Geomorphological analysis of Morphometric Characteristics of the Upper Part of the Rumeimine and Tekala Catchments: A study in the Climatic Geomorphology

Abstract

The study concentrated on the Geomorphological analysis of morphometric characteristics of two catchments (The upper parts of the Rumeimine and Tekala) which are located in two different climate regions (Tropical and semiarid). The network was defined in both catchments depending on topographic maps, Arial photographs (1: 25000) and fieldwork. The study showed a group of main basic different facts in the morphometric characteristics between the two catchments (Stream length; Catchment area; Drainage density; Stream frequency, Elongation; Circularity; Relative relief and Streams slopes). The difference is endowed to climate conditions. Horton’s laws were applied in both cachments gave the power equations (Y=aXb) between morphometric variables: (mean of basin area, mean of Stream length, Stream number, mean of Streams slopes, Stream frequency and stream order). Curves fitting indicate that the power equations (Y=aXb) is the best relation between different indices, whether the relation is negative or positive. The basin area is positively correlated with stream length in both the first and second stream orders in both catchments. The index of stream length shows the highest Coefficients of Determination (80%) with the basin area in the first order. The relationships between the stream density and the basin area in the first and the second order are negatively correlated with exponential equation (Y=aXb) where it was powerly correlated with stream frequency. The stream frequency holds the first class in the interpretation of variance in the drainage density of the morphometric indices.