sub-basin no. 19 shows
higher value of Rb when compared with the others.
Stream length ratio (Rl)
Stream length ratio (Rl) has been defined as the ratio of the
mean length of the higher order to the next lower order of
stream segment (Horton 1945). The stream length ratios
have been calculated as:
Rl Lu =Lu  1
where Lu = stream length of an order u, Lu - 1 = stream
segment length of next lower order.

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The mean stream length ratio of the Pindari River Basin
is 1.44. The Rl between streams of different order in the
study area reveals that the Rl for sub-basins varies between
0.30 and 1.73 (Table 3). It seems that the Rl between
successive stream orders varies due to difference in slope
and topographic conditions, and has an important rela-
tionship with the surface flow discharge and erosional stage
of the basin (Sreedevi et al. 2005).
RHO coefficient (RHO)
RHO coefficient is the ratio between the stream length ratio
(Rl) and the bifurcation ratio (Rb) (Horton 1945):
RHO Rl =Rb
It is considered to be an important parameter as it
determines the relationship between the drainage density
and the physiographic development of the basin, and
allows the evaluation of the storage capacity of the
drainage network (Horton 1945). The mean RHO
coefficient of the Pindari basin is 0.18 while the RHO of
the sub-basins varies between 0.5 and 0.62 (Table 3). Sub-
basins with higher values of RHO have higher water
storage during flood periods and as such attenuate the
erosion effect during elevated discharge (Mesa 2006).
Stream frequency (Fs)
Stream frequency (Fs) or channel frequency is the total
number of stream segments of all orders per unit area
(Horton 1932):
Fs RNu =A;
where RNu = total number of stream segments of all
orders, and A = area of the basin.
The stream frequency is related with permeability,
infiltration capacity and relief of the sub-basins (Vijith and
Sateesh 2006). The Fs of Pindari basin is 3.82 km-2, while
the Fs for the sub-basins varies between 0.49 and 6.76
(Table 3). In the study area, the sub-basins having rela-
tively higher Fs values are indicative of relatively higher
relief and lower infiltration capacity of the bed rock.
Drainage density (Dd)
Drainage density (Dd) is an expression to indicate the
closeness of spacing of channels within a basin (Horton
1932). Dd is one of the important indicators of the landform
element as it provides a numerical measurement of land-
scape dissection and runoff potential (Vijith and Sateesh
2006). It is measured as the total length of streams of all
orders per unit area divided by the area of drainage basin
and is expressed as:
1169
Dd RLt =A;
where RLt = total length of all the ordered streams,
A = area of the basin.
It is considered as a parameter determining the time of
travel by water. It varies between 0.55 and 2.09 km/km2 in
humid regions with an average density of 1.03 km/km2
(Langbein 1947). It is controlled by climate, lithology,
relief, infiltration capacity, vegetation cover, surface
roughness and runoff intensity index. The amount and type
of precipitation influences directly the quantity and char-
acter of surface runoff. Low Dd generally results in the areas
of highly resistant or permeable subsoil material, dense
vegetation and low relief (Nag 1998). High Dd is the
resultant of weak or impermeable subsurface material,
sparse vegetation and mountainous relief. Low Dd leads to
coarse drainage texture while high Dd leads to fine drainage
texture. Amount of vegetation and rainfall absorption
capacity of soils, which influences the rate of surface runoff,
affects the drainage texture of an area (Chopra et al. 2005).
The mean Dd of Pindari River Basin is 2.63 km/km2, while
the Dd of all the sub-basins is given in Table 3.
Drainage texture (T)
It is the ratio between total numbers of stream segments of
all orders to the perimeter of the basin (Horton 1945).
Horton recognized infiltration capacity as the single
important factor which influences drainage texture and
considered the drainage texture (T) to include drainage
density and stream frequency, While, the drainage texture
depends upon a number of natural factors such as climate,
rainfall, vegetation, rock and soil type, infiltration capacity,
relief and stage of development of a basin (Smith 1950).
T Nu =P
where Nu = total no. of streams of all orders, P = perim-
eter (km).
