THE AMERICAN

ASSOCIATION

OF PETROLEUM

GEOLOGISTS

BULLETIN

V. 51. NO. 11 (NOVEMBER. 1967), P. 2248-2259.

4 FIGS., 1 TA8LE

DRAINAGE

ANALYSIS IN GEOLOGIC INTERPRETATION:

ARTHUR DAVID HOWARD2 Stanford, Califomia 94305

A SUMMATIONl

ABSTRACT Drainage analysis is useful in structural interpretation, particularly in areas of low relief. Analysis incIudes consideration of drainage patterns, drainage texture, individual stream patterns, and drainage anomalies. Drainage patterns generally are subdivided into basic and modified basic. To these rnight be added pattern varieties. A basic pattern is one whose gross characteristics readily distinguish it from other basic patterns. Modified basic patterns differ from the type patterns in some fairly obvious regional aspect as, for example, a tendency toward parallelism of the larger tributaries in a dendritic pattern. Thus many modified patterns are transitional in character between basic patterns, and the namingof such patterns may be a matter of judgment. 'Pattern varieties are characterized by internal details, commonly obscure. In a broad sense, the basic patterns, the modified basic pattems, and the pattern varieties are analogous to the genera, species, and varieties of the zoological cIassification. A complex pattern consists of two contemporaneous patterns adjacent to each other ; a compound pattern consists of two unlike superimposed patterns. The palimpsest pattern consists of two superimposed patterns, but one is a paleopattern. Drainage texture depends on a variety of factors. In any one smalI area where alI other factors are constant, drainage texture may provide information on underlying materiais and indirectly on structure. Individual stream patterns may display characteristics similar to those of the gross drainage pattem and may be referred to by the same name. Thus individual patterns may be referred to by such terms as rectangular, angulate, or contorted. Other stream patterns include irregular, rectilinear, meandering, braided, misfit, and beaded. Drainage anomalies are local deviations from drainage and stream patterns which elsewhere accord with the known regional geology and/or topography. The expectable pattern is regarded as the norm; the anomalies indicate departures from the regional geologic or topographic controls. Analysis of drainage anomalies has revealed structural data in some flatland regions where other methods of investigation have been unsatisfactory.
INTRODUCTION DRAINAGE PATTERNS

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Drainage analysis is an important tool in photogeologie interpretation, particularly in areas of low relief. It may provide clues to inaetive struetural features exposed at the surfaee, to structuraI features eurrent1y rising, and, possibly, to buried structural features. The density of drainage may provide information on permeability and texture of materiaIs, and may infer the identity of materials. The eharacteristies and signifieanee of drainage patterns, drainage texture, individual stream patterns, and drainage anomalies are considered here. Teehniques involving grid sampling and lhe use of digital computers eventual1y may result in 'lhe applieation of numerieal values to drainage patterns (Merram and Sneath 1966). It is toa to speeulate on the advantages and disadvantages of this proeedure.
1 Manuscript reeeived, June 25, 1966; accepted, February 3, 1967. 2 Geology Department, Stanford University. The writer is indebted to Chester R. LongwelI and Stanley N. Davis for review of the manuscript, but only he is responsible for its contento

A drainage pattern is the design formed by the aggregate of drainageways in an area regardless of whether they are occupied by permanent streams. A stream pattern is the design formed by a single drainageway. Both basic and modified basie drainage patterns have been described (Zernitz, 1932). In addition to these there are drainage varieties. A basic pattern is one whose gross characteristies readily distingush it from other basic patterns. A

modified basic pattern differs from the type basic

pattern in some regional aspect as, for example, the dose spacing of small parallel tributaries in the pinnate-dendritic pattern or the preferred orientation of longer tributaries in the directionaltrellis pattern (Fig. 2, B and G). Drainage varieties differ from the basie and modified basie patterns in internal details. Varieties are legion and the application of individual names is impractieal. In a broad sense, the basic patterns, lhe modified basic patterns, and the pattern varieties may be likened to the genera, species, and varieties of the zoological classifieation.

early, however,

2246

DRAINAGE
BASIC PATTERNS

ANALYSIS IN GEOLOGIC INTERPRETATION

2247 '

Most of the basic patterns are controlled by regional structure. Zernitz (1932) classified as major (basic?) the following patterns: dendritic, parallel, trellis, rectangular, radial, and annular. Because these are discussed in most elementary geology texts, only a pictorial review (Fig. 1, A-F) and a brief summation of characteristics and geologic significance (Table I) are included. Two other patterns, multibasinal and contorted, are grouped with the basic patterns in this report (Fig. 1, G and H; Table I). The original or earliest known references to most of the basic and modified basic patterns are recorded in the footnotes to Table I.
MODIFIED BASIC PATTERNS

Modified basic patterns, although usually recognizedas belonging to one of the basic types, differ in certain regional characteristics. For example, the degree of paraIlelism of the main streams in a region of dendritic drainage 1S generally a function of the regional slope. On different declivities, therefore, there may be alI transitions fram dendritic to parallel drainage. Transitional types also may result from changes with time. The change toward parallelism might result from progressive steepening of a slope. Trellis characteristics may appear in a dendritic pattern as streams are superposed from an overlying cover onto dipping rocks. Transitions among alI the basic types seem possible. Some of the modified patterns are considered below. Dendritic Pattern Modifications

taries entering the larger streams at an acute angle. The drainage, therefore, has a featherlike or frondlike appearance (Fig. 2, B). The pattern is best developed in fine-textured, easily eroded materiais such as loess. The fine texture of the materiaIs accounts for the dose spacing of the small tributaries, and the steep vaIley sides are the cause of their parallelism. On some slopes, particularly solifluction slopes in the Arctic, the closely spaced parallel tributaries are long compared with those in Figure 2. They are barely incised into the gentle slopes and extend to the crests of the rounded divides. The pattern resembles feathery plumes. Anastomotic.- This pattern, characterized by a network of interlocking channels, sloughs, bayous, and oxbow lakes, is found on floodplains and deitas and in tidal marshes (Fig. 2, C). Varieties of the pattern have been termed "reticular" by Parvis (1950, p. 43-44) and "reticulate" by Whitehouse (1944, p. 9). Distributary.-This is the branching pattern found on alluvial fans and deltas (Fig. 2, D). It resembles the dendritic pattern except that the tributaries diverge from, rather than converge toward, the main stream. Parallel Pattern Modifications

Subparallel.- The subparallel pattern (Zernitz,

1932, p. 518) shows less parallelism than the basic pattern. If due to slope alone, the pattern resembles that formed by the branches of a poplar tree. Where due to mild structural control by deformed strata of relatively uniform resstance to erosion, there is sufficient parallelism among segments of the main streams and tributaries to suggest the bedrock contraI, but streams comrnonly diverge from the geologic grain. The elongate streams are not ordinarily as continuous along the strike as those of the trellis pattern. These differences from the trellis pattern also apply to the subparalIel pattern of drumlin areas (Fig. 2, E). Colinear.-This pattern (Zernitz, 1932, p. 519) is characterized by remarkably straight parallel streams or channels which alternately disappear and reappear (Fig. 2, F). The pattern is found in areas of linear loess and sand ridges. Trellis Pattern Modifications

Subdendritic.-This pattern differs frorn the type dendritic only in the lack of perfection. Deviations are presumably due to secondary regional contraIs, either structural or topographic. Thus, in part of the Amazon basin recently studied by the writer (Howard 1965), lhe dendritic pattern, inherited from an unconformable mantIe, is being transformed to a trellis pattern by adjustment of tributaries to the strike of underlying ormations, Along the lower YelIowstoneRiver in eastern Montana, lhe dendritic drainage is slowly developing trellischaracteristics under the influence of a prevailing systern of poorly expressed joints (Fig. 2, A). Pinnate.- This pattern is characterized by many closely spaced, more-or-less parallel tribu-

Subtrellis.- The subtrellis pattern differs from

the type trellis only in the degree of continuity

2248

ARTHUR DAVID HOWARD

-FIG. l.-Basic drairage patterns. Each pattern occurs irf wide range of scales. Examples shown may be regarded as types. Dendritic pattern resembles spreading branches of oak or chestnut tree with tributaries entering at wide angles. In trellis pattern, small tributaries to long parallel subsequent streams are about same length on both sides of subsequent streams. "

DRAINAGE
TABU: Basic Dendritir!

ANALYSIS

IN GEOLOGIC

INTERPRETATION
BASIC })Ri\INAGE l'ATTERNS Addcd SiKltijicl/llce Minor sccondary structural. Fine-textured, tcrials. Floodplains, murshes.
L . __ .

2249

r. SIGNIFICANCE
Sig1l1jicance

UF BASIC AND MOUIl'lED Modijicd

Busic

or l.ocale I(cncrally matida I

lIoriwntal sediments or beveled, unilormly rcsistant, crystulline rocks. Gentlc regional slope at prcscnt or at time 01 drainuge inccption. Typc pattcrn resernbles spreuding oak or chestnut trcc.

Subdcndritic

control,

Pinnatev
Auastomotic'v Distributary (Dichotornic)'!

casily crodablc deltas, and

_________________

Alluvial aus anel eleitas.

Parnllelt

Generally indicares moderare to stecl' slopcs but also Iound in arcas of para lei, elongate landlurrns. Ali transitiuns possiblc between this pattcrn and type dendritic and trellis. Dipping or olded sedimentary, volcanic, or low-grade mctasedimcntary rocks; arcas 01 parallel Iructures: exposed lake or sea floors ribbed by beach ridges. Ali transitions to parallei pattcrn. Type pattern is regarderl here as one in which srnall tributaries are essentially same size on opposite sides of long parallel subsequcnt strearns. Joints and/or Iaults at right angles. Lacks orderly rcpetitivc quality of trellis pattern; strearns and divides lack regional continuity. Volcanoes, domes, anel erosion residuais. A cornplcx of radial pattcrns in a volcanic field might be called multiradial, Structural domes and basins, tremes, and possibly stocks. dia-

Su bparallelu Colinear Subtrellis Di rectional Recurved Trcllis Trellis

Intcrrnediatc subparallel

slopes or control landorms.

hy

Bctwccn linca - loess and sand riducs. Parallel clongate landorrns. slopes

Trcllis"

Gcntle hornoclines. Gentle with bcach ridges. Plunging folds.

Fault Trellis Joint Trellis Angulate

Branching, converging. diverging, roughly parallel Iaults. Straight joints. parallel faults and/or

Rcctangular-

Joints anel/o r faults at other than right angles. A cornpound rectangular-angulate pattcrn is COI11mono Craters, calderas, anel other elepressions. A cornplex of centripetal patterns in area of multiple depressions might be calleel multicentripctal. Longer tributaries to annular subsequent streams generally inelicate direction of dip anel perrnit distinction between elome anel basin.

Radial;

Centripetalw

Annularv

Multibasinal"

Hummocky surticial eleposits; differentially scoureel or deflated bedrock; reas of recent volcanism, limestone solu tion, anel permarost. This elescriptive term is suggested for ali multiple-depression patterns whose exact origins are unknown. Contorteel, coarsely layereel metamorphic rocks. Dikes, veins, anel migrnatized bands provi ele the resistant layers in some areas. Pattern differs from recurveel trellis (Fig. 2, H) in 'lack of regional orelerliness, discon tinuity of ridges and valleys, anel generally smaller scale.

Glacially Karst

Disturbed

Glacial erosion Limestone. Permafrost.

and/or

deposition.

Therrnokarst!" Elongate Bayl8

Coas tal plains anel eleitas. The longer tributaries to curved subsequent streams generally indicate dip of metamorphic layers and perrnit elistinction between plunging anticlines anel synclines.

Contorteds

1 Describeel by Dutton (1882, p. 6, 62, 63) anel applied as a drainage term at least as early as 1898 (Russell, p, 204). Classified as a Pltsicpattern by Zernitz (1932, p. 499). 2 Zernitz (1932, p. 510). 3 Willis (1895, p. 186). 4 First used in moelern sense by Zernitz (1932, p. 503), but the pattern was recognized much earlier (Daubre, 1879, p. 357-375; Kernp, 1894, p. 438-440; Hobbs, 1904, pl, 47)_ 5 Raelial elrainage is described anel illustrateel in Jaggar (1901, p. 174, pl. XVIII) and is referred to by Dake anel Brown (1925, p. 134). 6 j aggar (1901, p. 277) refers to annular elraniage, but Zernitz (1932, p. 507) may have been the first to apply the na me to the drainage pattern. 7 The elescriptive term "multibasinal" is useel here as a substitute for genetic terrns such as "kettlehole"and "sinkhole" which have been applied to patterns characterizeel by numerous elepressions. The term "poly basin" (Parvis, 1950, p. 57) woulel have been appropriate had it not been restricteel to the area of the Ogallala Formation in the Great Plains and specifically related to the presence of an impervious substratum. 8 Von Engeln (1942, p. 113, 336). 9 Zernitz (1932, p, 512). 10 Described as a pattern by Zernitz (1932, p_ 514). The descriptive adjective "anastornosing," however, had been useel long prior to 1932. J ohnson (1932, p. 497) restricted the term "braided" to the interlacings o.an individual stream. 11 Parvis (1950, p. 41) attributeel the term "dichotomic" to Finch and Trewartha (1942). Tbe writer was unable to locate the term in the 1942 reference or in the first edition of their Elemenis o] Geograph, but may have overlooked it. Distributaries are mentioned on pages 307,342, and 355 of the 1st ed., 1936, and on pages 290, 326, and 340 of the 2d ed., 1942. 12 Zernitz (1932, p. 518). 13 Zernitz (1932, p. 519). 14 Dake and Brown (1925, p. 191). 15 Zernitz (1932, p. 517). 16 Davis (1889, p. 249). 17 Muller (1943), p. 50. 18 Parvis (1950), p. 43.

-----'
2250

ARTHUR

DAVID HOWARD
8. Pinnate

F. Colineor

FIG.

2.-Moclified basic pattems. Each pattern occurs in a wide range of scales.

-

and parallelism of the dominant drainage. The distinction between subtrellis and subparallel is commonly a matter of judgment.

.Directional treUis.- This term is suggested for

a modification of the trellis pattern in which the tributaries to the long subsequent streams are

DRAINAGE

ANALYSIS

IN GEOWGIC

INTERPRETATION

22~1

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consistently longer on one side of the valley than on the other (Fig. 2, G). The pattern most commonly is found in areas of gently dipping homoclinal beds, but also occurs on gentle slopes with parallel beach ridges. Recurved trellis.- This is a modification of the trellis pattern in which the pattern as a whole forms sweeping curves around the noses of plunging folds (Fig. 2, H). It is more orderly and systematic, and generally larger in scale, than the contorted pattern in metamorphic terrain. Comparison of the lengths of small tributaries on opposite sicles of the curved subsequent streams, particularly at the noses of the folds, commonly perrnits distinetion between plunging anticlines and synclines; the direetion of flow of the longer tributaries generally indicates the direetion of dip. Fault trellis.- This pattern has been attributed by Dake and Brown (1925, p. 191) to "alternating grabens anel horsts or a suecession of paraIlel rifts." It is described as less closely spaced than the trellis pattern on tilted or folded strata, with a tendency toward e1endritic drainage between the faults. Right-angle turns are also less common. ln the San Mateo quadrangle, just south of San Francisco, California, the fault-controIleel streams, although grossly parallel, loeally e1iverge, converge, and branch, and the broader interstream segments show dendritic, radial, or other drainage patterns (Fig. 3, A). Joint trellis.-A second fracture treIlis pattern, charaeterizeel by short, remarkably straight parallei streams, may be referreel to as joint treIlis, although the fractures may include faults. A gooel example is found in the Zion Park region of Utah (Fig. 3, B). Both of the fracture treIlis patterns differ from the reetangular pattern in having one dominant set of paraJlel streams.

c1early indieate one rectangular system with elements oriented approximately north-south and east-wcst, and another system oriented northeastsouthwest and northwest-southeast. A rernarkable example of joint control is present in French Guiana, where several sets of more or less equally spaced joints impart a geometric pattern to both the drainage and topography. The pattern has been referred to as "honeyeomb" by Zonneveld et alo (1952, p. 1'53). Another geometrie pattern, on a much smaller scale, is found in permafrost arcas where ice wedges thaw around the margins of soil polygons. This pattern is best deseribed as polygonaI. Radial Pattern Modifications

Centripetal.-This pattern (Davis, 1889, p. 249) is a modification of the radial pattern in which the streams flow inward toward a closed or nearly cJosed central depression (Fig. 3, D). The pattern commonly is assoeiated with caters, calderas, and a wide variety of depressions. In some areas, sueh as the "pan belt" of the Union of South Africa (King, 1951, p. 91), there is a complex of centripetal patterns. The regional pattern might be referred to as multicentripetal. Multibasinal Pattern Modificatons

Rectangular Pattern Modifications Angulate.- This pattern (Zernitz, 1932, p. 517) is charaeterized by numerous aeute-angle bends and barbed tributaries. It is generaIly found in areas where an additional set (or sets) of fraetures is superimposed on a reetangular set. There may be two superimposed rectangular systems of different orientation. Figure 3C is a generalized portrayal of the drainage of part of the Yellowstone plateau. The drainage alignments

The multibasinal pattern occurs principally in are as of glacial erosion and deposition, eolian erosion and deposition, solution, and permafrost. It also is found, however, in regions of recent volcanic activity and in landslide areas. There are many modificatons of the pattern, even within individual regions. Thus in glaeiated areas, the majority of the depressions may be smaIl or large, closely spaced or widely scattered, and the drainage may display varied amounts of integration. ln sandy areas, the depressions may display great diversity in shape and size in accordance with the charaeteristics of the dunes within which they occur, and may also display a certain amount of integrated drainage. The pattern may then closely resemble the drainage pattern in morainal areas. ln volcanic areas, the depressions may include craters and calderas, lava-dammed valleys, interflow basins, or collapsed lava caves or tunnels. In many lava fields, depressions large enough to be shown on topographic maps are less profuse than in morainal or sand areas.

__

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2252
'-4'

ARTHUR

DAVID HOWARD

Compound

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Polimpsest
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II

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11

FIG.

3.-Modified

basic patterns (A-D); complex, compound, and palimpsest patterns (E-H). Each pattern occurs in a wide range of scales.

~,

DRAINAGE

ANALYSIS

IN GEOLOGIC

INTERPRETATION

2253

I n landslide arcas, dcpressions are Iound cither hchind rotated slump blocks, within chaotically jumbled landslide debris, or whcre drainage has bccn blocked, This multibasinal pat tern is usually o f small regional extent. The multibasinal pattcrn is rarcly diagnostic in itself of either process or material; patterns formed by elifferent processes rnay be rcrnarkably alikc. A pitted outwash arca in Minncsota illustrated by Cooper (1'035, Fig. 4, p. 10) is rernarkably similar to the solution-pan landsrapc of parts of Florida. Multibasinal patterns in arcas of morainc, sanei duncs, limcstonc, recent lava flows, landslidcs, anel permafrost may resernhle each other at least superficia\ly. Conclusions reachcd as to process or type of materiaIs based on pattem alone coulel be in error. Nevertheless, severa] gcnctic terms have bcen suggestccl for varietics of the multibasinal pattern: glllcilllly disturbed, denmged, kettle hole, swallow hole, korst, and othcrs. If there is doubt as to gencsis, thc pattern is best referred to sirnply as multibasinal. If. on the other hand, the pattern includes featurcs that Icave no doubt as to process or material, there may be justification for using onc of the established genetic terms. Thus, a multibasinal pattern with (I) depressions ranging fram tiny steepsided pits, many of which are circular, to large. deep, irregular valley-like basins, (2) some depressions aligned rectinearly, and (3) scattered disappearing and/or reappearing streams, may perhaps be referred to as a swallow-hole or karst pattern. Or, a multibasinal pattern associated with evidence of thawing permafrost, such as polygonal ground and beaded drainage, might be reerred to as thermokarst (MulIer, 1943, p. 50). Parvis (1950, p. 43) suggested the name "elongate bay" for a rnultibasinal pattern in which the depressions are large, elliptical, anel parallel. The pattern is ound in some coastal-plain anel delta areas and has been variously attributed to meteorite impact, solution, segmentation of lagoons at higher stands of the sea, and to thaw of formerly frozen ground. The value of the purely descriptive term "elongate bay" for this pattern is obviouso
I

J~.

COMPLEX, COMPOUND, AND.PA1\1:PSEST PTTERJ'J"S'

ing arcas. Parvis (1950, p. 43) suggested the terrn "anomalous" for complex pat terns found in arcas of differing topography anel materiaIs. The terrns "cornplcx" and "anornalous" have thus bcen applied to situations that are in part similar anel in part dissimilar. Inasmuch as' the tcrrn "cornplcx" has priority, it should be retained but perhaps with its scopc enlargecl 10 inclucle ali patterns representing an aggregate of adjoining dissimilar patterns due to structure, materiaIs, anel/ or differences in topography. In Figure 3, E, the contrasted patterns are duc to differences in structural Icatures. An example of drainage differences causecl by diffcrences in topography on identical materials is the multibasinal clrainage of moraine ucrsus the subparallel clrainage of drumlin topography. The terrn "cornpound" was applied by D. W. J ohnson (personal commun., 1931) to drainage consisting of two or more conternporancous pattcrns in the sarne arca, as, for example, the combination of radial anel annular patterns characteristic of many domes (Fig. 3. F). Dendritic anel multibasinal patterns commonly are combined in areas whcre streams have cut youthful valleys into a rclativcly insoluble formation below a solution-pitted limestonc formation. The depressions are restricted to the limestone-capped divides between the streams. A somewhat similar combination of patterns results from partial integration of drainage in morainal areas. The writer encountered an interesting drainage pattern which he has calleel palimpsest (Howarcl, 1962, p. 2255). In the palimpsest pattern, an older, abandoned drainage or stream pattern forms the backgrounel for the present pattern. The example (Fig. 3, G) is in the western coastal plain of Taiwan. At the site of the anornaly, the present drainage pattern is radial. Faintly visible through the rice paddies is a meandering channe! whose presence is indicated primarily by the somewhat smaller size of the paddies within its confines. The meandering channel crosses the present Iow topographic bulge toward its crest. Clearly, the topographic high was not present when the meandering stream crossed the area. . Themeandering stream apparently wasdeflected by th~growing arch onwhich the present radial ~r.~'!}!)<l:gi_a~~ )g!.~xistence. The situation suggests either active deformation within the coastal plaln,nofanrikeiy;possibilityc!nsiclering' the

Zernitz "complex" reflecting

(1932, p. 521). proposed the term for an aggregat'eof:~i~"s~ill: patterhs,' different structural controlsIn adjoin-

2254

ARTHUR

DAVID HOWARD delection of strearns around bodics of relatively unfractured or otherwise resistant rock. Comparable varicties are found in cach of lhe other basic and modified basic patterns. A detailed treatment of these is beyond thc scope of this report. The important point is that careful study of local departures frum the regional patterns rnay revcal unsuspcctecl information of considerable value. The analysis of drainage varieties and of the reJated drainage anornalies discussecl below presents a unique chaIlcngc to thc gcologist.
DRAINAGE TEXTURE

instability of lhe island of Taiwan as a whole, or differential settling over a buried topographic high, or both. Any drainage pattern that includes traces of an older, unlike pattern may be referred to as palimpsest. Remnants of original stream courses are common in many arcas of glacial anel eolian activity, multiple piracy, and recent warping and aulting. Figure 3H ilIustrates in generalized fashion the relation of the Missouri River (or the Ohio River) to abandoned preglacial valleys.
PATTERN VARIETIES

Pattern varieties differ from basic anel modified basic patterns in internal details. They commonly provide use fui geologic information. Regional differences, such as contrasts in density of drainage, do not distinguish varieties. It is expectable that a dendritic pattern in shale will be finer than that in sandstone, and that a trellis pattern in slate wilI be finer than that in interbedded sedimentary strata. Any drainage pattem may be fine, medium, or coarse textured. Intrapattern differences in texture, however, do distinguish varieties. Thus, a dendritic pattern in an area in which thick, horizontal beds of sandstone and shale are exposed in the slopes may display a coarse texture in the sandstone and a finer texture in the shale. The pattern is "texturally zoned." ln another variety of the dendritic pattern, many streams consistently are closer to one side of their valleys than the other. ln the Leavenworth quadrangle (Kansas-Missouri), streams that flow generally east or west hug the steeper south (north-facing) slopes. The dendritic pattern suggests essentially horizontal sedimentary rocks or beveled, uniformly resistant crystalline rocks, but the valley asymmetry suggests an additional inftuence such as a gentle southward dip, active tilting. or differences in degree of erosion of the valley slopes due to direction of exposure. That the asymmetry is not due to stream deflection resulting from terrestrial rotation is evident from the fact that 'lhe steep slope is on the left side of some streams and on the right side of others." Another variety of the dendritic pattern, characteristic of granitic areas, displays numerous sicklelike curves. These apparent1y are the result of
3 The term right and Ieft apply when facing downcurrent.

Drainage texturc refers to the rclativc spacing of drainage lines regardless of occupancy by perennial streams. The terms "fine," "medium," and "coarse" generally are used in a relative sense to indicate the spacing. A fine texture is one in which there is a high degree of ramification of drainage lines resulting in a dense network involving myriad small streams. Fine texture is typical of clay, shale, silt, and other relatively impervious materiaIs. A coarse texture, in contrast, exhibits very little ramification, and longer, more widely separated valleys prevail. Coarse texture is typical of permeable materials such as sand, gravei, and rocks that weather into coarse fragments. Medium texture is interrnediate between the two extremes. The use of these textural terms without clarification is inadvisable, not only because they mean different things to different people, but because texture varies with scale. Attempts have been made to express textures quantitatively on the basis of the number (stream frequency) and total length (drainage density) of drainage lines per unit area (Horton, 1945; Smith, 1950). However, quantitative determinations of texture involve laborious, tirne-consuming procedures, and the resulting degrees of refinement are greater than necessary for many geologic problems. A satisfactory procedure for reports is to prepare diagrams showing the drainage textures, at the scale of the maps ar photos, that are regarded as fine, medi um, and coarse, and perhaps as ultrafme and ultracoarse. Drainage texture is influenced by (1) clima tical1y controlled factors such as amount anel distrbution of precipitation, vegetation, anel permafrost; (2) rock characteristcs, including tex-

