Evaluating morphometric parameters of Haro River drainage basin in Northern Pakistan

We evaluated morphometric parameters of the Haro River drainage network to determine flooding potential in the river basin. The drainage network is derived from topographic maps while using shuttle radar topography mission digital elevation model (SRTM-DEM) and geographic information systems (GIS). A total of 2917 streams (dendritic to semi-dendritic) are recognized, among which 1,536 are identified as first-order streams, followed by 731 as second order, 360 as third order, 173 as fourth order, 78 as fifth order, and 39 as sixth order. Linear and areal morphometric parameters revealed lower values for form factor (0.25), stream frequency (0.99), and drainage density (0.84 km/ sq.km), which suggest that the basin is being elongated with permeable strata; whereas lower values of mean bifurcation ratio (2.0) and relief ratio (20.68) indicate less potential for flooding in the main river channel. Understanding drainage morphometry could bring better hydrological solutions for similar studies.