ES322IntroductiontoWatershedMorphometry

Morphometricanalysisofwatershedsinvolvesthequantificationofthechannelnetworkandrelatedparameterssuchas
drainagearea,gradientandrelief.Seeattachedhandoutp.168169foroverviewofstreamorderingandthetypesof
morphometriccalculationsthatarecommonlyusedinanalyzingwatersheds.

ReviewtheattachedtopographicmapofthehypotheticalMingoCreekdrainagebasin.Inthismythicalworld,the
drainagedividesurroundingMingoCreekisperfectlyrectangular(labeledasdrainageboundaryonthebasemap).
Observethelandmarks,benchmarks(BMXandBMY),andcontrolpoints(A,B,C,D).Thedrainagenetworkand
contourlinesarealsoshownonthemap.Themaximumbasinelevationasmeasuredatoneofthebenchmarksis1286
ftAMSL;thelowestbasinelevationasmeasuredatoneofthebenchmarksis1118ftAMSL.Noteeachstreamchannel
segmentislabeledwithanumberrangingfrom1to15.

Usingruler,engineersscale,calculatorandthinkingcaps;calculate/determine/otherwiseanswerthefollowingquestions
relatedtowatershedmorphometryandchannelconfiguration.SHOWALLOFYOURMATHWORKANDUNITALGEBRA!!

1. WhichdirectionistheMingoCreekdrainageflowing?Explainyouranswer.

2. WhatistheelevationofBMX


3. WhatistheelevationofBMY


4. Calculatethefractionalscaleofthemap.

5. Giventhecontourinterval,labeltheelevationofeachcontourlineonthemap.

6. Calculatethestreamgradientinm/m(dimensionlessratio)betweenthefollowingcontrolpoints:
a. AtoD
b. BtoD
c. AtoC
d. BtoC
e. CtoD

7. Usingaredcoloredpencil,drawtheinternaldrainagedividefortheWhiskeyRunsubbasin.

8. Examinethegridnetworkonthebasemap,
a. whatisthemapdistancebetweeneachticintheEastingdirection?(inches)
b. WhatisthegrounddistancebetweeneachticintheEastingdirection?(meters)
c. WhatisthemapdistancebetweeneachticintheNorthingdirection?(inches)
d. WhatisthegrounddistancebetweeneachticintheNorthingdirection?(meters)

9. Whatisthetotalbasinreliefofthedrainagebasin?(infeet?Inmeters?Inkm?)

10. CalculatethetotaldrainageareafortheMingoCreekBasin:
a. Squaremeters:
b. Hectares:
c. Squarekm:
d. Squaremi:
e. Acres:

11. Onthemap,labeleachstreamsegmentwiththecorrespondingStrahlerStreamOrder.Fillinthedatatable
below:

ChannelID Order Length(m) Gradient(m/m)

1 ____ ______ ____________
2 ____ ______ ____________
3 ____ ______ ____________
4 ____ ______ ____________
5 ____ ______ ____________
6 ____ ______ ____________
7 ____ ______ ____________
8 ____ ______ ____________
9 ____ ______ ____________
10 ____ ______ ____________
11 ____ ______ ____________
12 ____ ______ ____________
13 ____ ______ ____________
14 ____ ______ ____________
15 ____ ______ ____________

TotalStreamLength(m) _________
TotalStreamLength(km) _________

12. CalculatethesubbasinareaforWhiskeyRun,upstreamfromcontrolpointC:
a. Squaremeters:
b. Hectares:
c. Squarekm:
d. Squaremi:
e. Acres:


13. Calculatethedrainagedensity(totalstreamlength/basinarea)fortheentireMingoCreekbasin(km1)

 14. WhatisthehigheststreamorderattainedintheentireMingobasin?

15. Calculatethedrainagedensity(totalstreamlength/basinarea)fortheWhiskeyRunsubbasin(km1)



16. WhatisthehigheststreamorderattainedintheWhiskeyRunsubbasin?



17. CalculatetheBasinRuggednessfortheMingoCreekbasin(drainagedensityxbasinrelief)(km1*km)

18. PlotthefollowXYGraphsbasedonyourdata:
a. Gradient(Yaxis)vs.StreamOrder(Xaxis)
b. StreamLength(Yaxis)vs.StreamOrder(Xaxis)

Part2.ThinkingQuestionstofollowinseparatehandout

 Topographic Map of the Mingo Creek Drainage

Drainage Boundary

BM "X"

15
14
A
8
12 B
11

13 10

Drainage Boundary
Drainage Boundary

un
R
key
s
hi
W 5
2 3
9
Mi

C
ng

4
o
Cr
ee
k

D
BM "Y"

Drainage Boundary
Contour Interval = 40 ft 4 0 4 km