CHAPTER- 1

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 CHAPTER 1

1.1 INTRODUCTION: Geomorphology is a significant branch of physical

geography. It is the scientific study of landforms based on cause and effect
relationship, which means it is a science that deals with the physiographic changes
on the surface involving interpretative description of landform, their origin,
development, nature and mechanism of geomorphologic processes.

The importance of geomorphology for physical geographers is not only important

in understanding Earth’s physical changes but also in preparing for hazards. For
instance understanding issues of deforestation, soil properties and seasonal
precipitation can better access frequencies of flooding events and their potential
danger.

Geomorphology as critical component of physical geography is needed to

understand natural landform changes and potential hazards for populations and it
shares with physical geography the dedicated study of weathering, erosion and
transportation .Erosion and sedimentation are two basic processes operating in
geomorphology, various landforms are the result of these processes.

1.2 SIGNIFICANCE OF FIELD WORK: Fieldwork is an important part of

studying geography. Fieldwork involves going off into the world outside and
collecting information and data related to certain hypothesis. This allows
geographers to identify patterns or lack of patters in the world. We then use these
patterns to accepts or reject the hypothesis.

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The value of fieldwork is not simply the geographical value of experiencing
landscape feature, busy urban streets, unfamiliar cultures, extremes of weathers
and the journey to the venue itself, which helps ground the pupil’s local
environment in the context of the world. It aids motivation and self-development.
There is also a chance to demonstrate progression of skills and development of
participants as geographers.

Geography fieldwork reinforces the importance of the specialist geographers who

should be able to make a case to senior leadership teams for continued specialist
experiences being made available to students. There are discussions, which are
unique to every schools and colleges’ geographical and financial circumstances.

A final point about fieldwork is that it provides perhaps more than other classroom
based work and opportunities for students to be creative and to have a personalized
outcome, which gives them a sense of ownership of the learning process.

There is also the philosophical view of Tim Brighouse,’’ one lesson is worth seven
inside”.

1.3 AIMS AND OBLECTIVES:

 The major objective of the study is to identify the study is to identify the
denudational processes that are operating in the study area with different
intensity and magnitude.
 To analyze the drainage characteristics of Naj river, in order to have a
better understanding of the landscape.
 An important objective of the study is to access the impact of slope on the
mass movement processes.
 To identify the dominant erosional processes in the study area.

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1.4 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

The present problem, is related to the denudational processes in the Naj river
valley and to give the visual picture of the study area.

1.5 DATA BASE:-The data for the present study, is derived from the primary as
well as secondary sources. The major schemes of data are listed below:

. The survey of India T. No. 43 P/10 with the scale of 1:25000, was consulted for
the preparation of different maps like stream orders, drainage, slope map, area
under different order streams.

1.6 METHODOLOGY: Methodology is a systematic approach towards the

attainment of desirable objective of study through empirical techniques and
scientific tools.

We have used simple calculations to convert raw data into meaningful numbers.
We have also used line graphs to represent statistical information. Besides
cartographic, methods including choropleth have been used as per requirements.
Ample use of photographs of the area has been a mode for better visible effects.

We have collected data from primary as well as secondary sources regarding the
rainfall and temperature, from the meteorological department. We have visualized
the denudational processes occurring in the Naj basin and made observations based
on these visualizations.

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CHAPTER- 2

5 
 
 CHAPTER 2

PHYSICAL FRAMEWORK

2.1 LOCATION AND EXTENT: The study area lies between 32 ̊ 36̕ N to 32 ̊42̕
N latitude and 75 ̊ 32 ̕ E to 75 ̊ 38̕ E longitude .

The area selected for present study, is situated in the Siwalik range of Himalaya
Himalayas, 760 m from mean sea level. The river Naj flows from North-Western
to South-Eastern direction.

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 7 
 
2.2 GEOLOGY: Geology, is basically that science which deals with the study of
different rock fossils and structures. The thick pile of tertiary sediments, which
constitute the foothills belt range in age, from the upper Pleistocene of the rest of
the sequence, has been deposited under Brackish to fresh water condition. The
upper part of the study area occupied by Murree rock. Lower area of Dun and
Siwalik has following sequence of rocks:-

Table: Litho-logical description

ERA PERIOD GROUP GEOGRAPHICAL ROCK

LOCATION CHARACTERISTICS
C Miocene to Murree Lesser Himalaya Chocolate colored
Eocene shales, silt stone and
alluvial shales
E ----------- Dun -------- -----------
N ---------- -------- -------- ----------
O Pleistocene Siwaliks Foothills Arenaceous
Z ------- --------- --------- ----------
O Miocene a. Upper ---------- Sandstone, siltstone,
Siwaliks claystone,
conglomerates.
I ------ b. Middle ------- -------
Siwaliks
C ------ c. Lower ------- -------
Siwaliks

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MURREE: Litho-logically the murree can be divided into two divisions i.e., lower
and the upper murree. The lower murree is mainly argillaceous and contains thick
section of deep purple to sandstone. The calcite are more in the lower murree, the
upper murree is less distributed and are characterized by ridge forming sandstone.

