Morphometric parameters of Aleng river basin, Manipur.

The morphometric parameters of a drainage basin are important for characterizing hydrological conditions and geomorphic processes operating in the area. Present study deals with the morphometric analysis of the Aring basin, located between longitudes 93.64°E and 93.71°E and latitudes 24.85°N and 25.01°N in the western part of Manipur covering 121.7 km² area. Morphometric analysis of Areng basin carried out using DEM data, GIS software (MapInfo 11.0) and Survey of India (SOI) topographic maps on 1:50, 000 scales reveals that it is a 6^th order stream. Based on 3^th order stream, Aleng basin has been designated as 29 numbers of 3^rd order basins. Results of the linear, areal and relief aspects suggests that the Aleng is a semi-elongated to elongated basin characterized by moderate to high relief, moderate to gentle slope which is further justified by the low value of constant of channel maintenance. Most of the basin show fine texture, suggesting high velocity, low permeable lithology and dense vegetable with heavy rainfall. Study of longitudinal profile, value of SL/K increase when river channel crosses the tectonically faulted and folded area. The hypsometric integral value also indicatesthat basin is in mature stage. Mean Bifurcation ratio value ranges from 2.0 to 5.75 suggests morphological and structural control on the development of drainage network in the area, drainage density and fine drainage texture suggests high runoff in the area.