Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Progress in the application of landform analysis in studies of semiarid erosion

January 1, 1961

The analysis of topographic and hydrologic data gathered during studies of erosion in semiarid areas of Western United States show the following relation: (a) Mean annual sediment yield from small drainage basins is related to a ratio of basin relief to length; (b) mean annual runoff from small drainage basins is related to drainage density; (c) mean annual sediment yield per unit area decreases with increase in drainage area; (d) the form of some convex hill slopes is related to surficial creep; (e) asymmetry of drainage basins, including differences in hill-slope erosion and drainage density, is related to microclimatic variations on slopes of diverse exposure; .(f) the cutting of discontinuous gullies is closely related to steepening by deposition of the semiarid valley floor; (g) aggradation in ephemeral streams seems to be most prevalent in reaches where the ratio of contributing drainage area to channel length is relatively small; and (h) streamchannel shape, expressed as a width-depth ratio, is related to the percentage of silt-clay in bed and bank alluvium. The above relations cannot be detected without measurement of terrain characteristics. They further indicate the importance of quantitative terrain analysis in studies of erosion.

Publication Year 1961
Title Progress in the application of landform analysis in studies of semiarid erosion
DOI 10.3133/cir437
Authors Stanley Alfred Schumm, R.F. Hadley
Publication Type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Series Title Circular
Series Number 437
Index ID cir437
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse