Physical Characteristics of Drainage Basins

The physical characteristics of major significance, such as; area of the drainage-basin, slope of the principal drainage channel, length of the principal drainage channel, shape of the drainage-basin (basin shape), and general slope of the land in the basin (land slope), are reviewed and defined in terms of recent usage. A standard procedure for plotting the area-distance curves and area-elevation curves is suggested. Also discussed is a new method developed for computation of a modified area-elevation curve. Numerical procedures for computing the various important physical characteristics utilizing the standard area -distance curves and the modified area-elevation curves are included.