Pakistan Geographical Review

Volume

24

January,

1969

Number

ALLUVIAL MORPHOLOGY OF THE LOWER INDUS PLAIN

AND ITS RELATION TO LAND USE
M.

M.

MEMON

THE ORIGIN OF THE PLAIN

OR an elaborate
necessary

study of the morphological

to know about

the nature

features of the Lower Indus Plain it is

of its origin and the processes

involved

in

its development.
In the sub-continent
of Pakistan and India, a vast geosyncline
or
trough lies between the mighty Himalayas in the north and the plateau of Peninsular
India

in the

south.

of the bordering
high

The

ranges.

crust-waves

origin

Eduard

of this depression

is intimately

connected

Suess believes that it is a "fore-deep"

of the Himalayas

as they were checked

with that

in front of the

in their southward

advance

by the Archean
land-mass
of Peninsular
India.
Based on this view the depression
is synclinal in nature.
According to Sir. S. Burrard it occupies a deep "rift valley",
a portion
between
crack

of the
parallel

15,000

associated

earth's

miles

long

almost

in a huge

crack or fissure in the sub-crust,

several

thousand

The

feet

formation

of the great

deep was according

to his view

and

According

of the mighty

older

Tertiary

are more consolidated

presence

geologists

picture

the

conversion

depression

level plains by a simple process of alluviation

deposits

Siwalik

and

and other

pace with subsidence.

alluvial

sunk

or faults on its two sides.

with the rise of the Himalayas.

D. N. Wadia!
to

surface

dislocations

of which

borings

l.

reveal

that

Gravity,
the

to Wadia underlying

rivers of the
sediments

older formations,
is indicated
magnetic

depth

in which the deposition

the Pleistocene

Indo-Gangetic

is variable,

and below these

and

Cretaceous,

the

of the seismic wave as well as by

and seismic explorations,

of alluvium

piedmont

Gondwanas

by good reflections

kept

and sub-Recent

system are unconsolidated

of the Himalayan
such as the

of the

that have

from

been

made

so far

less than 1,000 to over 2,000

metres".
lD.N. Wadia : Geology of India
2lbid. p. 389.
#<

MR.

MEMON

of Sind, Hyderabad.

is Professor

(London:

1909), p. 284.

and Head of the Department

of Geography,

University

PAKISTAN

GEOGRAPHICAL

It will not be out of place to mention

JANUARY

REVIEW

here the views of Al-Beruni

the

"Master

Aliboron"
of the medieval west, which he expressed with regard to the origin of the
plain as early as 1030 A. D. He states, "But if you have seen the soil of India with
your own eyes and meditate on its nature, if you consider the rounded stones found
in the earth

however

where

rivers

the

distance
are

have

pulverised
and

that India

the

sea-if

western
the

Kashmir.

section
old

of

these

alluvium

ridge is traceable
two

near
are

flow

the

sub-terranean

of smaller
slowly,

begin

to

and

size at great
stones

stagnate

that
their

you could scarcely help thinking

fi\led

up

by the

alluvium

of the Indus
by about

of older

of the

mass

of sediments,

The

which

extends

deposited
ridge.

and has

across

it into

by the rivers.

Under-

known

as Delhi

Shahpur

to the Salt Range which divides the plain

existence

of this

ridge has been supported

by

anamolies.

fluviatile

On the basis of geodetic

thickness

mountains

plain is called the Indus Plain,

a sub-terranean

basins.

or gravity

trough

bank

pliocene).

the

more

streams

a\l this,

extensive

thickness

deposits

floor is covered

shelving

that

streams

pre-cambrian

from Delhi northwestwards

evidence

The

this

peninsular

On it lie the great

archean

you consider

huge

3."

The

into

stones

and where the

in the shape of sand and where

near

its base

geodetic

current,

are

has once been a sea which by degrees has been

of the streams

neath

a violent

from the mountains,

mouths

for

deeply you dig, stones that

alluvium

from

Plain

is regarded

15,000

feet

sediments
data,

to be of a fairly .great depth.

of sub-Recent
of the Siwalik

Oldham

and Murree

in 1917,

15,000 to 20,000

feet+.

alluvium
postulated

However,

Its

overlying
epoch (Miothe maximum

gravity

surveys

conducted recently have led E.A. Glennie to suggest a much lesser depth aggregating
only 6,:'00 feets. The whole thickness of the alluvial depths constitutes one continuous
conformable

series whose accumulation

The geophysical
Burmah

Oil Company

work carried
gives a depth

of about 29 .3'N, 70 .8'E, while

reveals

depths

exceeding

is regarded as thin
28 .3'N, 68 .4'E6.

is still in progress.

out very recently

to the basement
the

torsion

in the

balance

survey

2.000 feet close to the Delhi-Shahpur

in the

Sind

area,

Lahore

Basin

by the

of about 22,000 feet in the region

in the
ridge.

Indus

Basin

The alluvium

except for the basin lying west of Jacobabad

3E.C. Sachau : Al-Beruni's India (Lahore:

1914) Popular Edition, Vol. I, p. 198.
4R. D. Oldham: Memoirs of Geological Survey of India, Vol. 92, p. 119.
5E.A. Glennie: Gravity anamolies of the structure of the earth, Survey of India Professional
paper No. 27. (1932).
6E. A. Glennie, "Gravity Data and Crust al Warping in North West Pakistan and adjacent
parts of India," (1955).

