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Drainage analysis is useful in structural interpretation, particularly in areas of low relief.
Analysis includes consideration of drainage patterns, drainage texture, individual stream patterns,
and drainage anomalies.
Drainage patterns generally are subdivided into basic and modified basic. To these might 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
naming of 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 patterns, and the
pattern varieties are analogous to the genera, species, and varieties of the zoological classification.
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 super
imposed patterns, but one is a paleopattern.
Drainage texture depends on a variety of factors. In any one small area where all other factors
are constant, drainage texture may firovide information on underlying materials and indirectly on
structure.
Individual stream patterns may display characteristics similai- to lho.se of the gross drainage
pattern 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 ilalland reciions WIKTI' other methods of
investigation have been unsatisfactory.
Drainage analysis is an important tool in pho- A drainat^e pattrni i< ;hc design formed by the
togeologic interpretation, particularly in area? of aggregate of drainaiieways in an area regardless
low relief. It m a y provide clues to inactive struc- of whether they ,.irc o, cupied by permanent
tural features exposed at the surface, to structur- streams. A strniDi pii/lcn: is the design formed
al features currently rising, and, possibly, to bur- by a single drainageway
ied structural features. T h e density of drainage Both basic and iiKiditied basic drainage pat-
may provide information on permeability and terns have been des.ribed (Zernitz, 1932). In ad-
texture of materials, and may infer the identity dition to these there are drainage varieties. A
of materials. T h e characteristics and significance basic pattern is oiii' whose gross characteristics
of drainage patterns, drainage texture, individual readily distinguish it from other basic patterns. A
stream patterns, and drainage anomalies are con- modified basic pattern iliffer- from the type basic
sidered here. pattern in some regional aspect as, for example,
Techniques involving grid sampling and the use the close spacing o: small piirallel tributaries in
of digital computers eventually may result in the the pinnale-dendriti' ii.ilirii or the preferred or-
applicati(m of numerical values to drainage pat- ientation of long-er iriliularics in the directional-
terns (Merriam and Sneath 1966). I t is too trellis pattern i Fis. .?. 1! :uiii G ) . Drainage vari-
early, however, to speculate on the advantages eties differ from the liasii and modified basic pat-
and disadvantages of this procedure. terns in internal details. \'arieties are legion and
the application of individual names is impractical.
^ Manuscript received, June 25, 1966; accepted, Feb-
ruary i, 1967. In a broad sense, the basii patterns, the modified
"Geology Department, Stanford University, The basic patterns, and the pattern varieties m a y be
writer is indebted to Chester R. Longwell and Stanley likened to the genern, sfii ries and varieties of the
N, Davis for review of the manuscript, but only he is zoological rlassificat ion
responsible for its content.
2246
DRAINAGE ANALYSIS IN GEOLOGIC INTERPRETATION 2247
FIG. 1.Basic drainage patterns. Each pattern occurs in a wide range of scales. Examples shown may be
regarded as types. Dendritic pattern resembles spreading branches of oak or cheslnul 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.
DRAINA(}E ANALYSIS I N GEOLOGIC I N T E R P R E T A T I O N 2249
Annular^ Structural domes and basins, dia- Longer tributaries to annular sub-
tremes, and possibly stocks. sequent streams generally indicate
direction of dip and permit distinc-
tion between dome and basin.
Multibasinal' Hummocky surficial deposits; differ- Glacially Disturbed Glacial erosion a n d / o r deposition.
entiaDy scoured or deflated bedrock;
areas of recent volcanism, limestone Karst Limestone.
solution, and permafrost. This de-
scriptive term is suggested for all Thermokarst^^ Permafrost.
multiple-depression patterns whose
exact origins are unknown. Elongate Bay^s Coastal plains and deltas.
Con tor ted 8 Contorted, coarsely layered meta- T h e longer tributaries to curved
morphic rocks. Dikes, veins, and mig- subsequent streams generally indi-
matized bands provide the resistant cate dip of metamorphic layers and
layers in some areas. Pattern differs permit distinction between plunging
from recurved trellis (Fig. 2, H) in anticlines and syncHnes.
lack of regional orderliness, disconti-
nuity of ridges and valleys, and gener-
ally smaller scale.
1 Described by D u t t o n (1882, p. 6, 62, 63) and applied as a drainage term at least as early as 1898 (Russell, p. 204). Classified as a basic
pattern by Zernitz (1932, p. 499).
^Zernitz (1932, p . 510).
3 Willis (1895, p. 186).
* First used in modern sense by Zernitz (1932, p . 503), but the pattern was recognized much earlier (Daubree, 1879, p . 357-375; Kemj),
1894, p . 438-440; Hobbs, 1904, pi. 47).
6 Radial drainage is described and illustrated in Jaggar (1901, p . 174, pi. X V I I I ) and is referred to by Dake and Brown (1925, p . 134).
6 Jaggar (1901, p. 277) refers to anniJar draniage, but Zernitz (1932, p. 507) may have been the first to apply the name to the drainage
pattern.
^ The descriptive term "multibasinal" is used here as a substitute for genetic terms such as "kettlehole" and "sinkhole" which have
been applied to patterns characterized by numerous depressions. T h e term "poly basin" (Parvis, 1950, p . 57) would have been appropriate
had it not been restricted 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).
s Zernitz (1932, p . 512).
^'^ Described as a pattern by Zernitz (1932, p. 514). T h e descriptive adjective "anastomosing," however, had been used long prior to 1932.
Johnson (1932, p . 497) restricted the term "braided" to the interlacings of an individual stream.
^1 Parvis (1950, p . 41) attributed the term "dichotomic" to Finch and Trewartha (1942). The writer was unable to locate the term in the
1942 reference or in the first edition of their Elements of Geography, b u t m a y 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.
^2 Zernitz (1932, p . 5181.
13 Zernitz (1932, p . 519).
1* Dake and Brown (1925, p . 191).
15 Zernitz (1932, p . 517).
16 Davis (1889. p. 249),
1" Muller (1943), p . SO.
18 Parvis (1950), p. 43.
2250 ARTHUR DAVID HOWARD
FIG. 2.^Modified basic patterns. Each pattern occurs in u v\ifle ran^e <if scales.
and parallelism of the dominant drainage. The Directional trellis.This term is suggested for
distinction between subtrellis and subparallel is a modification of the irellis pattern in which the
commonly a matter of judgment. tributaries to the long subsequent streams are
D R A I N A G E ANALYSIS I N G E O L O G I C INTERI'Kl/rA'nON 22>\
consistently longer on one side of the valley than clearly indicate one rectangular system with ele-
on the other (Fig. 2, G ) . T h e pattern most com- ments oriented approximately north-south and
monly is found in areas of gently dipping homo- east-west, and another system oriented northeast-
clinal beds, but also occurs on gentle slopes with southwest and northwest-southeast.
parallel beach ridges. A remarkable cxanipU- of joint control is pres-
Recurved trellis.This is a modification of the ent in French Cuiana, where several sets of more
trellis pattern in which the pattern as a whole or less equally s|)acid joints impart a geometric
forms sweeping curves around the noses of plung- pattern to both the drainage and topography. The
ing folds (Fig. 2, H ) . It is more orderly and sys- pattern has been referred to as "honeycomb" by
tematic, and generally larger in scale, than the Zonneveld el al \')^!. ]), I S3). Another geomet-
contorted pattern in metamorphic terrain. Com- ric pattern, on a much jmaller scale, is found in
parison of the lengths of small tributaries on op- permafrost areas where in.- wedges thaw around
posite sides of the curved subsequent <lreams, the margins of soil polygons. This pattern is best
particularly at the noses of the folds, commonly described as polyconal
permits distinction between plunging anticlines
and synclines; the direction of flow of the longer Radial Pattern .Modifications
tributaries generally indicates the direction of Centripetal.This pattern (Davis, 1889, p.
dip. 249) is a modification of the radial pattern in
Fault trellis.This pattern has been attributed which the streams flow inward toward a closed or
by Dake and Brown (I92S, p. 191) to "alternat- nearly closed central dejircssion (Fig. 3, D ) . The
ing grabens and horsts or a succession of parallel pattern commonK' i> .issoi iated with caters, cal-
rifts." It is described as less closely spaced than deras, and a wide \'arirty nf depressions. In some
the trellis pattern on tilted or folded strata, with areas, suth as the jian belt'' of the Union of
a tendency toward dendritic drainage between the South Africa (King, \'i?\. p. 91 ), there is a com-
faults. Right-angle turns are also less common. In plex of centripetal pat I e m s T h e regional pattern
the San Mateo quadrangle, just south of San might be icferir'il m ;L^ multicentripetal.
