Dendritic Drainage Patterns

08/25/25

“What is the most common type of drainage pattern?”

Close your eyes and visualize a drainage pattern. You’ll probably think of a river with a power center, with smaller branches periodically coming out, and even smaller branches coming out of those, analogous to a tree trunk with branches and leaves on those branches. Have you ever wondered what exactly makes it this way? Well, this happens because as water flows downhill due to gravity, it will seek the lowest path downward. If the geology is fairly uniform and there are no major faults, the main flow direction will form the main river branch, while other headwaters will naturally flow into it. This will form the Dendritic Drainage Patterns that we all know. Dendritic drainage patterns are the most common form of drainage patterns in the world.

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