SIWALIK: The Siwalik lies over the murree at several places. Physiologically
murree Siwalik boundary is marked by increase in percentage of heavy minerals
and appearance of Siwalik.

1) UPPER SIWALIK:- The upper Siwalik can easily be seperated from the
middle Siwalik for this there exist a marked litho-logical change at the boundary.
The main evidence of the upper Siwalik, are massive conglomerates consisting of
various metamorphic activities on sedimentary rocks. It results in the formation of
rounded peak topography.

2) MIDDLE SIWALIK:- The middle Siwalik consists dominantly of sandstone

inter-bedded with thin clay. The sandstone is coarse grained, soft and pebbly.
Middle Siwalik sandstone consists of Kyanite.

3) LOWER SIWALIK:- The lower Siwalik consists essentially of sandstone, clay

alterations, the sandstone alterations. The sandstone is grey in color molted with
purple, fine to medium grained. The clay is reddish brown hard concretionary,
inter-bedded mostly silt bands silt bands of same color.

2.3 DRAINAGE: The Naj river basin, is marked by dendritic and sub-parallel
drainage patterns. It indicates that sedimentary rocks of murree formation with
uniform slopes cover the study area.

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 10 
 
2.4 SOILS: The soil of the surveyed area varies from sandy to sandy loam. Humus
content is very low due to less falling of tree leaves and over grazing by animals.

Pebbles, cobbles, conglomerates are found in the soil, which is less fertile from
agricultural point of view.

2.5 NATURAL VEGETATION:- Natural vegetation is the natural growth of

plant and trees in their in their natural environment without interference by man.
Forest constitutes a major part of natural vegetation. The natural vegetation of a
region is closely influenced by; the climate, physiography, biotic setting, edaphic
conditions, human interactions with nature etc.

The area around the Naj basin, is covered by forests. These forests are very thick
and have a good faunal composition. These forests have a variety of trees, plants,
herbs, shrubs, climbers etc.

In the study area the following different types of plant species are noticed as :-

Bamboo, Mango, Guava, Mulberry tree, Banyan, Garna(Larisa Spinrum), Pine,

Deodar, thorny bushes etc.

2.6 CONTOURS:- A contour is defined as an imaginary line joining adjacent

places having same height above mean sea level.

The height, is shown by a figure marked along the contour, which shows the height
in meters of feet above mean sea level. The method for showing relief, was first
used by N. Crequius in the year 1730. However, in India this method, was
introduced as late as 1895. The present study area has contour interval of 50 mts.

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 12 
 
CHAPTER- 3

13 
 
 CHAPTER-3

CLIMATE

The average weather condition prevailing in a particular place throughout the year
is called climate.

Climate plays an important role to understand the physio-graphy of an area. The

study area experiences various type of climate. Climate is a significant parameter,
which affect the various geomorphic processes.

The study area experiences sub-tropical climate in the lower area, temperate at
high altitude. The climate of the area not only influences weathering but also
affects the sediments. The Naj basin, is situated within the temperate and extra-
tropical belt. The upper part of Naj basin, experiences temperate type of climate
and lower area experiences tropical type of climate. Upper reaches experience cold
winters with snowfall. Area of Naj basin has mostly mountain type of climate
characterized by wide variation in temperature and rainfall distribution.

3.1 TEMPERATURE:- Temperature is defined as a measure of the warmth or

coldness of the atmosphere with reference to some standard values. Temperature is
usually measured In celsius and ferenheit. Temperature is a very important factor
in determining the climate of an area. Temperature is affected by; sunshine,
altitude, latitude, sea proximity etc.

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Table: Maximum and Minimum temperature.