1969

ALLUVIAL

Whatever

MORPHOLOGY

the nature

OF THE LOWER

of the depression,

INDUS

it was subjected

PLAIN

to rigorous

sedimen-

tation during the greater

part of the Tertiary era and is believed to have proceeded
parri-passu with the slow sinking of the basin.
Outcrops of marine Kirthar limestones
near Sukkur and Hyderabad
at a depth

of only

region the earlier

With

the

restoration

about

535 feet near LyaJlpur,

sediments

gradual

shallow-water

as well as the presence of Siwalik

deposited

withdrawal

of the

and possibly deltaic

of terrestrial
of numerous

and

Since

streams

suggest the possibility

pre-Cambrian

sea during

deposits

conditions

advent of the Siwalik period.

the sediments

on the

like fluviatile
basement

the later

deposition

marine.
era.

culminating

of fluviatile

have accumulated

that in this

were

part of the Tertiary

were laid down, finally

then, it has remained

sediments

material

with the

a vast floodplain

in enormous

in the

on which

thickness.

The whole of the Indus Plain from the Himalayas

to the Salt range in the
north to the Arabian Sea in the south, is one of the most homogeneous
physiographic
regions of the earth, with only the Kirana hills in the upper part and the limestone
ridges

at

rivers.

Sukkur

The

and

plain

Hyderabad

has a very

one of the most prosperous

section

in the

fertile

soil

agricultural

of this plain is termed

southern

on

average

A study
IS

aligned

sea.

of

the

along

This

bank from

feature
Kashrnor

a distinct

hollow
have

between
has

Shikarpur
the

contour

is very

ITS ALIGNMENT

map

water

well

to below
or trough

forced

well developed

floods,

DUS,

that

levees.

AND

in the north
run

follow a south

in the west
When

the

floods the lake swells

vast alluvial

Sea

TRENDS

where

The general

contours

to

north,

J acobabad

on

overflows

the

right

until they meet

to Manchar

them

of distributaries

east.

Lake.

Manchar

When it recedes

after

belt

The river

at the time
which

slope of the land away from

into the

to the

course in a narrow

and the desert in the

a net work

into 100 sq. miles.

deposits.

to the Arabian

reveals that the river Indus

westerly

the river

also helps the right bank flood water to be drained

leaves behind

GENERAL

from south

extends from near

its way through

away from the main water course.

it

all the alluvial

its entire course from the Gudu Barrage

marked

and Larkana
finds

Here

from Kashrnor

of the region (Fig.-2)

Larkana

the river to

natural

making
The southern

foot a mile.

a ridge throughout

The

hills

LOWER

supply,

of its

Indus which carries the combined waters

of old and recent alluvium,
cut by river

The gradient

is less than one

THE

water

the flow

of the sub-continent.

the Lower Indus Plain (Fig.-l).

some of which are leveed.

