Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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CHAPTER 1
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The value of fieldwork is not simply the geographical value of experiencing
landscape feature, busy urban streets, unfamiliar cultures, extremes of weathers
and the journey to the venue itself, which helps ground the pupil’s local
environment in the context of the world. It aids motivation and self-development.
There is also a chance to demonstrate progression of skills and development of
participants as geographers.
A final point about fieldwork is that it provides perhaps more than other classroom
based work and opportunities for students to be creative and to have a personalized
outcome, which gives them a sense of ownership of the learning process.
There is also the philosophical view of Tim Brighouse,’’ one lesson is worth seven
inside”.
The major objective of the study is to identify the study is to identify the
denudational processes that are operating in the study area with different
intensity and magnitude.
To analyze the drainage characteristics of Naj river, in order to have a
better understanding of the landscape.
An important objective of the study is to access the impact of slope on the
mass movement processes.
To identify the dominant erosional processes in the study area.
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1.4 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:
The present problem, is related to the denudational processes in the Naj river
valley and to give the visual picture of the study area.
1.5 DATA BASE:-The data for the present study, is derived from the primary as
well as secondary sources. The major schemes of data are listed below:
. The survey of India T. No. 43 P/10 with the scale of 1:25000, was consulted for
the preparation of different maps like stream orders, drainage, slope map, area
under different order streams.
We have used simple calculations to convert raw data into meaningful numbers.
We have also used line graphs to represent statistical information. Besides
cartographic, methods including choropleth have been used as per requirements.
Ample use of photographs of the area has been a mode for better visible effects.
We have collected data from primary as well as secondary sources regarding the
rainfall and temperature, from the meteorological department. We have visualized
the denudational processes occurring in the Naj basin and made observations based
on these visualizations.
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CHAPTER- 2
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CHAPTER 2
PHYSICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1 LOCATION AND EXTENT: The study area lies between 32 ̊ 36̕ N to 32 ̊42̕
N latitude and 75 ̊ 32 ̕ E to 75 ̊ 38̕ E longitude .
The area selected for present study, is situated in the Siwalik range of Himalaya
Himalayas, 760 m from mean sea level. The river Naj flows from North-Western
to South-Eastern direction.
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2.2 GEOLOGY: Geology, is basically that science which deals with the study of
different rock fossils and structures. The thick pile of tertiary sediments, which
constitute the foothills belt range in age, from the upper Pleistocene of the rest of
the sequence, has been deposited under Brackish to fresh water condition. The
upper part of the study area occupied by Murree rock. Lower area of Dun and
Siwalik has following sequence of rocks:-
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MURREE: Litho-logically the murree can be divided into two divisions i.e., lower
and the upper murree. The lower murree is mainly argillaceous and contains thick
section of deep purple to sandstone. The calcite are more in the lower murree, the
upper murree is less distributed and are characterized by ridge forming sandstone.
SIWALIK: The Siwalik lies over the murree at several places. Physiologically
murree Siwalik boundary is marked by increase in percentage of heavy minerals
and appearance of Siwalik.
1) UPPER SIWALIK:- The upper Siwalik can easily be seperated from the
middle Siwalik for this there exist a marked litho-logical change at the boundary.
The main evidence of the upper Siwalik, are massive conglomerates consisting of
various metamorphic activities on sedimentary rocks. It results in the formation of
rounded peak topography.
2.3 DRAINAGE: The Naj river basin, is marked by dendritic and sub-parallel
drainage patterns. It indicates that sedimentary rocks of murree formation with
uniform slopes cover the study area.
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2.4 SOILS: The soil of the surveyed area varies from sandy to sandy loam. Humus
content is very low due to less falling of tree leaves and over grazing by animals.
Pebbles, cobbles, conglomerates are found in the soil, which is less fertile from
agricultural point of view.
The area around the Naj basin, is covered by forests. These forests are very thick
and have a good faunal composition. These forests have a variety of trees, plants,
herbs, shrubs, climbers etc.
In the study area the following different types of plant species are noticed as :-
The height, is shown by a figure marked along the contour, which shows the height
in meters of feet above mean sea level. The method for showing relief, was first
used by N. Crequius in the year 1730. However, in India this method, was
introduced as late as 1895. The present study area has contour interval of 50 mts.
