Morphometric Studies of Subhumid and Semiarid Drainage Basins, Texas Panhandle and Northeastern New Mexico

RI0163. Morphometric Studies of Subhumid and Semiarid Drainage Basins Texas Panhandle and Northeastern New Mexico, by R. W. Baumgardner, Jr. 68 p., 35 figs., 15 tables, 1 appendix, 1987. ISSN: 0082335X: Print.


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ABSTRACT
Data from five drainage basins in the Texas Panhandle and northeastern New Mexico characterize the recent history of regional drainage basin formation and landscape development around the margins of the Southern High Plains. Because stream flow records for most streams in the area are only available for the last 15 yr, morphometric (shape) measurements are used to obtain a long-term, basinwide view of the geomorphic history of these watersheds.

Several lines of evidence suggest that the Little Red River basin has developed more rapidly than other basins in the study and that it may continue to do so in the future. Hypsometric analysis of topographic maps and isopach maps of salt-bearing formations reveals that the Little Red River basin has had the fastest rate of denudation and that a thicker section of Permian salt has dissolved beneath that basin than beneath Duck Creek or Alamogordo Creek basins. Comparison of drainage density values for basin headwaters only along the Caprock Escarpment suggests that the Little Red River basin will have the fastest rate of scarp retreat in the future. Similarly, ruggedness numbers for entire basins suggest that the Little Red River basin has the highest potential for future erosion, whereas Duck Creek basin has the lowest. However, relief ratios of the basins imply that, other things being equal, Alamogordo Creek could export more sediment through its channel than the other streams examined.

Examination of ruggedness number and magnitude shows that each basin has moderate flood potential. Flooding occurs as a function of rainfall intensity and duration and of land surface slope and dissection by stream channels.

Long-term rates of denudation based on hypsometric analysis range from 4 to 21 inches/1,000 yr (10 to 53 cm/1,000 yr) for the last 290,000 to 600,000 yr. These rates are about 16 percent of the most rapid present-day rates. During the same period, lowering of the ground surface caused by subsidence and denudation has occurred at a rate of 10 to 36 inches/1,000 yr (25 to 91 cm/1,000 yr).

Keywords: denudation, drainage basin morphometry, drainage density, ephemeral streams, erosion rates, geomorphology, hypsometric analysis, northeastern New Mexico, relief ratio, ruggedness number, scarp retreat, Texas Panhandle, Texas

CONTENTS

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION

Background of Morphometric Studies

Scope of Study

Purpose of Study

Geology and Soils of Basins

Alamogordo Creek Basin

Dixon Creek Basin

Duck Creek Basin

Little Red River Basin

McClellan Creek Basin

Categories of Morphometric Parameters

METHODS

Basic Measurements

Principal Variables

Gradient and relief

Relief ratio

Ruggedness number

Hypsometric integral

Main channel slope

Drainage network features

Network maps

Stream order

Magnitude

Drainage density

Statistical Methods

RESULTS

Basic Measurements

Basin area.

Basin length

Basin relief

Principal Variables

Relief ratio and estimated sediment delivery ratio

Ruggedness number

Hypsometric integral

Background

Representative basins

Age differences

Long-term estimate of denudation

Stream order and magnitude

Background

Magnitude and local relief

Drainage density

Climatic control (worldwide scale)

Geologic control (basinwide scale)