the

interrupt

abundant

regions

deposits are the work of one river, the

of all its tributaries.
The deposits consist
channels,

and

part to

Lake.
the

of

slope

the river
During
floods

it

PAKIST AN GEOGRAPHICAL

->;
~/
h/

"~

--/

...
~~--

REVIEW

JANUARY

1,"-

~~~#

)
/

r'.

-~----I

LOWER INDUS PLAIN

I.
\

BARRAGES AND CANALS

I
'\

r.

'0

20

'0

MILES

I
L~_
NCHAIt
LAI<[

l~
/

~
,j;
~ )1
!) /,1

('
-..

FIGURE

:/

>6,

c oc s ncc

N6P

'C,r:

Ar~~AHIS

'.11

---

1969

ALLUVIAL

MORPHOLOGy

OF THE LOWER

INDUS

LOWER

IN DU 5

SURFACE
CONTOUR
DESERT

PLAIN

PLAIN

CONTOURS
INTERVAL

AL TlTUDE

10FEET
NOT

SHOWN

....
-=--=-:.-.~--.~--

.0

AL TITUOE5

20

FEEi

I
I
I

,,
~C
I

THAR
DESERT

FIGURE

'0

'm"
40

PAKISTAN

From

south

east to south-west

of Nawab

GEOGRAPHICAL

Shah

on the eastern

bank.

The Nara

The shape of the contours

south easterly

course as conditioned

distributaries

joined

across

the

delta

channel

The Ochito

of the once Ochito

will all the more hasten

Many theories
with

a dominant

is now drying

river.

up

for most

has followed

sea,

spreading

the Ochito

and

It is being bunded

out

and the Haidari

consists

of the

remnant

off from the main river, which

its decline.

have been advanced

north-south

trend.

to explain
Most

the westering

commonly
Gilbert

mg of the Indus i,e.

"Ferrel's

influence

trough

Some of the early

to the

Until recently

Ferrel (1861), Karl vcn Baer (1866) and G,K.

the

a distinct

lower down it with the passage

their own outlets

direction,

run from north-

suggests that the Indus

but successively

found

in a westerly

were the chief outlets.

further

occupies

by the hills lying on the west.

valley,

of time until all the distributaries

JANUARY

almost upto Badin the contours

of its length,

the Nara

REVIEW

towards

of rotational

it right, under

forces as it happens

quoted

of

rivers

are those of William

(1884).
law"

tendency

The

westward

swing-

is most probably

due to

in the Northern

Hemi-

to be situated

sphere.
The river
remain
the

rarely

reached

the lateral

margins

at a lower level and act as natural

hollow

or trough

east, while its outlet

a little distance

drainage

outlet

in the south is blocked

developed

to the sea.

between

one is of Dhoro
South

Puran,

hills

follow

its natural

extent

that

river's

tendency

resulted

higher
running

of Sehwan

to the

embankments.

the

Between

in the

by Bhit and

a break

course,
to

the Indus and the

levels

the

it would
a more

borders

river

had

probably

easterly

not

been

a drainage

Lakhi

system

has

the most prominent

to the Nara.

tamed

have built-up

and

permitted

its level

to such

course would have been unavoidable

of barrages

by the erection

and introduction

an end to the natural

and field irrigation

and

in the

its western limit almost flowing close

The construction

ing the flood channels

Ranges

from Mirpurkhas

has now been controlled

putting

Range

line along the Nara has a

Nara,

to swing sideways

in virtually

Badhra

of the old Indus courses,

south south-east

If

The Kirthar

The drainage

the Indus has reached

west.

lines,

which, therefore,

in the west and the high bed of the Indus

Hills, giving rise to the Ma nchar Lake basin.

natural

of its floodplain

replacing

flooding

of canals

activity,

the natural

to
an
The

of bunds or
have

now

the canals replac-

covering

activity.

ALLUVIAL

1969

MORPHOLOGY

THE

For a correct

appraisal

it is necessary

to

during

history.

recorded

have

ing the

geomorphology

region.

Apart

regarding

a precise

the

and

most

pretting
for

unsystematic.

and detailed

reconstruction

dawn

the earlier courses

with

records

to the

construction

to its present

breached

times.

much

new course.

The

provided

earliest

by the

of contemporary
over

village
length

It may be assumed
and

its decline

When Alexander
used to flow northwest
south

to

Ruk.

for some distance

bunds,

up the scope of inter-

photographs

and barrages

surging

the

of

waters

course

and

The

of time, suggesting

habitations

bringing

misery

of Sukkur

close to

crossed

named

and

in the east reached

standing

destruction

in the

after

floodplain

is

Daro and a number

this

town

persisted

that the river was then comparatively

the

Gauspur,

the present

and gradu-

by the Indus in pre-historic

agriculture

to the shifting

sailed down

it

the river

and

that the river at that time lay not far to the

the Great

prior

at a higher level

Occasionally

city of Moen-jo

civilization

river

of its own sediments

followed

settlements

may be attributed

It then

available

it, by confining

situated

human

ruins of the ancient

sites.

now

the traced courses with

taming

of the floodplain

Consequently

about

evidence

un-earthed

a remarkable

stable.
city

is known

are, however

force of the mighty

by the aggradation

crops alike were swept away by the

in trail.
Not

of its

of no help in arriving

when the river was swollen in flood.

an entirely

amply

of events.

aerial

the fury and uncontrolled

its raised course formed

ally adopted

languages

easier.

Only a few parts

escaped being submerged

in this regard

have made the task of correlating

of flood protective

channel.

in the

by the deposition

has opened

The

in interprett-

river channels

are thus practically

accuracy.

comparatively

It is hard to visualise

evidences

