DETERMINATION OF THE DRAINAGE DENSITY OF RIVER RIYADH BASIN IN AKKO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF GOMBE STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This Study focused on determination of the drainage density of River Riyadh basin in Akko Local Government Area of Gombe State. The drainage morphometric parameters have been determined and measured after using the ASTER DEM (30 m) in ARC GIS 10.1. The result revealed that the basin covers an area of 8.23 square kilometer, the basin’s circumference was determined as 16.61 km and the gradient (0.033). The stream orders obtained from the catchment showed 32, 7, 2, and 1 for 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th orders respectively. The mean bifurcation ratio was determined as 3.36 therefore the basin is not liable to flood risk. The basin axial length is 8.35 km and is shorter than the length (8.58 km) The total length of streams within the basin was 25.510 km and the mean stream length in the basin was 0.607 km. The drainage density of the basin is 3.1 and it implies that the area is highly dissected. This study did not determine the Cross-profile of the river. The study recommended that further studies should be carried out on the Cross-profile of the river. It is also recommended that human activities such as cultivation and constructions should comply with international best practices that minimize geomorphological processes that could aggravate basin dissection