Morphometric,statistical, and hazard analyses using ASTER data and GIS technique of WADI El-Mathula watershed,Qena, Egypt

An attempt to carry out morphometric, statistical, and hazard analyses using ASTER data and GIS technique of Wadi El-Mathula watershed, Central Eastern Desert, Egypt. Morphometric analysis with application of GIS technique is essential to delineate drainage networks; basin geometry, drainage texture, and relief characteristics, through detect forty morphometric parameters of the study watershed and its sub-basins. Extract new drainage network map with DEM, sub-basin boundaries, stream orders, drainage networks, slope, drainage density, flow direction maps with more details is very necessary to analyze different morphometric and hydrologic applications for the study basin. Statistical analysis of morphometric parameters was done through cluster analysis, regression equations, and correlation coefficient matrix. Clusters analyses detect three independents variables which are stream number, basin area, and stream length have a very low linkage distance of 0.001 (at very high similarity of 99.95%) in a cluster with the basin width. Main channel length and basin perimeter (at very high similarity of 99.83%) are in a cluster with basin length. Using the regression equations and graphical correlation matrix indicates the mathematical relationships and helps to predict the behavior between any two variables. Hazard analysis and hazard degree assessment for each sub-basin were performed. The hazardous factors were detected and concluded that most of sub-basins are classified as moderately to highly hazardous. Finally, we recommended that the flood possibilities should be taken in consideration during future development of these areas.     

Morphometric analysis of Suketi river basin,Himachal Himalaya,India

Suketi river basin is located in the Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh, India. It encompasses a central inter-montane valley and surrounding mountainous terrain in the Lower Himachal Himalaya. Morphometric analysis of the Suketi river basin was carried out to study its drainage characteristics and overall groundwater resource potential. The entire Suketi river basin has been divided into five sub-basins based on the catchment areas of Suketi trunk stream and its major tributaries. Quantitative assessment of each sub-basin was carried out for its linear, areal, and relief aspects. The analysis reveals that the drainage network of the entire Suketi river basin constitutes a 7th order basin. Out of five sub-basins, Kansa khad sub-basin (KKSB), Gangli khad sub-basin (GKSB) and Ratti khad sub-basin (RKSB) are 5th order sub-basins. The Dadour khad sub-basin (DKSB) is 6th order sub-basin, while Suketi trunk stream sub-basin (STSSB) is a 7th order sub-basin. The entire drainage basin area reflects late youth to early mature stage of development of the fluvial geomorphic cycle, which is dominated by rain and snow fed lower order streams. It has low stream frequency (Fs) and moderate drainage density (Dd) of 2.69 km/km ². Bifurcation ratios (Rb) of various stream orders indicate that streams up to 3rd order are surging through highly dissected mountainous terrain, which facilitates high overland flow and less recharge into the sub-surface resulting in low groundwater potential in the zones of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd order streams of the Suketi river basin. The circulatory ratio (Rc) of 0.65 and elongation ratio (Re) of 0.80 show elongated nature of the Suketi river basin, while infiltration number (If) of 10.66 indicates dominance of relief features and low groundwater potential in the high altitude mountainous terrain. The asymmetry factor (Af) of Suketi river basin indicates that the palaeo-tectonic tilting, at drainage basin scale, was towards the downstream right side of the drainage basin. The slope map of Suketi river basin has been classified into three main zones, which delineate the runoff zone in the mountains, recharge zone in the transition zone between mountains and valley plane, and discharge zone in the plane areas of Balh valley.     

GIS based morphometric evaluation of Chimmini and Mupily watersheds, parts of Western Ghats, Thrissur District, Kerala, India

GIS and Remote Sensing have proved to be an indispensible tool in morphometric analysis. The identification of morphometric properties based on a geographic information system (GIS) was carried out in two watersheds in the Thrissur district of Kerala, India. These watersheds are parts of Western Ghats, which is an ecologically sensitive area. Quantitative geomorphometric analysis was carried out for the Chimmini and Mupily watersheds independently by estimating their (a) linear aspects like stream number, stream order, stream length, mean stream length, stream length ratio, bifurcation ratio, length of overland flow, drainage pattern (b) aerial aspects like circulatory ratio, elongation ratio, drainage density and (c) relief aspects like basin relief, relief ratio, relative relief and ruggedness number. The drainage areas of Chimmini and Mupily watersheds are 140 and 122 km² respectively and show patterns of dendritic to sub-dendritic drainage. The Chimmini watershed was classified as a sixth order drainage basin, whereas Mupily watershed was classified as a fifth order basin. The stream order of the basin was predominantly controlled by physiographic and structural conditions. The increase in the stream length ratio from lower to higher order suggests that the study area has reached a mature geomorphic stage. The development of stream segments is affected by rainfall and local lithology of the watersheds. The slope of both watersheds varied from 0° to 50° and 0° to 42° respectively and the slope variation is chiefly controlled by the local geology and erosion cycles. Moreover, these studies are useful for planning rain water harvesting and watershed management.     