Months Maximum Minimum Average

January 18.44 5.77 12.10
February 19.98 7.22 13.85
March 23.65 10.46 17.05
April 30.12 14.55 22.33
May 35.29 20.18 27.73
June 39.60 22.85 30.74
July 34.33 22.94 28.64
August 31.61 22.22 29.61
September 29.95 19.26 28.36
October 29.44 12.60 21.05
November 24.95 7.08 16.01
December 20.36 5.85 13.10
Source: Agricultural Department Kathua

Figure: Graph representing Maximum and Minimum temperature

45
40
35
30
25
20 Maximum(  ̊c)
15 Minimum(  ̊c)
10
Average ( ̊c)
5
0

15 
 
3.2 PRECIPITATION:- Owing to the complexity of relief, distribution pattern of
rainfall is also complex. The record of precipitation associated with the South-
West monsoon during the July-September months, is called as south-west monsoon
season. July-August is the most active period from the point of view of monsoon
activity because during this period, of Naj experience floods.

The rainfall data for 2017 supplied by the Executive Engineer, Flood Control
Division Kathua, is reproduced in the table given below:-

The record of precipitation (rainfall) data of tehsil Bilawar reveals that the area
receives precipitation associated with the south-west monsoon. Average rainfall
for year 2017 according to the record in mm is 167.15. Maximum amount of
rainfall, is recorded in the month of August i.e. 616 mm and with number of rainy
days 20. From rainfall point of view period of July and August are the most active
period and Naj river experiences floods during this time. Similarly, the month of
October and November records no rainfall. Total rainy days in the year 2017 are
76 out of 365 days and total amount of rainfall in the year is 2013 mm.

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Table:- No of Rainy Days and total Rainfall in mm (Bilawar Tehsil )

S. Months No. of Rainy Total Rainfall

No. Days (MM)

1 January 3.3 61

2 February 04 70

3 March 04 76

4 April 2.5 40

5 May 02 27

6 June 05 97

7 July 11.7 390

8 August 11.3 360

9 September 05.5 120

10 October 1.3 22

11 November 0.8 15

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12 December 1.3 30

Total 52.7 1308

Source: Agricultural Department Kathua

Figure: Graph representing annual rainfall (in mm) of Bilawar Tehsil

1400

1200

1000

800

600 No. of rainy days
Total Rainfall (mm)
400

200

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CHAPTER – 4

19 
 
 CHAPTER 4

4.1 DENUDATION:-Denudation means to make the things exposed. The

processes by which, the rocks on the earth’s surface are broken into pieces through
the application of external physical forces and the debris are transported elsewhere
is known as denudation.

AGENTS: The agents that promote the breaking and lowering of the earth’s
surface are called the agents of denudation. Examples of agents of denudation are
wind, running water, ice and waves.

4.2 FACTORS AFFECTING DENUDATION:- The rate of denudation depends

on the following factors:-

 Nature of relief: Higher the relief of a particular region, the higher is the
rate of denudation and lower the relief of that region, the lower the rate of
denudation.
 Structure of the earth: Softer the structure of the earth, greater is the rate of
denudation and vice-versa.
 Local climate of an area: Wet climates tend to increase the rate of
denudation more than dry climate.
 Influence of man: The higher the rate of man’s activities on the earth
surface, greater, is the rate of denudation and vice-versa.

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4.3 MASS WASTING:- Mass wasting also known as slope movement or mass
movement is the geomorphic process by which soil, sand, regolith and rock move
down-slope typically as a mass largely under the force of gravity, but frequently
affected by water and water content as in submarine environments and mudflows.

When the gravitational force acting on a slope exceeds its resisting force, slope
failure (mass wasting) occurs. The slope material’s strength and cohesion and the
amount of internal friction b/w material help maintain the slope’s stability and are
known collectively as the slope’s shear strength. The steepest angle that a
cohesion-less slope can maintain without losing its stability is known as its angle
of repose. When a slope made of loose material possesses this angle, it shear
strength perfectly counterbalances the force of gravity acting upon it.

The study area lies in the sub-tropical climate. Precipitation in the study area, is
received by South-West monsoon during the months of July to September.
Climatically the area is sub-tropical zone. The mean monthly temperature is 10 ̊ c.
The coldest months are November to January. January is the coldest month of the
year. The growing period in the temperate zone is from April to September, June
and July are the hottest months. The main sides are debris flow, rock fall, soil
creep, landslides. This exhibit great diversity of forms and complexity of inter-
relationship of different factors, in regard to their morphogenesis. Mass movement
occurs owing to the influence of gravity and water too. In the study area, many
geographic landforms are marked, like slopes, valleys, landslides, rills, gullies etc.