photography

courses of the Indus

in different

of abandoned
formed

Plain,

of soil texture

available

of the sequence

of aerial

the Lower Indus Region

the historical

They

Indus

significance

the distribution

that historical

of the Lower

is of vital

remnants

PLAIN

INDUS

of the different

of the river in the floodplain

confusing

the

THE

of information

its wanderings,

INDUS

morphology

knowledge

abundance

It is, unfortunate,

However,

OF

in understanding

own sediments.

at a correct

COURSES

Such an information

testify to the oscillations

and

GING

of the alluvial

and

from

the river

CHA

OF THE LOWER

river

east

of this

of the river course eastwards.

Indus

in 326-325

B.C.

the

north

of Shikarpur

and

course

and running

parallel

Patala , a city somewhere

in the

area

river
down
to it

of Brah-

PAKISTAN

GEOGRAPHICAL

REVIEW

JANUARY

,
\

I
/
/

Shohdadkot
\

/'

/
~\

v(
-ie

/~\
) ()~

1/
I

CHANGING COURSES
OF THE

INDUS

SCALE

105

1,0 2 0 lp

I , I

4p MILE 5

J
I

Old

rlv~r

Pr~s~nt

e
/.I\.

riv~r

Cont~mporary
Mod~rn

Course
s~ttl.m~

s~ttl~m.nt

Command
Upland

fiGURE

Cou r s e

boundry

nt

1969

ALLUVIAL

manabad.

From Patala,

MORPHOLOGY

which was situated

ceeded to the sea. The eastern

Nara

whilst the western

is supposed

to have

The coastline

bank,

and

two

probably

reached

of the

joined

Sehwan

the

become

had

the

courses

two

supposed
may

obscured.

area

The

of Mirpur

distributary

through

into the Manchar

bank

Lake

then following

one

Right Bank

Shahdadkot,

distributaries,

and
Both

issuing

a more easterly

left

down the

to be the second.
and later

the

flowed past

gap and coursing

or

taken

Bathoro.

on

and Sukkur

the

latter

Hills.

one

Nara

pro-

into the Eastern

in the Gudu

right

be

out

an

is
early

of these

of it as the

course

midway

between

A. D.,

it appears

and Patala.
Sind in the

eight

the river flowed down the course passing near

river course which runs southwest
of Khairpur
Western

Command

Nara-Aral

of to-day.
tributaries

of Sukkur

which

channel

Sehwan

is cut

was then about

to be the westernmost
about

one,

It

north,

According

to the Arab writings

by about

950 A. D.,9

It then

to continue
the Indus

presently

literature

appears

that

the

It then reached
western

the main stream

evidences

lay

to the

south

west

of Suja wal.

a city sited on Rohri Hills

city of the south

Indus

lead to the

(Karachi:

was still

was Brahmanabad.

flowed

conclusion

through

Aror

that the Nara

7H, T. La mbr ic k : Sind, A General Introduction

(Hyderabad : 1964), p. 110.
sSir A. Cunningham : The Ancient Geography of India (London: 1871), p. 279.

9,Vlirza Kalich Beg: A Hist or y of Si!1d(Chachnamah)

of dis-

a city which once stood at

Aror,

of the

The

but the Mehran

a strip of fertile land in the northeast

while the capital

but all other

south,

Mehran

east

in form as that

A number

the sea somewhere

branch.

in the

near Sakrand.

river.

further

that

crossed the present

down the course

miles east of Nerunkot",

beside the Nara gap and commanding

in the

Kandhkot.

ten miles west of the

The port of Deba l lay on a smaller

city

century

may have been in existence

in historical

sixteen

the present site of Hyderabad.

capital

by

configuration

have been mentioned

of Brahman abad,

the

draining

in the

Indus

Jacobabad

When the Arabs conquered

appears

since

overlooking

Nara

the main stream

PLAIN

The one on the right bank probably

through

Western

might have been draining

Aral

Hills

that of one of the

counterpart

Samaro,

lay close to the Makli

Figure 3 shows several

course

through

the sea somewhere

on the right bank.

The

INDUS

at the delta head,? two distributaries

has long

centuries

on the Rohri

Nara.

Commands.

distributary

the succeeding

Aror, situated
Eastern

one running

at that time probably

During

OF THE LOWER

1900), VoU, p. 11.

10

PAKISTAN

gap carried a branch

of the Indus.

of the

river

It was probably

between

the 10th and thirteenth

GEOGRAPHICAL

and

than 1333 A. D.lO that the river broke

to an increase
one through
mand.

in volume,
Warah,

This

Khairpur
corner

incident

to the

inevitably

northeast

distributary

passing

Sukkur

fate

course

east

In the south,
account

and

Talhar

branches-the

of Khairpur

declined

and

the flourishing

of the

drying

as shown

region extending

not later

due mainly

of the Kandhkot

of Aror

on

perhaps

of the two major

and

of the waters

and certainly

gap,

in the desertion

settlement

Shahdadpur

Gungro

centuries

the

Kandhkot

was laid waste.

near

the

the

a similar

not the full volume

of the joining

resulted

Consequently

of Sind also shared

region declined,

account

and the other through

courses.

country

on

certainly

through

JANUARY

REVIEW

Comand East

the

southeastern

up of a major

in the map.

from Tando

fertile

As this

Muhammad

Khan

out to the sea via Sir Creek rose to prominence.

After making
former

floodplain

dually

a passage
in G udu

northwestwards

its present

course

north

Dadu

From

of Hala,

southwest.

it, since the Kalri

which

middle

of Hyderabad

Further

fertility

south

and

flowed southeast
, to Tando

served

and

a major

of the eighteenth

Baghar

outlet

century,

the

can be traced as shown

becoming

of the

traceable
Khan

Lark anaagain from

where it turned

with the Gungro,

but soon

existed by 1340 A. D.