Morphometric analysis of Usri River basin,Chhotanagpur Plateau,India, using remote sensing and GIS

A geomorphic unit Usri drainage basin (latitude: 24° 04′00″ N to 24° 34′00″ N and longitude 86°05′00″E to 86°25′00″E) lies in north-eastern parts of Chhotanagpur Plateau, India, has been selected for morphometric analysis. Digital elevation model (DEM) has been generated by Cartosat stereo pair data at 10-m resolution. The morphometric parameters considered for the analysis includes the linear, areal, and relief aspects of the basin. Morphometric analysis of the river network and the basin revealed that the Usri Basin has sixth-order river network with a dendritic drainage pattern. The dendritic drainage pattern indicates that the basin has homogeneous lithology, gentle regional slope, and lack of structural control. The bifurcation ratio between different successive orders varies but the mean ratio is low that suggests the higher permeability and lesser structural control. The low drainage density, poor stream frequency, and moderately coarse drainage texture values of the basin indicate that the terrain has gentle slope, is made up of loose material, and hence has good permeability of sub-surface material and significant recharge of ground water. The shape parameters indicate that the basin is elongated in shape with low relief, high infiltration capacity, and less water flow for shorter duration in basin. The 50 % of the basin has altitude below 300 m and gently sloping towards the southeast direction. All the morphometric parameters and existing erosional landforms indicated mature to early old stage topography.     

Drainage morphometry and its influence on hydrology in an semi arid region: using SRTM data and GIS

An attempt has been made to study drainage morphometry and its influence on hydrology of Peddavanka watershed, South India. Drainage networks for the sub-basins were derived from topographical map (1:50,000) and Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data used for preparing elevation, slope and aspects maps. Geographical information system (GIS) was used in evaluation of linear, areal and relief aspects of morphometric parameters. The study reveals that SRTM DEM and GIS-based approach in evaluation of drainage morphometric parameters and their influence on hydrological characteristics at watershed level is more appropriate than the conventional methods. The mean Bifurcation ratio (R _b) of the entire basin is 3.88 which indicate that the drainage pattern is not much influenced by geological structures. VIII sub-basin have high elongation ratio (R _e), basin relief (B _h), Ruggedness number (Rn) and time of concentration (T _c). It indicates that the erosion and peak discharges are high in these basins. Therefore, the construction of the check dams and earth dams will help in reducing peak discharge on the main channel. These studies are very useful for implementing rainwater harvesting and watershed management.     

GIS based morphometric analysis of Yamuna drainage network in parts of Fatehabad area of Agra district,Uttar Pradesh

Remote Sensing and GIS techniques have been proved to be efficient tools in the delineation, updating and morphometric analysis of drainage basin. The present study incorporates a morphometric analysis of three sub-basins of Fatehabad area of Agra district using remote sensing and GIS techniques. The morphometric parameters of the sub-basins are classified under linear, areal and relief aspects. The drainage pattern exhibited by the main river Yamuna and its tributaries shows a dendritic pattern indicating homogenously underlain material while the mean bifurcation ratio values suggest that the geological structures are not disturbing the drainage pattern. The form factor value of sub-basins suggests that the main basin is more or less elongated. Circularity ratio values of the three sub-basins fall within range of elongated basin and low discharge. The area has low density indicating that the region has high permeable sub-soil material and dense vegetation. The values of drainage texture, drainage density and infiltration number indicate that sub-basin-III has the highest infiltration rate and low runoff, hence contributing most to the underground water resources. This study also indicates porous and permeable sub-soil condition in sub-basin-III. The values of sub-basin-I indicate low permeable subsoil material owning to high infiltration number value, hence low infiltration and high runoff.     