Francisco, California, the fault-controlled
streams, although grossly parallel, locally diverge, Multibasinal Pattern Modifications
converge, and branch, and the broader inier- T h e multibasinal pattern occurs principally in
stream segments show dendritic, radial, or other areas of glacial erosion and deposition, eolian ero-
drainage patterns (Fig. 3, A ) . sion and deposition, solution, and permafrost. It
Joint trellis.A second fracture trellis pattern, also is found, however, in regions of recent vol-
characterized by short, remarkably straight paral- canic activity and in landslide areas. There are
lel streams, m a y be referred to as joint trellis, many modifications of the pattern, even within
although the fractures may include faults. A good individual regions. Thus in glaciated areas, the
example is found in the Zion Park region of Utah majority of the depressions may be small or
(Fig. 3 , B ) . large, closely spaced oi widely scattered, and the
Both of the fracture trellis patterns differ from drainage may display \arii.-d amounts of integra-
the rectangular pattern in having one dominant tion. In sandy areas, the depressions may display
set of parallel streams. great diversity in shajic MIKI size in accordance
with the characteristics of ihe dunes within which
Rectangular Pattern Modifications they occur, and ina\' aUo display a certain
Angulate.This pattern (Zernitz, 1932, p. 517) amount of integrated drainage. The pattern may
is characterized by numerous acute-angle then closely resemble the drainage pattern in mo-
bends and barbed tributaries. It is generally rainal area.s.
found in areas where an additional set (or sets) In volcanic areas, the depressions may include
of fractures is superimposed on a rectangular set. craters and caldera>, lava-dammed valleys,
There may be two superimposed rectangular sys- interflow basins, or collapsed lava caves or tun-
tems of different orientation. Figure 3C is a nels. In many lava fields, depressions large
generalized portrayal of the drainage of part of enough to be shown on topographic maps are less
the Yellowstone plateau. T h e drainage alignments profuse than in morainal or sand areas.
2252 A R T H U R DAVID HOWARD
FIG. ,?.Modified basic patterns (A-D); complex, compound, and |)alini|)sesl patternj (E-H).
Each pattern oi-curs in a wide range of scales.
DRAINAGE ANALYSIS IN GEOLOGIC INTERPRETATION 2253
In landslide areas, depressions are found either ing areas. Parvis (f9S0, p. 43) suggested the
behind rotated slump blocks, within chaotically term "anomalous" for complex patterns found in
jumbled landslide debris, or where drainage has areas of differing topography and materials. The
been blocked. This multibasinal pattern is usually terms "complex" and "anomalous" have thus
of small regional extent. been applied to situations that are in part similar
The multibasinal pattern i.s rarely diagnostic in and in part dissimilar. Inasmuch as the term
itself of either process or material; patterns "complex" has priority, it should be retained but
formed by different processes may be remarkably perhaps with its scope enlarged to include all pat-
alike. A pitted outwash area in Minnesota illus- terns representing an aggregate of adjoining dis-
trated by Cooper (r93S, Fig. 4, p. 10) is remark- similar patterns due to structure, materials, and/
ably similar to the solution-pan landscape of parts or differences in topography. In Figure 3, E, the
of Florida. Multibasinal patterns in areas of contrasted patterns are due to differences in
moraine, sand dunes, limestone, recent lava flows, structural features. An example of drainage
landslides, and permafrost may resemble each differences caused by differences in topography
other at least superficially. Conclusions reached on identical materials is the multibasinal drainage
as to process or type of materials based on pat- of moraine versus the subparallel drainage of
tern alone could be in error. Nevertheless, several drumlin topography.
genetic terms have been suggested for varieties of The term "compound" was applied by D. W.
the multibasinal pattern: glacially disturbed, de- Johnson (personal commun., 1931) to drainage
ranged, kettle hole, swallow hole, karst, and consisting of two or more contemporaneous pat-
others. If there is doubt as to genesis, the pattern terns in the same area, as, for example, the com-
is best referred to simply as multibasinal. If, on bination of radial and annular patterns character-
the other hand, the pattern includes features that istic of many domes (Fig. 3, F). Dendritic and
leave no doubt as to process or material, there multibasinal patterns commonly are combined in
may be justification for using one of the estab- areas where streams have cut youthful valleys
lished genetic terms. Thus, a multibasinal pattern into a relatively insoluble formation below a solu-
with (f) depressions ranging from tiny steep- tion-pitted limestone formation. The depressions
sided pits, many of which are circular, to large, are restricted to the limestone-capped divides be-
deep, irregular valley-1'ke basins, (2) some de- tween the streams. A somewhat similar combina-
pressions ahgned rectinearly, and (3) scattered tion of patterns results from partial integration
disappearing and/or reappearing streams, may of drainage in morainal areas.