21 
 
Picture representing mass wasting along the Naj river

4.3 SLOPE ANALYSIS:- Understanding the topological pattern of the human

settlements and their geographical associations is important for understanding the
drivers of land use and land cover change and the relationship b/w stream flow and
slope on one hand and settlement pattern on the other. As each watershed area is
unique, having different lengths, sinuous nature of streams, land coverage, etc. the
parameter considered for studying each watershed area are different. Each
watershed, is divided by a number of cross-sections and longitudinal sections
(profiles) for studying slope variation along fifth order stream. Heights (AMSL) of
converging points of these cross and longitudinal profiles were calculated to
achieve an exact slope difference, which helps to analyze the growth of different
settlements in particular area. This study demonstrated a new approach to analyze
the urban growth patterns of human settlements from a wide geographical
perspective. In the Naj river basin, the maximum slope of above 30 ̊ lies in the
North and East of Naj basin. The moderate slope lies between 20 ̊ and 30 ̊ in the

22 
 
central part of the Naj river basin and the minimum slope of < 10 ̊ lies in the South
of the Naj river basin.

S No. Degrees Area

1 Below 10 ̊ 13.2%
2 10 ̊- 20 ̊ 20.36%
3 20 ̊- 30 ̊ 53.64%
4 More than 30 ̊ 12.96%

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 24 
 
4.4 WEATHERING: Weathering is the process where rocks or soil is dissolved or
worn away into smaller and smaller pieces due to particular environmental factors
such as the examples given above. In geographic terms, weathering is defined as
the combined action of all processes that cause alteration and breakdown of rock
minerals chemically (decomposition) and rock masses physically (disintegration)
by the influence of exposure to the atmosphere.

Weathering and erosion constantly change earth surface and landforms

located on it. It smoothes sharp, rough areas or rocks. It also helps to create soil as
tiny bits of weathered rock mixed with plant and animal remains. No rock on the
earth surface is hard enough to resists either weathering or erosion.

FACTORS AFFECTING WEATHERING:- Weathering of rocks is affected

and controlled by the agents of weathering, litho-logical and structural
characteristics of rocks, height and slope factors. Besides, climatic conditions,
topography and reliefs, flora and micro-flora, chemical reactions and many other
factors also affect different processes of weathering to a large extent. These are
discussed below :

 Climate
 Vegetation
 Relief
 Time
 Structure of The Rock
 Human Activities

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TYPES OF WEATHERING:-

Physical Weathering: Physical weathering, sometime referred to as mechanical

weathering, breaks intact rock into unconnected clasts (grains or chunks),
collectively called debris or detritus. Physical weathering is a kind of weathering
which changes only the size of rock. Large rock masses are broken down into
smaller pieces of same rock material. An example would be pieces of granite at
the foot of a granite cliff. Physical weathering agents include temperature
variations, frost action, wind action and unloading of confining superincumbent
pressure. Though, the temperature variation is a key factor in physical weathering
but pressure release, freeze and thaw of water and gravity also play major roles.

Physical weathering in the study area was dominated by temperature variations,

frost action and unloading of confining pressure. The list of weathering processes
is as follows:-

(i) Block Disintegration Due To Weathering.

(ii)Block Disintegration Due To Frost Action.

(iii)Granular Disintegration Due To Temperature.

* Chemical Weathering: Chemical weathering changes the materials chemically.

It refers to the many chemical reactions that alter or destroy minerals, when the
rock comes in contact with water solutions. Sometimes we can observe orange d-
coloration on the rock. The rock may have become brittle. Pieces can easily be
chopped off. The orange color is probably the sign of iron oxide in the rock. The
original rock contained iron or minerals with iron. Iron combines with oxygen
from the air to form iron oxide, a new substance with different properties than iron

26 
 
or oxygen. This kind of weathering in which a different substance is formed called
chemical weathering.

* Biological Weathering:- Plants and animals including man, largely control the
breakdown of rocks. In the study area following biological agents were observed:-
Lichens:-

Plant roots:-

27 
 
Picture showing different types of weathering

28 
 
4.5 EROSION: Erosion involves the wearing away of rocks and soil found along
the river-bed and banks. It also involves the breaking down of rock particles are
being carried downstream by the river. Fluvial erosion involves four processes.
They are:

 Abrasion
 Attrition
 Hydraulic action
 Solution

 ABRASION OR CORRASION

This is when large pieces of bed load material wear away the river-banks and beds.
This occurs when rock particles strike or are dragged along the rock bed. The
impact removes the small particles. Abrasion is thought to be most effective
method of erosion and is probably responsible for down cutting in a river channel.