Morphometric analysis of a subtropical Andean basin (Tucumán, Argentina)

A morphometric analysis was done to determine the drainage characteristics of Lules River basin using land-sat imageries and topographical maps. This catchment was divided into seven sub-basins for the analysis: Liquimayo, Hoyada, Ciénaga, De Las Tablas, Siambón, Potrerillo and San Javier. Yungas ecoregion covers almost all the watershed. The drainage patterns of the sub-basins are dendritic and parallel. The basin includes seventh order stream and lower streams order mostly dominate the basin. The development of stream segments is affected by slope and local relief. The mean bifurcation ratio indicates that the drainage pattern is not much influenced by geological structures. The shape parameters also reveal the elongation of the basin and sub-basins.     

Prioritization of subwatersheds based on quantitative morphometric analysis in lower Bhavani basin,Tamil Nadu,India using DEM and GIS techniques

Watershed prioritization is one of the most important processes in natural resource management system especially in areas of sustainable watershed development and planning. Morphometric characteristics are the viable entity to understand the hydrological behavior of the subwatershed. For prioritization of subwatershed, morphometric analysis was utilized by using the linear, areal, and relief aspects of the drainage basin. In this context, remote sensing and GIS has been proved to be an efficient tool to identify the morphological features. The Survey of India (SOI) topographical maps, satellite data IRS-LISS III, and Cartosat DEM data were utilized to understand the drainage pattern and also for prioritization of subwatershed areas. The prioritization of subwatershed has been attempted using novel and quantitative approaches based on compound parameter ranking for soil erosion. Lower compound factors were chosen as the most feasible for soil erosion. Based on the observation, eight subwatersheds with a higher degree of the slope were severely prone to soil erosion and remaining 21 subwatersheds occur in low-lying areas that can be developed as sustainable watersheds. The identified subwatershed requires immediate soil remediation and water conservation measures for efficient watershed planning and management. The proposed study might be helpful for resource planners, government agencies, private sectors, and other stake holders to take up soil conservation measures and fixation of water-harvesting structures for better decision making.     

Morphometric evaluation of Papanasam and Manimuthar watersheds,parts of Western Ghats,Tirunelveli district,Tamil Nadu,India: a GIS approach

A morphometric analysis was carried out to describe the topography and drainage characteristics of Papanasam and Manimuthar watersheds. These watersheds are part of Western Ghats, which is an ecologically sensitive region. The drainage areas of Papanasam and Manimuthar watersheds are 163 and 211 km², respectively and they show patterns of dendritic to sub-dendritic drainage. The slope of both watersheds varied from 0° to 59° and 0° to 55°, respectively. Moreover, the slope variation is chiefly controlled by the local geology and erosion cycles. Each watershed was classified as a fifth-order drainage basin. The stream order of the basin was predominantly controlled by physiographic and structural conditions. The increase in stream length ratio from lower to higher order suggests that the study area has reached a mature geomorphic stage. The development of stream segments is affected by rainfall and local lithology of the watersheds.     

Watershed morphometric analysis of Wadi Baish Dam catchment area using integrated GIS-based approach

The integration of Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) constitutes a powerful tool for the evaluation of watershed morphometric parameters. The benefits of this integration include saving time and effort as well as improving the accuracy of the analysis. Moreover, this technique is appropriate for describing the watershed and its streams. In this study, a detailed morphometric analysis of the Wadi Baish catchment area has been performed using the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). The performed morphometric analysis includes linear, areal, and relief aspects. The results of the morphometric analysis reveal that the catchment can be described as of eighth stream order and consists of an area of 4741.07 km². Additionally, the basin is characterized by a relatively high mean value of bifurcation (4.012), indicative of the scarcity of permeable rocks with high slope in the area. This value of bifurcation ratio is consistent with the high drainage density value of 2.064 km/km² and confirms the impermeability of the subsurface material and mountainous relief. The hypsometric integral of the catchment is 47.4%, and the erosion integral of the catchment is 52.6%, both were indications of a mature catchment area.     

