Prioritization Based on Morphometric Analysis - A Case Study of Mandakini River Basin

The delimitation and prioritization of river basins within a large river basin is necessary for appropriate arrangement and management of natural resources for sustainable development. Morphometry is the science that deals with the quantitative dimension of the form of any natural substance like rivers, forests, and mountains. It is a numerical examination of the setup of the Earth's surface, shape and measurements of its territory’s structures. The present work/study is based on spatial data acquired form of Survey of India topo-sheets and ASTER GDEM (2011). Mandakini river is a main tributary of Alaknanda River and drain in near about 1666.34 Km² areas. The present study deals the parameters of the morphometry (Linear, Areal and Relief Aspects) have been calculated using Arc-Hydro tool in Arc GIS software. Stream ordering has been calculated by A.N. Strahler’s method. The basin is classified as 5th order drainage basin and with mainly dendritic type of drainage pattern. Mandakini river basin is also very prone to land sliding which is the major contributor of sediment to river catchment. Land sliding and clouds bursting are most common in this river basin. The Geo-informatics-based study of morphometry analysis of river basin characteristics can be used by local people for sustainable development of this area.