A synergistic approach to morphotectonic evolution for watershed management in the Bearma River Basin, Central India

Environmental catastrophes on a global scale have prompted a thorough evaluation of river morphology for sustainable basin development methods. Geomorphological investigations of river basins can provide significant information regarding Quaternary tectonic deformations. The present investigation intends to reveal tectonic imprints in the Bearma River Basin (BRB). Bearma is a significant river in central India that flows through Vindhyan Supergroup, Lameta, and Deccan Trap and contributes to developing the architecture of the marginal Gangetic plain. The digital elevation data has been utilized to obtain the morphotectonic indices, tectonic activity classes, and topographic characteristics. Bearma is an elongated basin with uplifted topography, continuously migrating channels, high hypsometric integral, and several stream length-gradient anomalies, indicating tectonically controlled. According to the tectonic activity index, 15.33%, 38.99%, and 46.55% areas of the BRB have high, moderate, or low tectonic activity, respectively. In conjunction with field investigations, the topographic and lineament study of the BRB has revealed significant relief variations and the importance of tectonic activity over erosion and depositional processes in determining the landscape. Reactivation of basement faults and subsurface lineaments caused by Himalayan tectonics and the Narmada Son North Fault have resulted in the recent deformation and development of the hydrographic network.