Drainage morphometry of upper Vaigai river sub-basin, Western Ghats, South India using remote sensing and GIS

The study area is a one of the sub-basin of Vaigai River basin in the Theni and Madurai districts, Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu. The Vaigai sub-basin extends approximately over 849 km² and it has been sub-divided into 48 watersheds. It lies between 09°30′00″ and 10°00′00″N latitudes and 77°15′10″ and 77°45′00″ E longitudes in the western part of Tamil Nadu, India. It originates at an altitude of 1661m in the Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu in Theni district. The drainage pattern of these watersheds are delineated using geo-coded Indian remote sensing satellite (IRS) ID, linear image self-scanning (LISS) III of geo-coded false colour composites (FCC), generated from the bands 2, 3 and 4 on 1:50,000 scale in the present study. The Survey of India (SOI) toposheets 58G/5, 58 G/6, 58G/9 and 58G/10 on a scale of 1:50,000 scale was used as a base for the delineation of watershed. In the present study, the satellite remote sensing data has been used for updation of drainages and the updated drainages have been used for morphometric analysis. The morphometric parameters were divided in three categories: basic parameters, derived parameters and shape parameters. The data in the first category includes area, perimeter, basin length, stream order, stream length, maximum and minimum heights and slope. Those of the second category are bifurcation ratio, stream length ratio, RHO coefficient, stream frequency, drainage density, and drainage texture, constant of channel maintenance, basin relief and relief ratio. The shape parameters are elongation ratio, circularity index and form factor. The morphometric parameters are computed using ESRI’s ArcGIS package. Drainage density ranges from 1.10 to 4.88 km/km² suggesting very coarse to fine drainage texture. Drainage frequency varies from 1.45 to 14.70 which is low to very high. The bifurcation ratio ranges from 0.55 to 4.37. The low values of bifurcation ratios and very low values of drainage densities indicate that the drainage has not been affected by structural disturbances and also that the area is covered under dense vegetation cover. Elongation ratio ranges from 0.11 to 0.57. Drainage texture has the minimum of 1.63 and maximum of 11.44 suggesting that the drainage texture is coarse to fine. It is concluded that remote sensing and GIS have been proved to be efficient tools in drainage delineation and updation. In the present study these updated drainages have been used for the morphometric analysis.     

The significance of morphometric analysis for obtaining groundwater potential zones in a structurally controlled terrain

Watershed development and management plans are more important for harnessing surface water and groundwater resources in arid and semi-arid regions. To prepare a comprehensive watershed development plan, it becomes necessary to understand the topography, erosion status and drainage patterns of the region. This study was undertaken to determine the drainage characteristics of Pageru River basin using topographical maps on a scale of 1:50,000. The total area of the Pageru River basin is 480 km². It was divided into X sub-basins for analysis. The drainage patterns of the basin are dendritic and include a sixth order stream. The quantitative analysis of various aspects of a river basin drainage network characteristics reveals complex morphometric attributes. The streams of lower orders mostly dominate the basin. The development of stream segments in the basin area is more or less affected by rainfall. The elongated shape of the basin is mainly due to the guiding effect of thrusting and faulting. The erosional processes of fluvial origin have been predominately influenced by the subsurface lithology of the basin.     

Sediment Yield Index mapping and prioritization of Madia subwatershed,Sagar District of Madhya Pradesh (India)

Assessment of soil loss through Sediment Yield Index (SYI) is important for watershed planning, prioritization, and development. In the absence of measured sediment data, SYI expressing the relative sediment yield from different basins work as a basis for grading another basin to adopt erosion control measures. An attempt was made to evaluate SYI in wider scale by using cost-effective tools like remote sensing and geographical information system (GIS). SYI was calculated for Madia subwatershed, which consists of 29 microwatersheds and located in Sagar District, Madhya Pradesh (M.P.) The IRS LISS III data and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) digital elevation models (DEM) of 90-m resolution were used to identify land use characteristics and geomorphometric analysis. Major land use was observed as agricultural land (24.7 %), water bodies (16.7 %), forest area (10.2 %), and settlement (21.3 %). In categorization, similar overall accuracy was observed for dense forest, barren land, settlement, and water bodies. The highest SYI with a value more than 20 was observed in microwatershed Mw6, Mw7, and Mw24, which comprises 33 % of the total watershed area. It gives the information about the watershed area that requires very high priority.     

