Fluvial Geomorphology Questions and Answers

In geomorphology, drainage pattern and drainage density describe different aspects of a river network. Which statement correctly distinguishes between them?

A drainage density study recorded that a sandstone area receiving 900 mm of annual rainfall had a drainage density of 2.5 km per km2, while a limestone area receiving the same 900 mm of annual rainfall had a much lower drainage density of only 1.5 km per km2. Despite receiving identical rainfall, why does the limestone area have a lower drainage density than the sandstone area?

A river that flows all year round, even during the dry season, because it is fed by groundwater baseflow, is best described as:

Two river basins receive exactly the same annual rainfall, yet one produces a much higher peak discharge after storms than the other. Which basin characteristic best explains this difference?

What term describes river flow that moves in smooth, unmixed parallel layers, typical of very slow, shallow water?

The Masembura 1:50 000 extract shows steep sided hill masses rising to trigonometrical stations at 1315.8 m and 1317.2 m, standing well above a gently undulating plateau surface cut across the same granite. What is the most likely explanation for these hills?

The Masembura extract shows streams rising in wide, flat, marshy headwater depressions on the plateau surface, which are seasonally waterlogged and lie where the water table intersects a low gradient surface. Give the local Zimbabwean name for this landform.

The drainage on the Masembura extract forms a branching, tree-like pattern with tributaries joining at acute angles across the whole sheet. Name this pattern and state what it indicates about the underlying rock.

The Masembura extract shows individual homestead symbols scattered singly across Masembura Communal Land and Msana Communal Land, rather than grouped into villages. What is this settlement type called, and what best explains it?