Morphometric parameters and runoff infiltration based prioritization of Kadalundi river basin, Kerala, India using gis

Morphometric analysis of a river basin is useful for understanding the hydrological and geomorphological behavior of a river basin. The hydrological and geomorphological characteristic of any river is closely related to its morphology indicating its shape, drainage pattern, stream order, bifurcation ratio etc. Each and every river basin has its own unique morphometric characteristics which make it differ from other river basins. The present study is based on the morphometric analysis of Kadalundi river basin using geospatial technology. Kadalundi river basin is a sixth order stream. The drainage pattern is complex with considerable variation in spatial arrangements, which are controlled by topography, slope, rock type and structural deformations. There exist a relationship between the morphological characteristics of a basin and its runoff potential and infiltration capacity. This relationship is utilized to understand the hyrological potentiality of Kadalundi river basin. Based on the runoff potential and infiltration capacity the sub basins are categorized as area of low, moderate and high priority. This study is more useful for planning and implementing river basin development plan in Kadalundi river basin.