perhaps be referred to as a swallow-hole or karst The writer encountered an interesting drainage
pattern. Or, a multibasinal pattern associated pattern which he has called palimpsest (Howard,
with evidence of thawing permafrost, such as po- 1962, p. 2255). In the palimpsest pattern, an
lygonal ground and beaded drainage, might be re- older, abandoned drainage or stream pattern
ferred to as fhermokarst (Muller, 1943, p. SO). forms the background for the present pattern.
Parvis (1950, p. 43) suggested the name "elon- The example (Fig. 3, G) is in the western coastal
gate bay" for a multibasinal pattern in which the plain of Taiwan. At the site of the anomaly, the
depressions are large, elliptical, and parallel. The present drainage pattern is radial. Faintly visible
pattern is found in some coastal-plain and delta through the rice paddies is a meandering channel
areas and has been variously attributed to meteo- whose presence is indicated primarily by the
rite impact, solution, segmentation of lagoons at somewhat smaller size of the paddies within its
higher stands of the sea, and to thaw of formerly confines. The meandering channel crosses the
frozen ground. The value of the purely descrip- present low topographic bulge toward its crest.
tive term "elongate bay" for this pattern is obvi- Clearly, the topographic high was not present
ous. when the meandering stream crossed the area.
The meandering stream apparently was deflected
COMPLEX, COMPOUND, AND PALIMPSEST PATTERNS by the growing arch on which the present radial
Zernitz (1932, p. 521) proposed the term drainage came into existence. The situation sug-
"complex" for an aggregate of dissimilar patterns gests either active deformation within the coastal
reflecting different structural controls in adjoin- plain, not an unlikely possibility considering the
2254 ARTHUR DAVID HOWARD
instability of the island of Taiwan as a whole, or deflection of .-streams around bodies of relatively
differential settling over a buried topographic unfractured or otherwise resistant rock.
high, or both. Any drainage pattern that includes Comparable varielie> a r t found in each of the
traces of an older, unlike pattern may be re- other basic and modified basic patterns. A de-
ferred to as palimpsest. Remnants of original tailed treatment ol ihe>c i.^ beyond the scope of
stream courses are common in many areas of gla- this report. T h e irnportani point is ihal careful
cial and eolian activity, multiple piracy, and re- study of local departure^ from the regional pal-
cent warping and faulting. Figure 3H illustrates terns may reveal unsuspected information of con-
in generalized fashion the relation of the Mis- siderable value. The anal>'sis of drainage varieties
souri River (or the Ohio River) to aliandoned and of the related draiiuige anomalies discussed
preglacial valleys. below presenis w. iiniiiuc challenge to the geolo-
gist .
PATTERN VARIETIES
ture and size of fragments released by weather- Vegetation, with its absorbent root mat and
ing; (3) infiltration capacity; (4) topography; underlying soil, retards runoff and reduces
and (S) stage and number of erosion cycles. In development of rills. Thus, the texture of drain-
any one small area of study, the climatic factors, age in humid climates is generally coarser than in
the topography, and the stage and number of ero- arid climates, and the texture is coarser on heav-
sion cycles may be reasonably constant, so that ily vegetated slopes than on barren slopes.
the variations in te.xture will reflect differences in Some gravel deposits display a medium or even
rock characteristics and infiltration capacity. fine texture of drainage. Such gravels may have a
In unconsolidated sediments, the drainage tex- high content of "fines"materially reducing the
ture is related directly to grain size. On similar permeabilityor may be exposed on steep slopes,
declivities, small rills can easily move particles of such as terrace scarps or steep dip slopes where
clay and silt and develop myriad small channels, the velocity of flow is rapid enough to insure
whereas larger streams, that is, the accumulations considerable runoff.