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CHAPTER- 3
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CHAPTER-3
CLIMATE
The average weather condition prevailing in a particular place throughout the year
is called climate.
The study area experiences sub-tropical climate in the lower area, temperate at
high altitude. The climate of the area not only influences weathering but also
affects the sediments. The Naj basin, is situated within the temperate and extra-
tropical belt. The upper part of Naj basin, experiences temperate type of climate
and lower area experiences tropical type of climate. Upper reaches experience cold
winters with snowfall. Area of Naj basin has mostly mountain type of climate
characterized by wide variation in temperature and rainfall distribution.
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Table: Maximum and Minimum temperature.
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40
35
30
25
20 Maximum( ̊c)
15 Minimum( ̊c)
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Average ( ̊c)
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0
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3.2 PRECIPITATION:- Owing to the complexity of relief, distribution pattern of
rainfall is also complex. The record of precipitation associated with the South-
West monsoon during the July-September months, is called as south-west monsoon
season. July-August is the most active period from the point of view of monsoon
activity because during this period, of Naj experience floods.
The rainfall data for 2017 supplied by the Executive Engineer, Flood Control
Division Kathua, is reproduced in the table given below:-
The record of precipitation (rainfall) data of tehsil Bilawar reveals that the area
receives precipitation associated with the south-west monsoon. Average rainfall
for year 2017 according to the record in mm is 167.15. Maximum amount of
rainfall, is recorded in the month of August i.e. 616 mm and with number of rainy
days 20. From rainfall point of view period of July and August are the most active
period and Naj river experiences floods during this time. Similarly, the month of
October and November records no rainfall. Total rainy days in the year 2017 are
76 out of 365 days and total amount of rainfall in the year is 2013 mm.
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Table:- No of Rainy Days and total Rainfall in mm (Bilawar Tehsil )
1 January 3.3 61
2 February 04 70
3 March 04 76
4 April 2.5 40
5 May 02 27
6 June 05 97
10 October 1.3 22
11 November 0.8 15
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12 December 1.3 30
1400
1200
1000
800
600 No. of rainy days
Total Rainfall (mm)
400
200
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CHAPTER – 4
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CHAPTER 4
AGENTS: The agents that promote the breaking and lowering of the earth’s
surface are called the agents of denudation. Examples of agents of denudation are
wind, running water, ice and waves.
Nature of relief: Higher the relief of a particular region, the higher is the
rate of denudation and lower the relief of that region, the lower the rate of
denudation.
Structure of the earth: Softer the structure of the earth, greater is the rate of
denudation and vice-versa.
Local climate of an area: Wet climates tend to increase the rate of
denudation more than dry climate.
Influence of man: The higher the rate of man’s activities on the earth
surface, greater, is the rate of denudation and vice-versa.
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4.3 MASS WASTING:- Mass wasting also known as slope movement or mass
movement is the geomorphic process by which soil, sand, regolith and rock move
down-slope typically as a mass largely under the force of gravity, but frequently
affected by water and water content as in submarine environments and mudflows.
When the gravitational force acting on a slope exceeds its resisting force, slope
failure (mass wasting) occurs. The slope material’s strength and cohesion and the
amount of internal friction b/w material help maintain the slope’s stability and are
known collectively as the slope’s shear strength. The steepest angle that a
cohesion-less slope can maintain without losing its stability is known as its angle
of repose. When a slope made of loose material possesses this angle, it shear
strength perfectly counterbalances the force of gravity acting upon it.
The study area lies in the sub-tropical climate. Precipitation in the study area, is
received by South-West monsoon during the months of July to September.
Climatically the area is sub-tropical zone. The mean monthly temperature is 10 ̊ c.
The coldest months are November to January. January is the coldest month of the
year. The growing period in the temperate zone is from April to September, June
and July are the hottest months. The main sides are debris flow, rock fall, soil
creep, landslides. This exhibit great diversity of forms and complexity of inter-
relationship of different factors, in regard to their morphogenesis. Mass movement
occurs owing to the influence of gravity and water too. In the study area, many
geographic landforms are marked, like slopes, valleys, landslides, rills, gullies etc.
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Picture representing mass wasting along the Naj river
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central part of the Naj river basin and the minimum slope of < 10 ̊ lies in the South
of the Naj river basin.
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4.4 WEATHERING: Weathering is the process where rocks or soil is dissolved or
worn away into smaller and smaller pieces due to particular environmental factors
such as the examples given above. In geographic terms, weathering is defined as
the combined action of all processes that cause alteration and breakdown of rock
minerals chemically (decomposition) and rock masses physically (disintegration)
by the influence of exposure to the atmosphere.
Climate
Vegetation
Relief
Time
Structure of The Rock
Human Activities
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TYPES OF WEATHERING:-
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or oxygen. This kind of weathering in which a different substance is formed called
chemical weathering.
* Biological Weathering:- Plants and animals including man, largely control the
breakdown of rocks. In the study area following biological agents were observed:-
Lichens:-
Plant roots:-
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Picture showing different types of weathering
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4.5 EROSION: Erosion involves the wearing away of rocks and soil found along
the river-bed and banks. It also involves the breaking down of rock particles are
being carried downstream by the river. Fluvial erosion involves four processes.
They are:
Abrasion
Attrition
Hydraulic action
Solution
ABRASION OR CORRASION
This is when large pieces of bed load material wear away the river-banks and beds.
This occurs when rock particles strike or are dragged along the rock bed. The
impact removes the small particles. Abrasion is thought to be most effective
method of erosion and is probably responsible for down cutting in a river channel.
In Naj river basin, abrasion takes place during short violent periods of flow such as
in floods. In the study area, we find the pot-holes which are produced by the
grinding action on a small number of hard pebbles.
ATTRITION
This is when the bed load itself is eroded with the sediment particles knock against
the bed or each other and break, becoming more rounded and smaller.
In the present study area, we find that when the particles are moved downstream,
their size decreases and roundness of particle increases. This is due to the attrition.
We also find that the large and angular particles are less likely moved, except in
the frequent periods of high discharge.
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HYDRAULIC ACTION
This is when force of water erodes softer rocks. In the study area this process
moves material into the river channel through the impact of moving water and its
frictional drag, on the bed and banks of river. Here we find that only consolidated
material such as sand and fine gravel, can be removed by hydraulic action.
SOLUTION OR CORROSION
This is when acidic water erodes rocks. This is more prominent on carbonate rocks.
The soluble materials, are removed from parent rocks and are mixed with running
water.
It is observed that, in some part of the study area that the erosion rate is high due to
over land flow. This is because of the fact that study area experiences semi-arid
type of climate.
In addition to this depletion of plant cover by overgrazing and fires has made the
natural equilibrium highly sensitive and vulnerable. The high rate of erosion due to
over land flow in these parts of the study area has produced highly dissected
topography make a small stream channel and ground slope are very steep.
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down a slope. The faster it flows, the more likely it will cause erosion and
increase sedimentation.
LONGITUDINAL PROFILE:- It is an outline of the alley (river bed)
from source to its mouth. It usually takes in the actual length of the center of
the stream and height of the surface at mean sea level. The long profile of
the Naj river basin provides evidence of its being a polycyclic drainage basin
.The lithological character of the bed rock along with fluvial processes has
played an important role in variation in the profile. It stretches over a length
of 13.5 km. The profile is marked with the break of slope between separate
reaches at two elevation of 1850m and 1480m. The tributaries join the main
valley of 20 ̊ to 35 ̊. The profile is steep at upper part of the valley. The
lower part of the valley is comparatively less steeper.
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VELOCITY OF WATER
The velocities of the river flow depend on the slope. A steeper slope causes high
flow velocity, hence more erosion.
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NATURE OF ROCKS
Sandstones, conglomerates, and other coarse grained rock types are usually
permeable i.e. more precipitation will percolate downward through the soil and
underlying rocks. Therefore the amount of surface runoff will be minimal and a
small number of streams will develop in a precise area.
CONCLUSION:- The following conclusions have been drawn from the previous
discussion.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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