Digital Elevation Model Based Morphometric Analysis of Krishna River Basin in Maharashtra

This study aims to investigate the hydrological characteristics and morphometric assessment of the Krishna River Basin in Sangli District, Maharashtra, India, by use of the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). Using the QGIS platform, the process involves extracting several morphometric data, such as the order and length of the stream, the bifurcation ratio, the features of the basin and the drainage patterns. The findings reveal a dendritic drainage network within the watershed, with orders of stream varying from first to fifth. The bifurcation ratio indicating structural stability varies between 1 to 5, while the ratio of elongation is 0.12 determines that the basin is elongated in form. The mean bifurcation ratio of 3.6638 suggests minimal influence of geological formations on the overall drainage pattern. A significant conclusion drawn from this study is the preference for SRTM DEM based hydrological study at the watershed assessment, highlighting its accuracy and widespread applicability. The paper also includes digital elevation, slope, and aspect maps derived from the SRTM DEM, offering visual representations of the terrain’s characteristics. These maps help in understanding the topographical features, drainage patterns, and potential areas for development and conservation.