from larger watersheds, are required to move sand Drainage texture may vary within the confines
and gravel. Hence the channels are more widely of a single drainage pattern depending on the na-
spaced. As Schumm reported (1956, p. 607), a ture of the rocks exposed. Theoretically, the
certain minimum drainage area is required to cross-country trend of the boundary between tex-
maintain a stream channel in an area of uniform tural zones should assist in correlation of rock
lithology and simple structure. He expressed this units from one drainage basin to another.
quantitatively as a constant of channel mainte-
nance, which is actually an expression of texture. STREAM PATTERNS
The reader is referred to Schumm's paper for
The names apphed to stream patterns are self-
further discussion of this relationship.
explanatory, and most of the patterns are so well
In areas of hard rock, the size of the frag- known that further explanation is not required.
ments provided for transport is the decisive fac- However, a few comments seem pertinent.
tor. The removal of large blocks ordinarily re- Some individual stream patterns show the
quires larger streams than does the removal of characteristics of the overall drainage pattern and
small fragments, if there are no strong contrasts are referred to by the same names (Johnson,
in stream gradients. Texture of drainage in gran- 1932). Thus, a stream showing right-angle bends
ite areas, for example, may range from fine in may be referred to as rectangular; one with acute
closely fractured zones to coarse where the frac- angle bends, as angulate; and one with tight hair-
tures are more widely spaced. On very gentle pin turns, as contorted. The geologic implications
slopes in humid climates, deep weathering may of these stream patterns are the same as for the
result in a fine-textured soil regardless of the rock corresponding drainage patterns.
type below. The fine-textured debris, however,
Other distinctive stream patterns are: the ir-
generally influences the texture only of that part
regular pattern characterized by a more or less
of the drainage system that has not eroded
random course and suggesting an absence of
through the surficial mantle.
structural or topographic control; the rectilinear
Infiltration capacity, the rate at which water pattern, with abnormally long straight reaches,
soaks into the ground, depends to a large degree generally indicating fracture control; the mean-
on permeability. Deposits of sand and gravel, as dering pattern, indicating competency on the part
well as permeable rocks including those in which of the stream to transport available bed load
the permeability is the result of fractures, readily (Leopold and Wolman, 1957, p. 39); and the
absorb precipitation. Therefore, they have few braided pattern, indicating an inability to handle
surface streams and display a coarse drainage bed load.^ Alternate meandering and braided
texture. The pattern may be finer on steep slopes, reaches, therefore, suggest local differences in the
however, where velocity of flow results in re- texture of the materials being supplied to the
duced infiltration and greater surface runoff. stream and may indicate alternate exposures of
Clay, with a low infiltration capacity, has a large
surface runoff and a dense network of surface
* Detailed discussions of floodplain stream patterns
drainage. appear in Melton (1936) and Russell (1939).
2256 ARTHUR DAVID HOWARD
unlike materials. Misfit meandering streams, in orientation and are irregularly distributed along
which the dimensions of the meanders do not the present valley.
agree with those of meander scars or of flood-
plain scrolls, suggest geologic or climatic change. DRAINAGE ANOMALIES
The sickle pattern displays some arcuate curves Anomalies in drainage patterns and in the pat-
and is most common in areas of plutonic rocks terns of individual streams have been the subject
and migmatites. The barbed pattern indicates ei- of discussion in recent years. They are of partic-
ther piracy or the presence of joints, faults, or ular importance in the flatlands. The analysis of
layers of weak rock trending obliquely across the drainage may provide clues to structural features
path of the stream. The term "beaded" has been undetectable by other methods.
applied to streams in the subarctic along which A drainage anomaly can be defined as a local
small thaw sinks are present at irregular inter- deviation from the regional drainage and/or
vals. Successions of beaver dams give a stream pattern which elsewhere accords with the
superficially similar pattern, as do, on a larger known regional structure and/or topography.
scale, strings of glacial lakes. The expectable pattern is regarded as the norm
The writer has named a new pattern, spatulate, (DeBlieux, 1949, p. 1253-1254), and the devia-
which could be included under beaded, but which tions are anomalies. An alternation of broad val-
he believes is distinctive enough to warrant a sep- ley segments and narrow defiles along transverse
arate designation. In essence, it consists of alter- streams in areas in which the structure is known
nate broad valley segments and narrow defiles. to consist of folded weak and resistant rock is
The pattern is displayed by some of the valleys, herein regarded as normal, as are sicklelike
such as the Aragva, that drain south from the curves in granite areas. However, in many other
Caucasus in southern Russia. The Aragva and its geologic environments these phenomena are
sister streams pass intermittently through resis- anomalous. Anomalies suggest structural or topo-
tant and weak Cretaceous sedimentary rocks graphic deviations from the regional plan. Many
(Renngarten, 1937, p. 104). The streams are re- composite patterns, for example, involve a small
stricted to defiles where the more resistant car- enclave of one pattern within another, rather
bonate rocks of the Upper Cretaceous are than two adjacent patterns of equal magnitude.
