Question

Describe drainage pattern and its type.?

Answer 1

Types of Drainage Patterns

Drainage pattern a pattern created by stream erosion over time that reveals characteristics of the kind of rocks and geologic structures in a landscape region drained by streams.

Drainage pattern is the pattern formed by the streams, rivers, and lakes in a particular drainage basin. They are governed by the topography of the land, whether a particular region is dominated by hard or soft rocks, and the gradient of the land.

Answer 2

Drainage patterns are classified on the basis of their form and texture. Read on to learn some common types of drainage patterns, such as: dendritic, deranged, centripetal and trellised.

Below are 4 common types of drainage patterns:

Dendritic

A dendritic drainage pattern is the most common form and looks like the branching pattern of tree roots. It develops in regions underlain by homogeneous material. That is, the subsurface geology has a similar resistance to weathering so there is no apparent control over the direction the tributaries take. Tributaries joining a larger stream at acute angle (less than 90 degrees). Source: EarthOnlineMedia

Deranged

Drainage patterns are found in areas recently disturbed by events like glacial activity or volcanic deposition. Over time, the stream will adjust the topography of such regions by transporting sediment to improve flow and channel pattern. Source: PhysicalGeography

Centripetal

The centripetal drainage pattern is just the opposite of the radial as streams flow toward a central depression. This pattern is typical in the western and southwestern portions of the United States where basins exhibit interior drainage. During wetter portions of the year, these streams feed ephemeral lakes, which evaporate away during dry periods. Salt flats are created in these dry lake beds as salt dissolved in the lake water precipitates out of solution and is left behind when the water evaporates away. Source: AnswersYahoo

Trellised

It is a rectangular shaped drainage pattern that develops where bands of rocks vary in resistance. In some areas there are alternate bands of hard and soft rocks. The flowing water can erode the soft rocks and thus flows along the bands of soft rock. Many such water channels form a trellis. The streams (called subsequent rivers) cut out the valleys (called vales) and join the main river (called Consequent River) at right angles. The main river, by sheer force, cuts the hard rock and flows down the slope forming an escarpment and thus a river gap is created. Source: GeographyKnoji