In Naj river basin, abrasion takes place during short violent periods of flow such as
in floods. In the study area, we find the pot-holes which are produced by the
grinding action on a small number of hard pebbles.

 ATTRITION

This is when the bed load itself is eroded with the sediment particles knock against
the bed or each other and break, becoming more rounded and smaller.

In the present study area, we find that when the particles are moved downstream,
their size decreases and roundness of particle increases. This is due to the attrition.
We also find that the large and angular particles are less likely moved, except in
the frequent periods of high discharge.

29 
 
  HYDRAULIC ACTION

This is when force of water erodes softer rocks. In the study area this process
moves material into the river channel through the impact of moving water and its
frictional drag, on the bed and banks of river. Here we find that only consolidated
material such as sand and fine gravel, can be removed by hydraulic action.

 SOLUTION OR CORROSION

This is when acidic water erodes rocks. This is more prominent on carbonate rocks.
The soluble materials, are removed from parent rocks and are mixed with running
water.

 EROSIONAL PROCESSES ON SLOPE

It is observed that, in some part of the study area that the erosion rate is high due to
over land flow. This is because of the fact that study area experiences semi-arid
type of climate.

In addition to this depletion of plant cover by overgrazing and fires has made the
natural equilibrium highly sensitive and vulnerable. The high rate of erosion due to
over land flow in these parts of the study area has produced highly dissected
topography make a small stream channel and ground slope are very steep.

 FACTORS INFLUENCING FLUVIAL EROSION

1) SLOPE OF RIVER: Slope steepness, along with surface roughness and the
amount and intensity of rainfall controls the speed at which runoff flows

30 
 
 down a slope. The faster it flows, the more likely it will cause erosion and
increase sedimentation.
 LONGITUDINAL PROFILE:- It is an outline of the alley (river bed)
from source to its mouth. It usually takes in the actual length of the center of
the stream and height of the surface at mean sea level. The long profile of
the Naj river basin provides evidence of its being a polycyclic drainage basin
.The lithological character of the bed rock along with fluvial processes has
played an important role in variation in the profile. It stretches over a length
of 13.5 km. The profile is marked with the break of slope between separate
reaches at two elevation of 1850m and 1480m. The tributaries join the main
valley of 20 ̊ to 35 ̊. The profile is steep at upper part of the valley. The
lower part of the valley is comparatively less steeper.

31 
 
  VELOCITY OF WATER

The velocities of the river flow depend on the slope. A steeper slope causes high
flow velocity, hence more erosion.

 VEGETATION: It protects the soil erosion as plant cover reduces the

runoff and the water velocity, thereby preventing soil erosion. A vegetation
cover provides organic matter shows runoff and filter sediments.

32 
 
  NATURE OF ROCKS

Sandstones, conglomerates, and other coarse grained rock types are usually
permeable i.e. more precipitation will percolate downward through the soil and
underlying rocks. Therefore the amount of surface runoff will be minimal and a
small number of streams will develop in a precise area.

CONCLUSION:- The following conclusions have been drawn from the previous
discussion.

 The study area lies between 32 ̊ 36̕ N to 32 ̊42̕ N latitude and 75 ̊ 32 ̕ E to 75 ̊

38̕ E longitude. The area selected for the present study is situated in the
middle Siwalik range of Himalayas or outer Himalayas 76 meters from mean
sea level.
 The study area experiences sub-tropical climate in the lower area, temperate
at high altitude. The climate of the area not only influences weathering but
also affects the sediments.
 It has been observed that the denudational processes are more active in the
upper reaches, as in the lower reaches the velocity of the river and the
gradient of the river, both decrease.
 In this physical survey report, we have discussed about the denudational
processes, which include weathering, mass-movement and erosion. We have
also discussed about the natural vegetation as vegetation of an area plays a
very important role in controlling the denudational processes.

33 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ahmad, Enayat, (1985), “Geomorphology”

Buller, D, (1921), “ Slopes From And Process”, Institute of British
Geographers.
Bloom, L, (2003), “Geomorphology”
Hussain, Majid, (2002), “Systematic Geography of J&K”.
Strahler, Alan H, (2007), “Modern Physical Geography”
Singh, Nater, (1989), “Geomorphology of Himalayan Basin”.
Singh, Savindra, (1998), “Geomorphology”.
Singh, Savindra, (2001), “Physical Geography”

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