in 1519, declined

whilst the Baghar

its

it flowed a little west of

Muhammad

sea

cutting

later to shift gra-

prosperity

distributaries

to

started

Commands,

This course must have been contemporaneous

superseded
Kalri

east

the river

where the two courses

in the increased

Sehwan the river

gap

and Khairpur

position.

of Sehwan,

This resulted

south

the Sukkur

Left Bank

to its present

in the map.
area.

through

continuing

The

some time in the

to be the main

outlet

change occurred

which

of the river silted up soon after 1817.

Some time during

1758-79

caused the Indus to adopt

Dadu

area.

passes through
rejoined

the

In

the

former

approximately

south

another

another

the

present

major

its present

and

Baghar

Indus began to follow a new course,

at first

west flowing through

the Ochito,

course in the

course west of Hyderabad

gap in the limestone

channel,

hydrographic

outlier.'!

In

north

then named

which

the south the new

course

10Lambrick: Op, cit , footnote 8, p 182 and 183.

11M. R. Haig ; The Indus Delta Country (London:
12Lambrick : Op. cit , footnote 8, p. 193.

Sattah

"Hajamro".

1894), p. 118.

the

was formed

served as its main outlet.12

along the

leaving

In 1819 the

but later turning

During

south-

the middle of the

ALLUVIAL

1969

MORPHOLOGY

OF THE LOWER

'<-

INDUS

LOWER

PLAIN

INDUS

11

PLAIN

LANDFORMS
ACTIVE
MEANDER

en

00 0 0
00
00
o
0

FLOODPLAIN

COVER

FLOODPLAIN

r:-:-:t

FLOODPLAIN

DELTAIC

IlIIIID

FLOODPLAIN

TIDAL

DELTA

PIEDMONT

DESERT

~
r:-:-l
~

PLAIN

FRINGE

SAND

PLAIN

25

OKARACHI

: .: ',,: .,

....

-"

-.

.-"'-------~~ - ~
- "-

---------

SCALE
25

50

~I~~--~======~~~=
Miles

FIGURE

12

PAK1STAN

GEOGRAPHtCAL

REV1EW

JANUARY

(/)

Il::
....J

<[
U

ILl

(/)

Z
Z

Il::

(/)

10

v
r<)

ILl
....J

C\J

::E

$I
/

>

> /,y

(.)

0
Z

ll::

<[
ILl

en
0
a.

ILl

a:

Z
I--

<!

,,

I
Y:

I--

(/)

0::

ILl

I--

;z
I--

-o

::E

>
a:
(.)

a::
~
o,

(/)

l-

:r

_I

a.

ILl

<[

(/)

en
(/)

en

0
ll::
(.)

l-

:::>

:r

:r

z
;z
<[

:r:
u

I--

ILl

....J
....J

(/)

0
I--

en
ILl

<[

ILl

;z

en

ILl

0
I--

::E
....J

a::
en
0
0
0
....J

u,

~'\:.::":.,
. t

'o

last century
Finally

it breached

in the

last

the Ochito

decade,

while the main river had

Haidari.

itself

and

bunds
found

followed

a more easterly

were extended
yet

another

southwards
principal

outlet,

the Haidari.

to cut off the Ochito,

outlet

to

the

east

of

1969

ALLUVIAL

MORPItOLOGY

It is only in the north,

slowly and steadily

OF 'TItE LOWER

near Ghotki

westward

during

sediments.

narrow

deltaic

course passing
the

river

courses

distributaries

more

very

south-westward

running
nearly

near Shahdadpur

developed

the construction
become

The

two

about

gradually

across

a thousand

supply that resulted

The

years

years

ago,

was the final logical

back.

It may be concluded

that broadly

shifted its course steadily

westward,

speaking

although

fairly stable for quite a few centuries

Man's

and

of barrages

step in man's

breaks

of
were

was

control

the
over

It was not until

settlements
the

could

assured

water

over the river.

Indus

individual

until sudden

and

control

the

of the

deposition

so also

and suffered many a set-back.

construction

delta

and Nara Commands

of bunds that the floods could be controlled,

permanent.

The

to constant

Rohri

thousand

that the river shifted

years.

due

13

PLAIN

and west of Khairpur

the past one thousand

Indus has also grown and is advancing

younger

INDUS

may

be said

to have

courses

may have remained

resulted

in the formation

of

new courses.
LANDFORMS
The
untrained

Lower

Indus

Plain

which

eye, is not so in reality.

apparently

The contours

looks

the

plain

into

units

perfectly

and aerial photographs

variations in relief and pattern of alluvial deposits,

of the plain were deposited at different periods and
divides

to be

called landforms

flat to the

reveal minor

suggesting that the different parts

in different
ways.
This feature

which differ from one another

both in

their origin and morphology.

The landforms
sedimentation.

encountered

A feature

in the

of the

region

alluvial

mark

sediments

different
is that

phases

in alluvial

they have well sorted

textures and reveal an intricate stratification,

with rapid lateral and vertical changes.
The most recent sediments
are fine sandy loam to silty clays, while those deposited a
little

earlier

than

these

are

much coarser

types of landforms found in the region

from one another in their geomorphic
structure.
those

Fig.

of smaller

4 shows
order

landforms

and at places almost

sandy.

The various

can easily be distinguished

in that they differ
associations-elevation,
topography
and soil
which

of size, on account

are

of considerable

of limitations

areal

extent

while

of scale have been shown

in Fig. 5.
Meander

present

floodplains

These are the abandoned river courses which may

active floodplain or may follow entirely different

lie either adjacent

to the
courses.
When in the past

these courses were active, coarser sediments

were deposited
during floods until the
level of the meander
belt was raised to an extent which forced the river to adopt a
new course.

In the old

course

the

sediments

became

stabilized,

and

as the

new

14

PAKISTAN

,I,

r: ..........

.1.\:':.;'.:

,\2

GEOGRAPHICAL

., : __
.. :..

:>.::"__.::""\:'~"

JANUARY

