Study of Substrate and Physico-Chemical Base Classification of the Rivers of Nepal

The rivers in Nepal are classified in terms of geographical regions but a more scientific classification such as on the basis of morphology is clearly lacking. This study was done in 9 rivers namely Jhikhukhola of the Koshi system, Aandhikhola, Arungkhola, East Rapti, Karrakhola, Seti and main channel Narayani of the Gandaki system, and two independent systems within Nepal, Bagmati and Tinau. Among the morphologies, river bed or the substratum was taken as the main variable for the analysis which was categorized into 7 types as rocks, boulders, cobbles, pebbles, gravels, sand and silt. There were 23 sampling sites each with 2 stretches of around 100m in those rivers. The data were taken as a percentage, and to avoid biases it was observed visually by the same person for a complete year in every season. With 23 sites each with 2 stretches and 4 replicates corresponding to 4 seasons, there are altogether 184 observations, each termed as a case, that constitute this work. Canonical Discrimination Analysis (CDA) which is most suitable when the data pool is huge was applied to see if the rivers studied distinguish themselves in terms of its morphology. The result was remarkably successful and was close to the established regional classification of the rivers. This kind of river classification has great application in the utilization, conservation and restoration of the most important natural resource of the country.