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Calculating Geometry and Drainage Density

Drainage density is calculated as total channel length/ basin area. In order to calculate drainage
density for a basin or sub-basin, you must first ensure that you have the lengths of all channels
within its boundaries (rivers, streams, etc) as well as the area for the entire basin. It is very
important to note that before any calculations are made, the data must be projected and units
must be set. If this is not the case then calculations will yield incorrect results.

Step 1 Adding Fields

In the event that the data you are using does not already contain length or area attribute data,
you are able to easily calculate these figures using ArcGIS. In ArcMap, right-click on the layer
name and select Open Attribute Table. Click the Options button at the bottom-right corner of the
table window and choose Add Field.

Name your field LENGTH and choose Double as the Type. Click OK.

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Step 2 Calculating Geometry

When performing field calculations, it is important that you ensure you are editing the data within
an editing session. To do this you must first have access to the Editor toolbar. If this toolbar is not
present on your screen then click View > Toolbars and check the box next to Editor. The toolbar
will appear on your screen.

To begin an editing session, click the dropdown arrow and select Start Editing. Then, open the
attribute table and right-click on your new LENGTH field. Select Calculate Geometry from the
menu.

In the dropdown box beside Property: select Length. Choose to use either the coordinate system
of the data source or the data frame. In this case the data has been projected to Canada Albers
Equal Area Conic, and the units are set as metres. Click OK. The length of each line segment is
calculated and entered in to the attribute table. Click the Editor dropdown arrow and select Stop
Editing. Click Yes when prompted to save.

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These same steps can be followed to calculate the total area of the basin; add a field to the basin
attribute table called AREA (once again selecting a double data type), start an editing session and
choose to calculate Area rather than Length.

Since you will be calculating drainage density, you will likely want to add a field for the final
results of your calculation as well; follow the steps for Adding fields to add a DENSITY field with
a double data type to your basin attribute table.

Step 3 Using the Field Calculator

When you wish to calculate a variable that is not included as an option under the Calculate
Geometry dialog, you will use the field calculator. In this case, we know that drainage density is
equal to the total length of all channels within the basin divided by the total area of the basin;

Drainage Density = total length channels (m) = m-1


basin area (m2)

By looking at this equation, you can see that you are required to sum the lengths of the channels
that you calculated earlier. It is not necessary to do so manually; instead, open the attribute table
that is associated with your channels, right-click on the LENGTH field and select Statistics. The
resulting dialog provides general statistics for the LENGTH field, including the sum of its values.
Make note of the total sum as it will be used in the next step.

Start an editing session and open the basin attribute table. Right-click on the DENSITY field and
select Field Calculator.

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In the dialog, enter the total channel length. Click the division sign and then double-click the
AREA field in the list so that it is entered into the expression box. The expression should look
something like the one below:

Click OK. The drainage density will be calculated and entered in the basin attribute table. Click
Editor > Stop Editing and Yes when prompted to save.

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