Drainage Morphometry Using Satellite Data and GIS in Raigad District, Maharashtra

Remote Sensing andGeographica1 Information System (GIS) techniques are being effectively used as tools in morphometric analysis of watersheds. In the present study an attempt has been made to analyze the drainage characteristics of all the fifteen watersheds of Raigad district, Maharashtra, in terms of their morphology and related parameters. The results suggest that the ratio between cumulative stream length and stream order is constant throughout the successive orders of the drainage basins. The low values of bifurcation ratio and drainage density indicate that drainage in the study area has not been affected by structural disturbances and also the area is mostly underlain by resistant and permeable rocks with a dense vegetative cover. The higher groundwater Ievels in some of the watersheds are correlated to the low values of drainage density, stream frequency and infiltration number. The detailed morphometric analysis also led to the conclusion that eight of the watersheds with low infiltration numbers have high infiltration capacity and thus better scope for artificial recharge.