brought down to river level in the troughs of An illustration is the local occurrence of radial
synclines, but they meander in broad open reaches and annular drainage within a regional dendritic
in the weaker, sandy-argillaceous Lower Creta- pattern (Fig. 4, A). Many pattern modifications
ceous sediments of the anticlinal cores. The and varieties also involve anomalies as, for exam-
defiles and open reaches range in length from O.S ple, local parallelism of streams in a dendritic
to 2 mi or more. The pattern is quite regular in pattern (Fig. 4, B). Many anomalies are localized
these open folds, with the broad, elongate seg- along individual streams. Some of these are listed
ments occurring at uniform intervals along the below.
valley. Rectilinearity.Long, rectilinear segments of
Other spatulate patterns may have no structur- streams, particularly if aligned across divides
al significance. The spatulate pattern displayed by with rectilinear segments of other streams, con-
the Missouri River in eastern Montana and west- stitute an anomaly if the regional pattern is other
ern North Dakota is glacial in origin (Howard, than rectangular, angulate, or fault-trellis. A frac-
1958). The Missouri trench is locally 1 mi or less ture, or an easily erodable vein or dike is indi-
in width; in intervening areas its width may ex- cated. In Figure 4C the arrow indicates a recti-
ceed 4 mi. The narrow segments represent ice- linear stream.
marginal paths cut across former divides, Abrupt and localized appearance of meanders.
whereas the broad elongate segments represent DeBlieux (1949, p. 1259) has described an inter-
parts of preglacial valleys. The pattern is irregu- esting stream anomaly at the Lafitte oil field in
lar in that the broad segments inherit their Jefferson Parish, about IS mi south of New
trends from an ancestral drainage whose trends Orleans (Fig. 4, D). The channel of an aban-
were opposed to the trend of the ice front. Thus doned Mississippi River distributary is relatively
the broad segments are considerably varied in straight and simple for several miles upstream
DRAINAGE ANALYSIS IN (iEOLOGIC INTERPRKTA'l'ION 2257
s-r^v / mile
Abandoned
Mississippi
distributary Abandoned* * > \\ \
e.ees W I K \ \ \
I'
m Scherr
J. Variation in levee width L. Anomalous :;urves and
turns -
2 miles
/ Schematic
FIG. 4.Examples of drainage anomalies. A. E, C, G--Amazon basin; E Kent County, Te-icas, after
DeBlieux and Shepherd, IP.'il; D, F, JLouisiana, after DeBlieu.x, 1Q45: K bouisiana. generalized after
DeBlieux, 1940; IEast Africa, after Holmes, 106,=^; H, L generalized exumpU-
and downstream from the Lafitte salt dome. At No explanation of ihc anomaly is offered. Mc-
the dome, however, two meanderlike curves are Kenzie Creek, a tributary from the south, dis-
present. This interruption of the normal pattern plays an anomalous (ur\e apparently influenced
may be related to a subtle upstream reduction in by the dome.
stream gradient caused by the appearaiu:e of the Abrupt and localized braiding.DeBlieux
dome along its path. (1949, p. 1'2S9) reported the abrupt and local ap-
Compressed meanders.DeBlieux and Shep- pearance of braiding at Scully salt dome in aban-
herd (1951, p. 98) described a stream pattern doned distributaries of Bayou Lafourche about 30
in which several meanders of an otherwise nor- mi southwe.'^l of New Orleans Fig. 4. F). Braiding
mal and continuous series are squeezed, com- generally indicates inal)ilit\- of a stream to trans-
pressed, and incised (Fig. 4, E). The anomaly, port its bed load (Leopold and Wolman, 1957, p.