Evaluation of morphometric parameters of drainage networks derived from topographic maps and DEM in point of floods

An evaluation of morphometric parameters of two drainage networks derived from different sources was done to determine the influence of sub-basins to flooding on the main channel in the Havran River basin (Balıkesir-Turkey). Drainage networks for the sub-basins were derived from both topographic maps scaled 1:25.000 and a 10-m resolution digital elevation model (DEM) using geographic information systems (GIS). Blue lines, representing fluvial channels on the topographic maps were accepted as a drainage network, which does not depict all exterior links in the basin. The second drainage network was extracted from the DEM using minimum accumulation area threshold to include all exterior links. Morphometric parameters were applied to the two types of drainage networks at sub-basin levels. These parameters were used to assess the influence of the sub-basins on the main channel with respect to flooding. The results show that the drainage network of sub-basin 4—where a dam was constructed on its outlet to mitigate potential floods—has a lower influence morphometrically to produce probable floods on the main channel than that of sub-basins 1, 3, and 5. The construction of the dam will help reduce flooding on the main channel from sub-basin 4 but it will not prevent potential flooding from sub-basin 1, 3 and 5, which join the main channel downstream of sub-basin 4. Therefore, flood mitigation efforts should be considered in order to protect the settlement and agricultural lands on the floodplain downstream of the dam. In order to increase our understanding of flood hazards, and to determine appropriate mitigation solutions, drainage morphometry research should be included as an essential component to hydrologic studies.     

Quantitative analysis of morphometric parameters of Kali River basin,southern India,using bearing azimuth and drainage (bAd) calculator and GIS

This study deals with the application of visual basic program ‘bearing, azimuth and drainage (bAd) calculator’ which employs a new and easy methodology for extraction of watershed morphometric parameters. Using bAd calculator, morphometric analysis was carried out for the Kali River basin of southwest coast of India. The basin forms a part of the Western Ghats, which is an important mountain range of the Indian sub-continent and runs nearly parallel to the coast. Spatial maps of six morphometric parameters have been prepared from the results obtained. Various linear, areal, shape and relief morphometric parameters of fifth and sixth order basins have been calculated and interpreted. Majority of the sub-basins show less uniform values (~3 to 4) of R _bm which indicate the uniform and systematic branching pattern of streams. High D _d zones are found in the Western Ghats region, whereas low D _d zones are observed in the eastern part of the basin and near the estuary. The eastern part of the basin shows low F _s values, whereas NW and SW parts of the basin show high F _s values. Compared to manual measurement, bAd calculator requires minimal time to quantify the morphometric parameters. Experimental results show that the software is effective in calculating drainage parameters such as drainage density, frequency, bifurcation ratio, etc., using the text file of ESRI shapefile.     

Geomorphology and morphometry of the de La Flecha river basin,San Juan,Argentina

A geomorphologic and morphometric analysis was performed to determine the characteristics of the de La Flecha river basin, located in the southwest of San Juan province (31°50′S, 68°57′W), Precordillera of San Juan. The drainage networks were derived from shuttle radar topographic mission (SRTM), satellite imageries (Landsat TM and Spot image) and field works. The paper also addresses a preliminary evaluation of the flood hazard responsible for severe damage to people and infrastructure in the downstream region. The study area covers about 300 km², comprising of six sub-watersheds, ranging from 31.7 to 81.8 km². The irregular morphology of the basin and the diversity of alluvial deposits found along the de La Flecha river allow the authors to infer that it is in an active tectonic environment with strong lithological and structural controls. One feature common to all analyzed sub-basins is their elongated shape, which allows for a rapid concentration of water that intensifies the power of the flash floods. The drainage network in the different sub-basins has, in general, two predominant patterns; one is parallel to sub-parallel to the headers and foothill areas; and the other, in the alluvial zone, is divergent. Los Berros, Cañada Honda and Media Agua towns, located downstream of the basin, are the most affected by flash floods coming from the mountainous area.     

Morphometric analysis of Araniar river basin using remote sensing and geographical information system in the assessment of groundwater potential

Morphometric analysis using remote sensing (RS) and geographical information system (GIS), in the recent study, has become an efficient method in the assessment of groundwater potential of a river basin. The present study focused on the morphometric analysis of Araniar river basin using RS and GIS techniques in the identification of groundwater potential zones for effective planning and management of groundwater resources of the basin. The study area was divided into six subbasins for the purpose of micro-level morphometric analysis. The main stream of the basin is of fifth order and drainage patterns of subbasins are mostly of dendritic and parallel type. Based on the linear, areal and relief parameters of subbasins, the groundwater potential zones of the basin were identified and the results substantiated with geomorphology map derived from RS data. The elongated shape, favourable drainage network, permeable geologic formation and low relief of the subbasins WS3, WS5 and WS6 make them the promising groundwater potential zones of Araniar river basin. The statistical analysis and overlay analysis of the morphometric parameters also indicated the subbasins WS3, WS5 and WS6 as high groundwater potential zones. The groundwater potential zone map when overlaid with groundwater fluctuation map indicated the suitable sites for artificial recharge structures.     