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22 5'0

ARTHUR

DAVID

HOWARD anel are irregularly valley,

DRAINAGr:

unlike materiais. klisJit meandering streams, in which the dimensiuns of the meanders do not agree with those of meander scars or of floodplain scrolls, suggest geologic or cIimatic change. The sickle pattern displays some arcuate curves and is most common in areas of plutonic rocks and migmatites. The barbed pattern indicates either piracy or the presence of joints, faults, or layers of weak rock trending obliquely across the path of the stream. The term "beaded" has been applicd to streams in the subarctic along which srnall tha w sinks are present at irregular intervais. Successions of beaver elams give a superficially similar pattern, as elo, on a larger scale, strings of glacial lakes. The writer has nameel a new pattern, spatulate, which could be inc\udeel uncler beaded, but which he believes is elistinctive enough to warrant a separate elesignation. In essence, it consists of alterna te broad valley segments anel narrow defiles. The pattern is clisplayed by some of the valleys, such as the Aragva, that drain south from the Caucasus in southern Russia. The Aragva anel its sister streams pass intermittently through resistant anel weak Cretaceous seelimentary rocks (Renngarten, 1937, p. 104). The streams are restricteel to defiles where the more resistant carbonate rocks of the Upper Cretaceous are brought elown to river levei in the troughs of synclines, but they meaneler in broael open reaches in the weaker, sandy-argillaceous Lower Cretaceous seeliments of the anticlinal cores. The defiles anel open reaches range in length from 0.5 to 2 mi or more. The pattern is quite regular in these open folels, with the broael, elongate segments occurring at uniform intervals along the valley. Other spatulate patterns may have no structural significance. The spatulate pattern displayed by the Missouri River in eastern Montana and westem North Dakota is glacial in origin (Howard, 1958). The Missouri trench is locally 1 mi or less in width; in intervening areas its wielth may exceed 4 mio The narrow segments represent icemarginal paths cut across former divides, whereas the broad elongate segments represent parts of preglacial valleys. The pattern is irregular in that the broad segments inherit their trends from an ancestral drainage whose trends were opposed to the trend of the ice front. Thus the broad segments are considerably varied in

orientation the present

distributed

along

ANOMALIES

Anomalies in drainage patterns and in the patterns of individual strcarns have bccn t he subjcct of discussion in recent years, They are of particular importance in lhe flatlaads. The analysis of drainage may provide clues to structural caturcs undetectable by other methods. A drainage anomaly can hc dcfincd as a local c1eviation from the regional drainagc ancl/or strearn pattern which elsewherc accords with the known regional structure anel/o r topography. The expectable pattern is regarded as the norm (DeBlieux, 1949, p. 1253-1254), and thc deviations are anomalies. An alternation of broad valley segrnents anel narrow defiles along transverso streams in areas in which the structure is known to consist of foleled weak anel resistant rock is herein regareled as normal, as are sicklelike curves in granite areas, However, in many other geologic environments these phenomena are anomalous. Anomalies suggest structural or topographic eleviations from the regional plano Many composite patterns, for example, involve a small enclave of one pattern within another, rather than two adjacent patterns of equal magnitude. An illustration is the local occurrence of radial and annular drainage within a regional c1enclritic pattern (Fig. 4, A). Many pattern modifications anel varieties also involve anomalies as, for exarnpIe, local parallelism of streams in a dendritic pattern (Fig. 4, B). Many anomalies are localizecl along individual streams. Some of these are listed below. Rectilinearity.-Long, rectilinear segments of streams, particularly if aligned across divides with rectilinear segments af other streams, constitute an anomaly if the regional pattern is other than rectangular, angulate, or ault-trellis. A fracture, or an easily erodable vein or dike is indicated. In Figure 4C the arrow indicates a rectilinear stream.

"

' ..)I!>

r .

Abrupt and localized appecrance o f meanders.DeBlieux (1949, p. 1259) has clescribed an interesting stream anomaly at the Lafitte oiI field in Jefferson Parish, about15 mi south of New Orleans (Fig. 4, D). The channel of an abandoned Mississippi River distributary is relatively straight and simple for several miles upstream

!.

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I

DRAINAGE

ANALYSIS

IN GEOLOGIC

INTERPRETATION

2257

-e

l
I I
I I

I
D. Local meondering E. Compressed Plotted structural anomaly "" meonders F. Local broiding
I

2miles

L--....J

2miles

H.

Anomolous volley

flore

in

I. Anomolous pond,morsh, or
olluviol fill l. KioQa):j:-

/,
\ l/I 11//
J. Voriotion in levee width 2 miles
1!!.

11

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(
/

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BA

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I:.j~

L. Victaria

Schematic

200 miles
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levees
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L. Anomolous
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FIG. 4.-Examples of drainage anornalies. A, B, C, G-Amazon basin ; E-Kent County, Texas, after DeBlieux and Shepherd, 1951; D, F, J-Louisiana, after DeBlieux, 1949; Ks--Louisiana, generalized after DeBlieux, 1949; I-East Africa, after Holmes, 1965; H, L-generalized exarnples,

and downstream from the Lafitte salt dome. At No explanation of the anomaly is offered. Mcthe dome, however, two meanderlike curves are Kenzie Creek, a tributary from the south, dispresent. This interruption of the normal pattern plays an anomalous curve apparently influenced may be related to a subtle upstream reduction in by the dome. stream gradient caused by the appearance of the Abrupt and localized braiding.-DeBlieux dome along its path. (1949, p. 1\259) reported the abrupt and local apCompressed meanders.-DeBlieux and Shep- pearance of braiding at Scully salt dome in abanherd (1951, p. 98) described a stream pattern doned distributaries of Bayou Lafourche about 30 in which several meanders of an otherwise nor- mi southwest of N ew Orleans (Fig. 4, F). Braiding mal and continuous series are squeezed, com- generally indicates inability of a stream to transpressed, and incised (Fig. 4,E).The~anoIYlay,p~rtltsbedload {Leopold and Wolman, 1957, p. along the Double Mountain ForkoftheBtazos 50'). Inability.rnay result.frorn local' acquisition River in Kent County, Texas;:is atthesit~~f ~'~:-(;~o~rser l~ad' iha~ the stream is competent to subsequently demonstrated ' sG~ctutal~n6~aiy.handle; loss' of volume due to locally ncreased

