In a morphometric survey of a river basin using Strahler's stream ordering system, a geogr… — JAMB UTME

In a morphometric survey of a river basin using Strahler's stream ordering system, a geographer records $24$ first-order stream segments, $6$ second-order stream segments, $2$ third-order stream segments, and $1$ fourth-order main stream channel. What is the bifurcation ratio ( $R_b$ ) between the first-order and second-order stream segments?

$4.0$ Answer
B
$0.25$
C
$3.0$
D
$18.0$

Answer

The bifurcation ratio between the first-order and second-order streams is

4.0

The bifurcation ratio (

R_b

) measures the degree of branching within a drainage basin and is computed by dividing the number of stream segments of a given order (

N_1 = 24

) by the number of stream segments of the next higher order (

N_2 = 6

). Dividing

24

6

gives an exact ratio of

4.0

Step-by-Step Solution

Identify the given stream segment counts for the relevant orders

First-order stream count (

N_1

) =

24

; Second-order stream count (

N_2

) =

6

Bifurcation ratio calculation requires segment count data for adjacent stream orders.

Apply Strahler's bifurcation ratio formula

R_b = \frac{N_u}{N_{u+1}} = \frac{N_1}{N_2} = \frac{24}{6} = 4.0

The bifurcation ratio (

R_b

) is defined as the number of stream segments of a given order (

N_u

) divided by the number of stream segments of the next higher order (

N_{u+1}

Key Concept

Bifurcation Ratio in Basin Morphometry

Estimated Time:1m 0s

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