Based on the values of T, it is classified (Smith 1950) as:
very coarse ([2), coarse (24), moderate (46), fine (68),
very fine (\8).
Texture of the entire Pindari River Basin is 11.54. For
the individual sub-basins T ranges from 0.27 to 27.10
(Table 3). Some of the sub-basins like 9 and 18 show very
coarse texture (Fig. 3) while a few others, e.g. 14 and 15
show a very fine texture.
Shape parameters
Elongation ratio (Re)
Elongation ratio (Re) is the ratio between the diameter (D)
of a circle of the same area as the drainage basin and basin
length (L) (Schumm 1956), and is calculated as:
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p
Re D=L 1:128 A=L
where A is the area of the basin.
The values of elongation ratio vary from zero (highly
elongated shape) to one (circular shape). Values close to
1.0 are typical of regions of very low relief whereas that
of 0.60.8 are associated with high relief and steep
ground slope (Strahler 1964). The Re of the Pindari basin
is 0.66 and indicates it to be elongated with high relief
and steep slope. The value of Re for the sub-basins is
shown in Table 4. A circular basin is more efficient in the
discharge of runoff than an elongated basin (Singh and
Singh 1997).
Circulatory ratio (Rc)
The circulatory ratio (Rc) has been used as a quantitative
measure and is expressed as the ratio of the basin area (A)
to the area of a circle having the same perimeter as the
basin (Miller 1953; Strahler 1964) and is expressed as:
Rc 4pA=P2
where A = area of the basin and P = perimeter of the
basin.
The values of circularity index varies from zero (for a
line) to unity i.e. one (for a circle). The higher is the
value of Rc, the more circular is the shape of the basin.
The circulatory ratio is influenced by length, frequency of
streams (Fs), geological structures, landcover, climate,
relief and slope of the basin. It is significant ratio, which
indicates the stage of the basin. Its low, medium and high
values are indicative of the youth, mature and old stages
of the lifecycles of the tributary basins (Sreedevi et al.
2005). The Rc of the Pindari River Basin is 0.63, while
that of other sub-basins ranges between 0.46 and 0.74
(Table 4).
Form factor (Ff)
The Ff of a drainage basin is expressed as a ratio between
the area of the basin (A) and the square of the basin length
(L2) (Horton 1945), and is expressed as:
Ff A=L2
The value of form factor is always less than 0.7854 (for
a perfectly circular basin). Smaller the value of form factor,
more elongated is the basin. The basin with high Ff have
high peak flows of shorter duration, whereas elongated sub
watershed with low form factor have lower peak flow of
longer duration (Chopra et al. 2005). The Ff of the Pindari
River Basin is 0.354, while the Ff of sub-basins ranges
from 0.18 to 0.76 (Table 4).
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Environ Earth Sci (2012) 66:11631174
Evidences of active tectonics
The topographic features, geological structures and
recurrent seismicity of the Himalaya are a consequence of
the continued northward push and collision of the Indian
Plate with Eurasia (Quereshy et al. 1989). Due to the
continuous northward movement of the Indian Plate, the
Himalayan mountain belt is still under the process of
crustal adjustments. Such adjustments are recorded in the
form of neotectonic activity experienced in different seg-
ments of the Himalaya and in turn are manifested in the
form of distinct landforms (Valdiya 1986; Bali et al. 2003;
Agarwal et al. 2009). Glacio-fluvial landforms formed
during the Late Quaternary are thus one of the best
repositories for recording the evidences of ongoing active
tectonics in the Himalaya. The proglacial areas of higher
Himalayan region usually experience precipitation domi-
nantly in the form of snow and lesser amounts of rainfall.
These areas thus escape the major denudational processes
that are encountered in abundance in the southern part of
the Himalaya. The anomalies present in the geomorphic
disposition of such areas indicate the control of active
tectonics on their evolution (Bali et al. 2003). In the recent
investigations in the Pindari Glacier valley a number of
features like fluvial terraces, entrenched stream courses,
inclined sedimentary beds etc. clearly indicate that the
area is neotectonically active. Some of the important
morphological evidences of neotectonism are given as
under.
Seismic activity
The area comes under the Zone IV in the Seismic
Zonation map of India (1996). The neotectonic activity in
the area is well documented by the occurrence of a
number of seismic events in the form of earthquakes.
Historic and recent seismic activity of the region around
the study area, reveals that the region has experienced a
number of seismic events and at least three major earth-
quakes of magnitude around 7 (Rajendran et al. 2000;
Joshi 1998) e.g. the Uttarkashi earthquake of 1991
(magnitude 6.8 with epicenter at a depth of 15 km) and
the Chamoli earthquake of 1999 (magnitude 6.4 with
epicenter depth of 21 km).
Khattri et al. (1989) indicated that moderate earthquakes
occur in this region due to the reactivation of low angle
thrust faults. The study area is bound by two well-known
thrust systems, i.e. by Trans-Himadri Fault on the northern
side and Pindari Thrust on the southern side. Moreover, the
area is dissected by a number of smaller faults and thrusts,
many of which may be active.
Environ Earth Sci (2012) 66:11631174
Fig. 4 a Inclined sedimentary layers present in the left lateral moraine. b Asymmetrical river terraces and entrenched river channel near Amula
village. c Skewed fan deposit present near the Zero point
Inclined sedimentary layers, asymmetrical fluvial
terraces and river entrenchment
The Pindari basin is a NESW trending basin of Pindari
River, a tributary to the Alaknanda River. Just from the
downstream of the Pindari Glacier snout, a silty to sandy
glacio-lacustrine deposit is found well preserved at the
summit of the left lateral moraine that formed during the
last phase of glacial recession. This deposit disposed
almost 100 m above the valley floor shows tilting (*25
due east) of the layers within it (Fig. 4a). Such a disruption
of the bedding is being attributed to neotectonic activity in
the area.
At least two levels of terraces are present just down-
stream of the snout. Moreover, near Amula village,
asymmetrical terraces are present on the sides of the Pin-
dari River (Fig. 4b). The Pindari River flowing along a
NWSE running Phurkia fault has incised through the fan
deposits resulting into the formation of terraces. At Malia
Doar, the Pindari River shows entrenchment resulting into
the formation of narrow gorge.
1171
Anomalies in the drainage morphometry
In the Pindari River Basin it has been observed that the
lower order streams are abundant and show high bifurca-
tion ratio. The morphometric analysis of the area reveals
that the bifurcation ratio between the first and second order
stream is 4.40, while that of second and third order stream
is 3.71. These higher values suggest that the area is tec-
tonically active.
Skewed fans
The occurrence and distribution of the fan deposits on the
two sides of the valley seems to be controlled by the neo-
tectonic activity. In the present study, it has been noticed
that the concentration of the fan deposits as well as the
landslides is more on the left side of the valley while, there
is a very less concentration of fan deposits on the right side
of the valley and nearly no landslide zones are present.
Skewing of the fan deposits is a result of the neotectonic
activity (Bali et al. 2003). After a detailed investigation, it
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Fig. 5 MSS image of the study
area. Glacial, proglacial and till
covered areas lie north of the
dotted line
has been observed that the debris fans near zero point show
a very high degree of skewness caused due to active tec-
tonics (Fig. 4c).
Discussion and conclusions
Morphometric analysis of Higher Himalayan regions
(presently under the domain of fluvial processes) has been
found to be a useful tool to understand the geomorphic
evolution pro-glacial terrains (Bali et al. 2003). During the
present study, besides the neotectonic implications, it has
also been effectively utilized to delineate the present day
till covered areas of the region. It is evident that the
unconsolidated, unstratified and heterogeneous till material
is highly impervious. As such, these areas show a poor
development of drainage network and thus a very low
Drainage density (Dd). Drainage density affects the con-
centration time and hence the magnitude of peak flow.
Timing of discharge events in the form of lag time has also
been related to the basin morphometric characteristics
(Kennedy and Watt 1967). Increase in drainage density
suggests increasing flood peaks. Similarly, decrease in
drainage density generally suggests decreasing flood vol-
umes (Pallard et al. 2009).
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Environ Earth Sci (2012) 66:11631174
One of the important controls on drainage density is
exerted by the infiltration capacity of the overburden
material. A long concentration time implies more oppor-
tunities for water to infiltrate. It controls the amount of
water available for the surface runoff and in turn affects the
development of stream pattern. As the unconsolidated,
unstratified, heterogeneous angular till deposits covering
the glaciated and the deglaciated region have high infil-
tration capacity, there is little overland flow and the
channel development is inhibited (Figs. 3, 5). Because of
this characteristic feature of the overburden material of
glacial and proglacial terrain located in the Higher Hima-
layan region, the water derived by slow melting of snow
covered areas is unable to move down the slopes for long
distances as surface runoff. It rather gets infiltrated through
the highly porous overburden material. The surface
expression of such a phenomenon is the profound devel-
opment of deranged drainage in such areas. The infiltrated
subsurface water moves down and contributes to the
groundwater budget of the area rather than moving down
the slopes as surface runoff.
Although, the surface runoff is encouraged on steep
slopes as most of the glaciated regions have a high relief.
However, it can be seen that even with the steep slopes, the
highly porous overburden till material does not allow much
Environ Earth Sci (2012) 66:11631174
of the melt water as well as the precipitated rainwater to
flow on the surface. The nature of the overburden material
rather compels them to infiltrate.
The overall drainage density (Dd) for the Pindari River
Basin is 2.63/km. It, however, varies between 0.57 to 4.01
for the different sub-basins. The values being appreciably
less than 5.0 indicates that the Dd falls in the category of
coarse to very coarse drainage. The drainage density
increases for the sub-basins located in the lower latitudes as
these areas have relatively lesser and thinner overburden
material. Also, in these areas the rain water moves down
the slope for some distance partly as surface runoff, thereby
giving rise to a relatively higher Dd.
A close examination of various shape parameters sug-
gests that the Pindari Glacio-fluvial basin as a whole is
moderately elongated in nature while, some of its sub-
basins, e.g. 9 and 18 show a higher value of elongation
ratio and circulatory ratio. Similarly, these basins also
show a relatively higher value of form factor (Ff). These
two sub-basins (Fig. 3) incorporate the Sunderdunga and
the Pindari glacier. As suggested earlier (Chopra et al.
2005), these sub-basins have higher values because from
time to time these must be experiencing high peak flows
(flash floods), due to the bursting of the supra glacial and
englacial water bodies. Not only this, the circularity has
further been enhanced by broadening of glacial valley
during glacial movement. Delineating the sub-basins on the
basis of higher values of these indices thus becomes an
important tool to decipher the areas prone to short high
peak flows during flash floods.
Palaeoglacial reconstruction in the Himalayan region as
well as geomorphological evidences suggest that there was
a much thicker ice cover in the region than what has been
perceived. The recession and melting of the glacial ice
mass caused as a result of climate change, resulted in the
unloading of the valley floor and hence unstraining of the
area. This process along with the present stress regime
resulted in the reactivation and formation of new set of
fracture planes (Bali et al. 2003). It has been observed that
the Bifurcation ratio (Rb) varies between 2.52 to 8.62 while
the circulatory ratio of the sub-basins ranges between 0.46
to 0.74. The higher variation of the Rb and the values less
than 0.60 for circularity ratio suggests the presence of
youthful streams in the sub basins. Thus, the presence of
various characteristic geomorphological features as well as
anomalies in various drainage morphometric parameters of
various sub-basins suggests the control of active tectonics
on the geomorphic evolution of the area.
Acknowledgments Authors are thankful to the Head of Depart-
ment, Centre of Advanced Study in Geology, University of Lucknow,
Lucknow, for providing working facilities. Thanks are also due to
Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, New
Delhi, for funding the project vide project no. ESS/91/29/2004.
1173
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