along the Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos 50). Inability may resull from local acquisition
River in Kent County, Texas, is at the site of a of a coarser load than the .stream is competent to
subsequently demonstrated structural anomaly. handle, loss of volume ilue to locally increased
2258 ARTHUR DAVID HOWARD
underflow, loss of velocity caused by flattening of along the Mississippi River are narrower in some
the gradient (perhaps by a rising structure), or places than others. He suggested that subsidence
some other geologic or hydrologic factor. De- of the levees at these places permitted encroach-
Blieux attributed the braiding to flattening of the ment by the neighboring swamp or marsh result-
gradient. The presence of similar anomalies in ing in the reduced levee width.
neighboring streams may permit regional delinea- It is recognized generally that subsidence in the
tion of the area or zone of anomalous behavior Mississippi delta is differential, being retarded
and allow a more informed consideration of over the sites of buried structural features. Thus,
cause. Correlation of meandering and braided levees are generally broader where they cross
reaches in adjacent streams conceivably might such structural features than they are up- or
permit the delineation of formational boundaries. downstream. This is true of the levees of the
The same may be indicated by more subtle varia- abandoned Bayou Lafourche (Fig. 4, J) where it
tions in stream patterns (Tator, 1954, p. 414), crosses the Valentine dome about 30 mi south-
such as zonal variations in drainage density with- west of New Orleans in Lafourche Parish (De-
in the drainage pattern. Blieux, 1949, p. 12S3). DeBheux recognized that
Anomalous pinching or faring of valleys or levee broadening may be caused by factors other
channels.Local widening or narrowing of val- than subsidence, such as crevassing, bifurcation,
leys or channels, not a repetitive feature of the and coalescence, but believed that these causes
regional drainage pattern, may indicate local are readily recognizable.
structure. A shallow upwarp, for example, might Flying levees.In many parts of the Missis-
bring slightly weaker or more resistant materials sippi delta, former channels have subsided below
to stream level, thereby influencing the rate of marsh level and only small fragments are
valley widening; or upwarping might result in in- preserved, perhaps because they are on buried
cision of the stream, the valley being broader up- structural features (Fig. 4, K). Because these
stream and downstream (Fig. 4, G and H). levee remnants are completely isolated, the
Anomalous ponds, marshes, or alluvial fills. expression "flying levee" is herein proposed. De-
The presence of an isolated pond, marsh, or allu- Blieux (1949, p. 1253) cited the levee remnants
vial fill along the path of a mature stream where at Four Isle dome, about 70 mi southwest of
landslides or other surficial causes can be exclud- New Orleans in Terrebonne Parish, as an exam-
ed, may indicate damming by subsidence or by ple. Here, the flying levees are more than 3 mi
uplift directly downstream. Some streams have downstream from the present terminus of Bayou
been able to maintain their courses across rising Grand Caillou.
obstructions; other streams have been diverted. Anomalous curves and turns.^An anomalous
Excellent examples of anomalous ponding are curve or turn is one that is abnormal within the
provided by Lakes Victoria and Kioga in East drainage pattern in which it occurs. The varieties
Africa (Fig. 4, I). The lake basins originally are legion, being most common in the flatlands
drained westward by way of the streams labeled (Fig. 4, L). For example, a domal upwarp across
A and B in the figure. Relative subsidence of the the path of a stream may gently "shoulder" the
central area contemporaneous with creation of stream aside, forcing it to follow a curved, com-
the western and eastern rift valleys resulted in monly semicircular path around the structural
drowning of the lake basins and reversal of the feature. Barbed junctions similar to those result-
direction of flow of the outlet streams, many of ing from piracy may be formed where tributaries
whose tributaries are barbed and locally drowned. to one stream are blocked by an upwarp and are
Blocking of the western outlets diverted the wa- deflected sharply into neighboring drainage. If a
ters of newly created Lake Victoria northward to domal upwarp takes place between parallel
Lake Kioga and thence northwestward around the streams, both streams may be deflected, resulting
northern end of the western rift valley. Although in a peculiar "blowlegged" pattern. A stream
these drainage modifications are on a grand scale, crossing an active strike-slip fault may be offset
similar phenomena may occur at all scales. laterally and display sharp right-angle turns where
Anomalous breadth of levees.Russell (1939, it enters and leaves the rift. Faults may lead to
p. 1212) noted that leaves of abandoned channels anomalous lengthening and flattening of a curve.
D R A I N A G E ANALYSIS I N GEOLOGIC I N T E R P R E T A T I O N 2259