Watershed prioritization using morphometric and land use/land cover parameters: A remote sensing and GIS based approach

Jaggar watershed is a constituent of the Gambhir river basin, in eastern Rajasthan and covers an area of 352.82 km², representing arid climate. The drainage network is dendritic to sub-dendritic pattern however parallel to sub-parallel has also developed locally. The Jaggar watershed has been divided into fourteen sub-watersheds, designated as SW1 to SW14, for prioritization purpose. The prioritization of the sub-watersheds has been done on the basis of morphometric analysis and land use/land cover categories. Various morphometric parameters (linear and shape) have been determined for each sub-watershed and assigned rank on the basis of value/relationship with erodibility so as to arrive at a compound value for final ranking of the sub-watersheds. Land use/land cover mapping has been carried out using IRS LISS III data of 1998. Based on morphometric and land use/land cover analysis and their ranks, the subwatersheds have been classified into four categories as very high, high, medium and low in terms of priority for conservation and management of natural resources. The prioritization results based on morphometry reveal that only SW7 and SW10 fall under very high priority, whereas SW6, SW11 and SW13 fall under very high priority on the basis of land use/land cover analysis. However on the integration of morphometry and land use/land cover only SW14 show common priority whereas rest have little or no correlation.     

Drainage basin delineation and quantitative analysis of Panamaram watershed of Kabani river basin, Kerala using remote sensing and GIS

The morphometric analysis was carried out to determine the drainage characteristics of Panamaram watershed (PW) of Kabani river basin, Kerala, India with emphasis on fourth order sub-basins (FOSBs) using Geocoded imageries of IRS-IC LISS III FCCs (1997) of 1:50,000 scale, aerial photographs (1990) of 1:15,000 scale and Survey of India toposheets (1968) on 1: 50,000 scale. The main idea was to examine the stream properties based on the measurement of various stream attributes. The different drainage parameters studied and the measurements related to perimeter, area of sub-basins, basin length and number of rivers were determined by using Map Info 6.5 techniques. The drainage pattern of the PW is dendritic, a sixth order stream. There are 587, 135, 36 and 12 first, second, third and fourth order Hortonian streams, respectively in PW. The mean bifurcation ratio indicates that the drainage pattern is not much influenced by geological structures. The shape parameters reveal the elongation of the basin and sub-basins. The applicability of Horton’s Laws on Stream numbers, Stream lengths and Stream areas is tested by using the theory of regression by estimating theoretically bifurcation ratio, length ratio and area ratio. For the fourth order sub-basins of 1, 2, 4, 5 and 8 of PW, a second degree polynomial equation seems to be a better model than the Hortonian model.     

Prioritization of sub-watersheds for conservation measures in a semi arid watershed using remote sensing and GIS

Land and water resources development plans are generally adopted at watershed level. Delineation of watersheds and their prioritization within large river basins requires host of terrain parameters to be studied and analysed. Chopan watershed in Central India has been studied for sub-watershed delineation and prioritization based on drainage morphometry, land use/land cover and sediment yield index analysis using remote sensing and GIS techniques. The watershed was demarcated into five sub-watersheds on the basis of drainage flow directions, contour value, slope, elevation. Geocoded satellite data of 1989 and 2001 on 1:50 000 scale were visually interpreted to prepare land use/land cover and drainage maps which were later digitized using Arcview/ArcGIS. Linear and shape aspects of the sub-watersheds were computed and used for prioritization. The results show widespread variation in drainage characteristics, land cover changes and sediment yield rates across sub-watersheds. On the basis of morphometric, land use/land cover change and sediment yield index, sub-watersheds were grouped into low, medium and high priority. A correlation of results show that SW1 and SW5 are common sub-watersheds falling under high and low priority based on morphometric, land use change analysis and SYI. The priority list of sub-watersheds will be crucial for decision making and implementation of land and water resource conservation projects.