,"

225;)

ARTHUR

DAVID HOWARD along the Mississippi River are narrower in some places than others. He suggested that subsidence of the levees at these placcs permittecI encroachment by the neighboring swamp or marsh resulting in the reeluced levee wic\th. It is recognizecI generally that subsidence in the Mississippi delta is differential, being retareled over the sites of burieel slructural features. Thus, levees are generalIy broaeler where they cross such structural features than they are up- or downstream. This is true of the levees of the abandoned Bayou Lafourche (Fig. 4, J) where it crosses the Valentine dome about 30 mi southwest of New Orleans in Laourche Parish (DeBlieux, 1949, p. 1253). DeBlieux recognized that levee broadening may be caused by factors other than subsidence, such as crevassing, bfurcation, and coalescence, but believed that these causes are readily recognzable. Flying levees.-In many parts of the Mississippi delta, former channels have subsded below marsh leveI and only small fragments are preserved, perhaps because they are on buried structural features (Fig. 4, K). Because these Ievee remnants are cornpletely isolated, the expression "flyng levee" is herein proposeel. DeBlieux (1949, p. 1253) citeel the levee remnants at Four Isle dome, about 70 m southwest of New Orleans in Terrebonne Parsh, as an example. Here, the flying levees are more than 3 mi downstream from the present terminus of Bayou Granel Caillou. Anomalous curves and turns.-An anomalous curve or turn is one that is abnormal within the drainage pattern in which it occurs. The varieties are legion, being most common in the flatlands (Fig .. 4, L). For example, a domal upwarp across the path of a stream may gentIy "shoulder" the stream aside, forcing it to follow a curved, commonly semicircular path around the structural feature. Barbeei junctions similar to those resultng rom piracy may be formed where tributares to one stream are blocked by an upwarp and are defiected sharply into neighboring drainage. If a domal upwarp takes place between parallel streams, both streams may be defected, resuIting in a~..peculiar .. "blowlegged' pattern..Astream" crossl1ganactivestrike-slipiaultiny be .. ffset>, ,. o laterally anddisplay sharp righ"t~ngle turns .where '.. jt: entersand Ieves th!(rt.Fulls"niyl~adto . :: anomalous engthening andattening ofa curve ..

I,
I

I
1

underfow, loss of velocity caused by ftattening of the gradient (perhaps by a rising structure), or some other geologic or hydrologic factor. DeBleux attributed the braiding to fiattening of the gradient. The presence of similar anomalies in neighboring streams may permit regional delineation of the area or zone of anomalous behavior anel allow a more inormed consideration of cause. Correlation of meandering and braided reaches n adjacent streams conceivably might permit the delineation of formational boundaries. The same may be indicated by more subtIe variatons n stream patterns (Tator, 1954, p. 414), such as zonal variations in dranage densty within the dranage pattern. Anomalous pinching or flaring of valleys or channels.-Local widenng or narrowng of valleys or channels, not a repeti tive feature of the regional dranage pattern, may indicate local structure. A shallow upwarp, for example, might bring slightly weaker or more resstant materals to stream leveI, thereby nfiuencing the rate of valley wdening; or upwarpng might result in incision of the stream, the valley being broader upstream and downstream (Fig. 4, G and H). Anomalous ponds, marshes, or alluuial fills.The presence of an isolated pond,marsh, or alluvial fill along the path of a mature stream where landslides or other surficial causes can be excluded, may indicate dammng by subsidence or by uplift directly downstream. Some streams have been able to maintain their courses across rising obstructions; other streams have been diverted. ExcelIent examples of anomalous ponding are provided by Lakes Victoria and Kioga in East Africa (Fig. 4, I). The lake basins originally drained westward by way of the streams labeled A and B in the figure. Relative subsidence of the central area contemporaneous with creation of the western and eastern rift vaJIeys resulted in drowning of the lake basins and reversal of the drection of fiow of the outlet streams, many of whose tributares are barbed and locally drowned. Blocking of lhe western outlets diverted the waters of newly created Lake Victoria northward to Lake Kioga and thence northwestward around the northern end of the western rft valley.Although these drainage modifications are .011a grand scale.; similar phenornena may occur atall scales. Anomalous breadth of levees ..Russell (1939, '.. p. 1212) noted that lea ves of abandoned channels

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DRAINAGE
SUMMARY

ANALYSIS

IN GEOLOGIC INTERPRETATION

2259

Drainage structural

analysis features

may and

provide type of

information materiais.

on The

analysis should consider not only basic patterns, but also modified basic pattems, pattern varieties, drainage texture, stream patterns, and anomalies. The drainage patterns, individually and in combination, which, tainable provide a certain field tectonic amount methods. interest activity. any one small and erosional of materiais by may changes. provide area in of information may not The inasmuch be obpalimpas it in the tlatlands by ordinary current at least,

sest pattern may indicate

is of special

Drainage texture within which climate, topography, are reasonably tive size mation of the of constant permeability stream

history

commonly

may be indicaor of the weathering. provi de inforhydrau-

particles on structural

provided patterns features,

Individual

rock type,

lic conditions, or geomorphic Drainage anomalies may on local differential gic regimen.
REFERENCES

information

structural

features,

active deormation,
in the hydrolo-

subsidence,

or changes

ClTED

..,.
!