REVIEW

.: ; ..':

. '"

<": : .

:.

......Mi"?~J\\-, ../.......:: ...

~yb~%i&\'i \~l,"
<:
))'

'r

.>:

...\\?AR'U~\ ....

\..-:.:.:::.:.

.:>.

\<':"~:..::':::':::) .''" .;':.:......:

.....
.

.,

r, :

- -........

...
.I .'

...

. '..' .'

~ ./ -

.",. '.

'\"...

""",:::

..~.;rH

COMMA~D
(ROHRI
_

1::.:.::'.:1

COVER

'-

.U

ABANDONED

/i,'<ii >:

'- -

/'

/.

i . ,' .

c..,
Qtv

.. ' . ./
'\I'
..... i-:
.o,
.. .:

PLAINS

~.

( ...... ./
~

/:

'..

BOUNOrlY
NARA)
FLOOD

.: .-'. .

DO:/-.:.i

RIVER

COURSES

.j..

A...

':.'1
\

10

Ul,~.~,~.!~~!~~!

(.:...

MILES

: .. : I

I'..: .'./

",j

6-Showing
cover floodplain in the Southern
course;
(2) Shahdadpur course; (3) Dhoro

FIGURE

(I) Nasurpur

Section of Rohri and Nara Commands

Puran and (4) Samaro course.

course built up a still higher level, they got covered

areas

between

the river

ments every time

floodplains

the

courses,

flood

are much wider

cover floodplains

in the deltaic

example

of the distncti

found south-west

the cover floodplains,

water

escaped

in the north

from

distributaries

giving

tobographical

of Khairpur

the

but gradually

wider) as they enter the delta

dominant

up.

until

the

The

low

lying

received a veneer of fine sediriver

courses.

The

get narrower

meander

(the intervening

"bank-topping"

rise to extensive

features

intervening

floods

cover floodplains.

of the meander

floodplains

are
An

is to be

(Fig. 5).
Bar deposits

These
distinction

are

of two

is perhaps

types

depending

due to the amount

and

on

their relative

proportion

height and relief.

of coarse

material

This
carried

ALLUVIAL

1969

MORPHOLOGY

by the river.

Of the two types, low-bar

comparatively

more even, soil texture

and of fine medium

(Fig.

5) have

with

thin

deposits

INDUS

especially

higher

relief

is rough and soil texture

PLAIN

are more common.

is mostly coarse-medium

horizons

a comparatively

their topography

OF THE LOWER

are

coarse

horizons

High bar deposits

normally

is predominantly

Their relief is

with

at the surface.

and

15

out of command;

coarse i.e., sandy.

Channel Deposits.
These are very important
Sometimes
textured

they subdue

material

landforms

(a) bank

(b) spillway levee, it is of very

wide

they

spillways
over

are

smaller

inundating

of shallow

good
Spillway

bank

because

levees

large areas,

the

river

Three

in the

levees

region.

by their coarse

thickness.

occurrence.

the

in the

deposition

levee, it is most common

and (c) sheet levee, it occurs when

a wide front,

usually

than

occurrence

floodplain

which may at times be of fairly

levees have been distinguished

extent,

of common

other types of meander

types

delta

vary

of

region,

in size and

they have been formed

suddenly

and depositing

overflows

its

layers of coarser

by

banks

sediments

depth.
Cover floodplains.

This is the most

between
time

extensive

the river courses,

already

dropped

here vertically
floodplains

its load

covering

(Fig 6).

measure

on their relative
topography,

or coarse,

intervening

which are at a lower level are periodically

inundated

the

slow

of coarser
cover

moving

floodplains

region.
flood

b) deep cover-plain,

fine-medium

features,

topography,

and

textures

reaches

leading

it is slightly depressed

depressed

at the
it has

is deposited
of cover

depending

to varying depth overlying

areas

there

to the formation

fall into three types,

it is also slightly

textures are mostly fine-medium

water

and only the finer material

age a) shallow cover-plain,

textures

land with very smooth

in the

material

former topographic

The

smooth
graphy,

The

By the time

of floods.

landform

in some
land

with

coarse-medium

land with very smooth

topo-

c) very fine cover plain, slightly depressed

fine and

fine-medium

to

varying

depth.

Active floodplain.
The
landform
floodplain
may

present

day active river channel

since it is bunded
conditions

be quite

and so the sediments

thick.

is the active floodplain.

over most of its length.

deposited

The bunds also restrain

change its course.

Under such conditions
flood plain is now no longer possible.

The bunds create

away from

the

It is an artificial
artificial
active

cover

channels

the river so that it may not materially

natural

deposition

of sediments

over the

Delta zone
The

distributaries

of the river Indus,

delta on their way to the Arabian

sea.

near Tatta

The two

begin to spread

landforms,

deltaic

out across the

floodplain

and

PAKISTAN

16

tidal delta, cover the greater

about 25 per cent
delta most recently
per cent

part of the Indus

of the region.

from

REVIEW

delta.

moderately

the active floodplains

extreme

and the extreme

mudflats

floodplain

covers

of them

coarse

show

thin

to moderately

are very changeable

stratification.

The

fine and are generally

Coarser

soil

textures

finer than those

materials

are

found

on

of the Indus delta which faces the Arabian

sea

and along the banks of some of the distributaries.

western

southern

portion

portion

and constitute

tidal delta are inundated

width

The deltaic

The soil profiles of the deltaic floodplain

found in most other plains of river laid alluvium.

The

JANUARY

of the region.
It lies above the high tide and is that part of the
abandoned
by the sea. The tidal delta comprises
almost 60

from place to place and most

range

GEOGRAPHICAL

which faces

the Rann

of Kutch

