Prioritization of Micro-watersheds Based on Morphometric Characteristics Using Geographical Information System in the Amaravathi sub-basin, South India

The present study aims to demonstrate the prioritization of micro-watersheds in morphometric analysis using remote sensing and GIS-based approaches. Geographical Information System (GIS) and remote sensing are effective tools for managing water resources and identifying drainage patterns. GIS and image processing tools have been used to identify and analyze morphological aspects of basins. Mathematical formulas were used to calculate morphometric characteristics including linear, aerial, and relief parameters. The desired outcome is to find an enhanced comprehension of the geological, geomorphological and hydrogeological factors of the sub- basin. Twenty metrics have been gathered to gain a better understanding of the features of the basin. The Amaravathi sub-basin originates in a valley near Munnar in Kerala’s Western Ghats area. The river flows from the Anaimalai Hills to the Palani Hills before entering the Cauvery River in Karur district. The Amaravathi sub-basin is a stream of the eighth-order. The 8th-order basin comprises 48 micro-watersheds, including 37 5th-order micro-watersheds, 8 6th-order micro-watersheds, 27th-order micro-watersheds, and 1 8th-order micro-watershed. The study found that a first-order stream has the greatest stream length due to the basin’s complicated geostructural structure. The Amaravathi sub-basin’s drainage pattern is dendritic in the higher zone and sub-dendritic in the surface region. The Amaravathi sub-basin covers 8,549.8 square kilometers and is located in Tamil Nadu’s districts of Karur, Dindigul, Thiruppur, and Coimbatore. The basin’s borders have been obtained through Survey of India (SOI) toposheets, and the digital elevation model and maps were generated with ArcGIS 10.2.2 software. Several morphometric approaches were used to determine linear, relief, and area characteristics. The research focuses on measurements of shape and structure, such as stream order (Nu), stream length (Lu), bifurcation ratio (Rb), drainage density (Dd), stream frequency (Fs), texture ratio (T), elongation ratio (Re), circularity ratio (Rc), and form factor (Rf) and so on. The results of the various parameters show the features of the Amaravathi sub-basin. This method is crucial for sustainable water resource management, land use, and scientific assessment of micro-watersheds in data-inadequate areas.