Cooper, W. S., 1935, The history of upper Mississippi River in late Wsconsin and postglacial time: Minn. Geol. Survey Bull., v. 26, 116 p. Dake, C. L., and J. S. Brown, 1925, Interpretation of topographic and geologic rnaps: New Y ork, MeGraw-Hm, 335 p. Daubre, A., 1879, Geologie exprimentale: Paris, Dunod, p. 357-375. Davis, W. M., 1889, Rivers and valleys of Pennsylvania: Nat!. Geog. Mag., v. 1, p. 183-253. DeBlieux, C. W., 1949, Photogeology in Gulf Coast exploration: Am. Assoe. Petroleum Geologists Bull., v. 33, p. 1251-1259. --and G. F. Shepherd, 1951, Photogeologic study in Kent County, Texas: Oil and Gas j our., v. 50, no. 10, p. 86, 88, 98-100. Dutton, C. E., 1882, Tertiary history of the Grand Canyon district: U.S. Geo!. Survey Mon. 2, 422 p. Engeln, O. D. von, 1942, Geornorphology : New York, Macrnillan, 655 p. Fineh, V. C., and G. T. Trewartha, 1936, Elements of geography, 1st ed.: New York, McGraw-Hill, p. 307,342,355. --and --1942, Elements oi geography 2d ed.: New York, McGraw-Hill, p. 290, 326, 340. Hobbs, W. H., 1904, Linearnents of lhe Atlantie border region: Geol. Soc. Amrica Buli., V. 15,. p. 483506. Holmes, Arthur, 1965, Principles of physical geology, 2d ed: New York, Ronald Press, p. 1058. Horton, R. E., 1945, Erosional developrnent 01

streams and their drainage basins: Hydrophysical approach to quantitative morphology: Geol. Soe. America Bull., v. 56, p. 275-370. Howard, 'A. D., 1958, Drainage evolution in northeastern Montana and northwestern North Dakota: Geo!. Soe. America Buli., v. 69, p. 575-588. ___ 1962, Palimpsest drainage and Chungchou photogeologie anomaly, Taiwan : Am. Assoe. Petroleum Geologists Buli., v. 46, p. 2255-2258. --1965, Photogeological interpretation of strueture in lhe Amazon basin, a test study: Geo!. Soe. America Buli., v. 76, p. 385-406. Jaggar, T. A., Jr., 1901, The laccoliths 01 the Black HilIs: U'S, Geo!. Survey, 21st ann. rept., pt. 3, p. 163-303. J ohnson, Douglas, 1932, Streams and their significance : Jour. Geol., v. 40, p. 481-497. Kemp, J. F., 1894, Preliminary report on the geology 01 Essex County [N.Y.]: New York State Geol. Survey, ann. rept. 1893, p. 431-472. King, L. C., 1951, South Alrican seenery: London, Oliver and Boyd, 379 p. Leopold, L. B., and M. G. Wolman, 195i, River channel patterns : braided, meandering, and straight: U.S. Geolfl Survey Prol. Paper 282, p. 39-85. Melton, F. A., 1936, An empirical classification 01 flood-plain streams: Geog. Rev., v. 26, p. 593-609, Merriam, D. F., and P. H. A. Sneath, 1966, Quantitative comparison of contour maps: J ouro Geophys, Research, V. 71, p. 1105-1115. Muller, S. W., 1943, Permafrost or permanently frozen ground and related problems: U.S. Engineers Offiee, Strategie Eng. Study Spec. Rept, no. 62, 136 p. Parvs, Merle, 1950, Drainage pattern significance in airphoto identification of soils and bedrock: Highway Research Board, Natl. Research Council BulI. 28, p. 36-62. Renngarten, V., 1937, La route militaire de Gorgie: 17th Internat. Geol. Congresso U.S.S.R., Excursion au Caucase, Rostov-Tbilisi, p. 70-113. Russell, L c., 1898, Rivers of North America : New York, G. P. Putnam, 327 p, Russell, R. J., 1939, Louisiana stream patterns : Am. Assoe. Petroleum Geologists BulI., V. 23, p, 11991227. Schumm, S. A., 1956, Evolution of drainage systems and slopes in badlands at Perth Amboy, New Jersey: Geol. Soc. America Buli.; V. 67, p. 597646. Smith, K. G., 1950, Standards 01 grading texture of erosional topography : Am. Jour. Sei., v. 248, p. 655-668. Tator, B. A., 1954, Drainage anomalies in coastal plain regions: Photogramm. Eng., V. 20, p. 412417. Whitehouse, F. W., 1944, The natural drainage of some very flat rnonosoonal lands (western Queensland, Australia) : The Australian Geographer, Tune, 1944, p. 3-16. Willis, Bailey, 1895, The northern Applachians : Natl. Geog. Soe. Mon., v. 1, no. 6, p. 169-202. Zernitz, Emilie R" 1932, Drainage patterns and their significance: Jour. Geol., V. 40, p. 498-521. Zonneveld, J. I. S., et al., 1952, The use of aerial photographs in a tropical country (Surinarn) : Photogramm. Eng., v. 18, p. 144-168.