the tidal delta or tidal cover-plain.

at the time of high tides and lie exposed

of the tidal delta varies between

five and

twenty-five

few small parts that are high enough

not to be overrun

corresponds

found inland

to the cover floodplains

ments are comparatively

consist

at

iow tides.

miles.

There

by the tides.

agricultural

The

are only a

This

but with the difference

finer and of no immediate

of tidal

All the lands under the

division

that its sedi-

value.

Desert fr inge
The name is given to the floodplains
Here

isolated

sand-dunes

of the intervening
places

the

the sand-dune

are encountered

alluvium

surface

has

and desert border north of Sanghar

is similar

become

rising over the aliuvial

sandy on account

The main Piedmont

north

area is mostly
streams

plain

intervention

At

by levelling

of a fine texture,
from

the

zone

is the Kachhi

to Sibi, and south

descending

alluvium.
the foot

of man's

The texture

floodplain.

margins.
Piedmont

Jhatpat,

plain.

to that of the type of associated

district.

Plain,

to Manchar

and alluvial
adjacent

which extends from Kashmor

Lake.

The Piedmont

material

in origin as it has been brought

hills.

It is also

to

in this

down

by

as well sorted as the Indus

Elsewhere, adjacent to the Lower Indus plain, Piedmont zones occur along
of the Rohri Hills and along the Ko h istan area and its outliers in Ghulam

Muhammed

Barrage

limited Piedmont

Command.

They

cover floodplains

mostly

consist

of coarse fan material,

but

occur west of Tatta.

Soils.

have

Pedologists in an attempt to describe and classify soils on a world-wide

basis,
set up as their primary units the three soil orders, zonal, intrazonal and azonal.

The second level of classification

of which
climatic

has a distinctive
regime.

divides the zonal order into great

horizon

development

In the world map showing

soil

and has evolved under

the principal

groups,

each

a distinctive

zonal soil groups,

soils

of

1969

the

ALLUVIAL

Lower

Indus

the category
the

Plain

together

zones

or

regions,

but each region has also its intrazonal

youthful

they are immature

and

origin;

that

characteristics

they

inherited

exhibit
from

readily

the

between

can be employed
complex.
landform

and

as a basis

but

purposes
on

so no

of

horizons.

alluvium

therefore,

and the

advisible

to the azonal

soil order.

characteristic

of the

and

features

and so they

For

topography.

found to be the
mapping

most

It

cannot

viz.,

regional

soils

colour,

be adopted

of soil mapping
scales

It

is on

salts

basis

of soil

climate

magnesium

found

that

the

to

is also

consistence

as

and

a criterion

on detailed

to

scales, texture

stratification

becomes

at a depth

too

its proportion

carbonate
is about

widespread.

river brought
the

present

calcium.

A zone

corresponding

in different

in these

of this salt

with it from the Himalayas,

irrigation

matter

irrig ated!+.

water as well.

and available

The deficiency

nitrogen

in the region which rapidly

accumulate

in soils.

13A.

N. Strahler:

HF. O. Young:

p.l0.

soils

The organic

was

and

but certainly

matter

only

reach

the

in soils

is the chief

of

where

surface

the

of the

material

and

Its concretions,

however,

here as sediments

which the

some
but are
is due

oxidize the organic

of the

of rain or

shows
the

of it has

of soils indicate

and phosphate,

matter

and

of accumulation

works as a cementing

depos.ted

An analysis

of organic

experienced

region

to the penetration

areas

ten per cent of the soil by weight.

Most

in the

have been

units or landforms.

is deep, so that no salts from the ground water

Calcium

of deposition

that virgin soils show [\ high content

and

by drainage

modes

classification

are geomorphic

of arid

It is affected

water-table

are not

account
potassium,

is usually

flood water.

is, therefore,

suitable

units finally adopted

salts of sodium,

organic

stable

is,

The

belonging

other morphological

soils.

to develop.

Soil textures
are very closely related to depositional
conditions,
and each
has a defined range of textural
profiles together
with characteristics
of

elevation

from

the

are not well developed

differentiate

soil.

of Regosols

found

which is of recent

and

deposition
It

soils which

such as horizons,

time

development

material.

in

such as newly deposited

enough

to the

parent

is the only reasonably

recognisable;

structure,

these

of not getting

in

soils

generally

characteristics,

consist of river laid alluvium

is related

include these soils in the category

Texture

17

and azonal

soils are

regolith,

physical

they either show very little or no profile

layering

Azonal

undeveloped

on account

soils of the Lower Indus Plain mostly

The

PLAIN

The zonal soils are not the cnly

They do not show any distinctive

because

INDUS

with those of the Thar desert have been included

with each of the classes made.

of extremely

alluvium.

OF THE LOWER

of desert soils or Sierozernst '.

exist in association
in areas

MORPHOLOGY

precipitated

that they are low in

very

productive

to high

matter

and

temperatures
do

not let it

source of food and energy

The Earth Sciences, New York, 1963. p. 621.

Report (0 the Government of Pakistan on Soils and Agriculture

when

(Rome:

for

1953).

18

PAKISTAN

TEXTURE

GEOGRAPHICAL

REVIEW

DISTRIBUTION

LOWER

INDUS

..
o

6'0