Gradient control

Land use control

Drainage density and magnitude

Drainage density and stream flow

Effect of climate

Stream flow and sediment load

Stream flow and drainage basin parameters

Total stream length

Mean drainage density

Slope of main stream channel

Length of main stream channel Gauged basin area and relief

Summary

USING MORPHOMETRIC PARAMETERS TO DESCRIBE AND PREDICT GEOMORPHIC PROCESSES

Relationships Between Morphometric Parameters

Morphometric Parameters and Short-Term Geomorphic Processes

Morphometric Parameters and Long-Term Geomorphic Processes

Hypsometric integral and denudation

Drainage density and scarp retreat

CONCLUSIONS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

REFERENCES

APPENDIX: Definitions of symbols used in this report

Figures

1. Drainage basins examined in the Texas Panhandle and northeastern New Mexico study area

2. Geologic map of Alamogordo Creek basin

3. Geologic map of Dixon Creek basin

4. Geologic map of Duck Creek basin

5. Geologic map of Little Red River basin

6. Geologic map of McClellan Creek basin

7. Block diagram showing basic morphometric measurements obtained from topographic maps

8. Method of hypsometric (area/relief) analysis of a drainage basin

9. Stream-ordering system used in this study

10. Little Red River catchment with fifth-order basins outlined

11. Colluvial and alluvial deposits in the Little Red River valley

12. Alamogordo Creek basin, values of ruggedness number and magnitude

13. Dixon Creek basin, values of ruggedness number and magnitude

14. Duck Creek basin, values of ruggedness number and magnitude

15. Little Red River basin, values of ruggedness number and magnitude

16. McClellan Creek basin, values of ruggedness number and magnitude

17. Ruggedness number versus magnitude for drainage basins in the study area and elsewhere

18. Hypsometric curves and integrals derived from sequential (nested) subbasins in the Little Red River basin

19. Original and present-day hypsometric curves and integrals for the five basins in this study

20. Present-day extent of Seymour Formation in North-Central Texas

21. Dissolution fronts in Permian salt-bearing formations, Texas Panhandle and northeastern New Mexico

22. Alamogordo Creek basin, values of drainage density and local relief

23. Dixon Creek basin, values of drainage density and local relief

24. Duck Creek basin, values of drainage density and local relief

25. Little Red River basin, values of drainage density and local relief

26. McClellan Creek basin, values of drainage density and local relief

27. Linear regression analysis of magnitude and local relief for each of the five basins in this study and for all basins combined

28. Degrees of topographic texture as defined by drainage density

29. Mean annual rainfall in the Texas Panhandle and in northeastern New Mexico, 1951-1980

30. Linear regression analysis of drainage density and local relief for each of the five basins in this study and for all basins combined

31. Linear regression analysis of drainage density and magnitude for each of the five basins in this study and for all basins combined

32. Rainfall in the headwaters and mean daily discharge in the Little Red River basin in water year 1979

33. Linear regression analysis of stream flow and basin parameters for four basins in this study

34. Linear regression analysis of stream flow and main channel length for four basins in this study

35. Relation between scarp stability or retreat and geomorphic and geologic conditions in the study area

Tables

1. Elements of drainage basin morphometry examined in this study

2. Basinwide values of morphometric data for the five basins in the study area

3. Data from fifth-order drainage basins in the Little Red River catchment

4. Mean values of selected parameters for groups of fifth-order basins in the Little Red River catchment

5. Log10-transformed values of ruggedness number for the five basins in the study area

6. Values of ruggedness number, drainage density, and local relief from studies using 1:24,000-scale topographic maps

7. Hypsometric data for nested subbasins within the Little Red River drainage basin

8. Hypsometric data for the five basins in the study area

9. Volume of material removed from present drainage basin areas

10. Volume of salt underlying three drainage basins in the study area

11. Log10-transformed values of local relief, magnitude, and drainage density for the five basins in the study area

12. Range of drainage density values obtained by using the contour-crenulation method

13. Mean values of logia-transformed values of drainage density and local relief for the five basins in the study

14. Difference between correlation coefficients for regression of drainage density and local relief for the five basins in the study area

15. Data from gauged basin areas in four of the basins in the study area



Citation
Baumgardner, R. W., 1987, Morphometric Studies of Subhumid and Semiarid Drainage Basins Texas Panhandle and Northeastern New Mexico: The University of Texas at Austin, Bureau of Economic Geology, Report of Investigations No. 163, 68 p.