DENDRITIC DRAINAGE PATTERN

dendritic drainage pattern: translation

   A drainage pattern in which the streams branch randomly in all directions and at almost any angle, resembling in plan the branching habit of certain trees. It is produced where a consequent stream receives several tributaries which in turn are fed by smaller tributaries. It is an indicative of insequent streams flowing across horizontal and homogeneous strata or complex crystalline rocks offering uniform resistance to erosion. This pattern may form on top of the land surface or below the land surface in karst aquifers with anastomoses forming the smaller tributaries.