EVOLUTION OF DRAINAGE PATTERNS.
Abstract
Quantitative study of the evolution of drainage basins focused on measures of drainage dissection which included the drainage density envelope, drainage density, and absolute drainage density. Measurements on streams in Iowa, New Mexico, Hawaii, North Carolina, and Indiana resulted in the following conclusions: The drainage density envelope provides insight into the understanding of the evolution of drainage nets, but is not useful in interpreting external controls such as climate; Drainage density is a property of an allometrically growing system which describes the internal features of the drainage net, but cannot be used as an indicator of relative age, climate or lithologic controls; Absolute drainage density is a measure of the extent to which a portion of land has been dissected by fluvial erosion and can be used as an indicator of relative age, climate and lithology differences. It was also found that cultivation has had no measurable effect upon the erosional geometry of drainage basins using the drainage basin as a geomorphic unit. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 13, 1968
- Accession Number
- AD0669482
Entities
People
- Keith W. Anderson
- R. A. Lohnes
- R. L. Handy
Organizations
- Iowa State University