<:

JANUARY

IN THE

PLAIN

.'6

%SAND

~
~

COARSE

OJ]

COARSE

mrrn
o

FINE

MEDIUM

MEDIUM

FINE

FIGURE 7

micro-organisms
and some of these in their own turn are so very useful for
plant food on account of their nitrogen fixation quality.
The
adopted

Bureau

the following

of soils

of the

sizes or diameters

United

States

of particles

Department
to differentiate

providing

of Agriculture
between

has

different

1969

ALLUVIAL

MORPHOLOGY

OF THE LOWER

INDUS

PLAIN

19

types of soil as to their physical composition:

coarse sand is taken as 1.00-0.50 millimeter, medium sand 0.50-0.25 millimeter, fine sand 0.25-0.10 millimeter, very fine sand
0.10-0.05 millimeter, silt 0.05-0.002 millimeter
and clay below 0.002 millimeter
in
diameter.re
Various
textures are produced by combinations
of sand, silt and clay
in certain

proportions.

The scale employed

in this

connection

is also the

same

as

adopted
by the Bureau of Soils of the United States Department
of Agriculture:
sand-eighty
per cent or more of sand and twenty per cent or less of silt or clay, sandy
loam-twenty

to fifty per cent of silt and clay and the remainder

per cent or less of clay and

then

it is silty

loam,

thirty

if clay

to

fifty

per cent

then clay ioam),

sand, loam - twenty

of sand

clay-thirty

(if silt predominates

per cent of clay and less

than seventy per cent of larger sizcs!e.

The

United

adopted

to

analyses

have

the

States

convert

mechanical

been

done

range of textures

is shown
silty

and

silty

particularly

This

of the
The

coarse
The

meander

meander

soils,

In the north-west

classes.

floodplains

Plain

majority

clays

layers.

are limited

has

The
on

been

mechanical

samples

over

and their distribution

of

textures

and medium
Soil

have comparatively
floodplains

coarse-medium
of the

RISING

development

in determining

the

cultivation

irrigation

or

region,

textures

to high-bar

belong

or coarse
having

to

sands

eighty-five

deposits

rough topography

have smooth

and certain

there is a strip
from the
physical

AND

and

fine-medium

of alluvium,

adjacent
properties

and

topography

coarse soils, overlying

WATER-TABLE

A study of the water-table

and

but

classes.
Services"

Indus

True

alluvial

triangle'?

floodplains.

has been deposited

by streams
texture and possesses different

of agricultural

textural

Technical

in the Lower

upper

while the cover

levees have

texture

figure suggests that the

per cent of sand are not widespread

parts

into

Hunting

clay loam
in the

of Agriculture

analysis

by

encountered

in Fig. 7.18

loam

are rare

Department

the

in the
to be

region.

which

ASSOCIATED

employed,

Such

can

or fine soils.

piedmont,

that

PROBLEMS

a study can

be grown

and

soils.

hills.
It is generally
of a fine
from the Indus alluvium.

and its fluctua tions is of vital significance

types of crop

generally
fine

other

very

successfully,

agricultural

to any kind
greatly

help

methods

practices

to

of
be

followed.

15C. E. Miller and L. M. Turk:

"Fundamentals
16Strahler. op clt , footnote 14, p. 612.

0/

Soil Science."

iller and Turk, op. cit , footnote 16, p. 52.

18Lower Indus Report. Physical Resources, West Pakistan

(New York:

1956), p. 45.

17M

=Authcrs of the "Lower

Indus Repor t+-Pbysical

WAPDA,

Resources."

1965.

Vol. 2, p. 161.

20

PAKISTAN

GEOGRAPHICAL

REVIEW

JANUARY

;-

{
(

--

-.... ---

/'

BARRAGE

\
/
/

NORTH - WESTERN
CANAL
L-~--""

\.~
)
/

,
\
/

CANAL COMMAND
BOUNDARIES

( :;:,
I 0

\6
~,
<;
\

,,

,,'

+'

0'

'"""

I
;01
-I

< /

"'/

::0

1
)

I
/
/

/
/'

10

I,

0
,I

10 20
I

MILES

FIGURE

30

40
"

50

1969

ALLuviAL

MORPHOLOGY

OF THE LOWER

INDUS

PLAIN

WATER -TABLE
APRIL

1>....

DEPT~
FEET

III
G
D
~

0-4

t-~
1>

-,
\

5-8

!J)

I
I

9 -12

>

12

/
j

FIGURE

1964

21 k.

PAKtStAN

GEOGRAPHiCAL

REVIEW

JANUARY

In the last century the water-table was very close to the stabilized natural watertable established by natural forces, but the construction of barrages with a network of canals in the present cenlury(Fig. 1) have considerably disturbed the balance
that existed previously between the natural recharge of the aquifer through river
and rain and the discharge of its water to the sea. In consequence, surface infiltration of water by rainfall, floods, field irrigation, seepage from river, canals, spills,
hill torrents, and sub-soil flow of water towards the valley from adjacent higher
areas now exceeds the down-valley outflow of water, loss of water due to evaporation
from shallow water-table, transpiration by plants and removal of water by drains
resulting in the rising of the water-table, which fluctuates from season to season.
Figures 8 and 9 show the canal command boundaries and depth to water-table
respectively and Tables 1 and 2 show percentage of the area in each water-table
depth class by canal commands for the months of April and October 1964 respectively. These tables indicate that the areas of low water-table are: Gudu Barrage
Command Right and Left Banks, Rohri Canal Command and Tando Bago Perennial
Area (eastern side only). All the rest of the commands have a high water-table.
The commands that have the greatest percentage of their area under water-table
of four feet and less both in April and October are:
Ghulam Muhammad
Barrage Right Bank and Left Bank (non-perennial), Rice Canal, Gudu Right Bank
and Nara Canal.
These tables further indicate that throughout the irrigated area the water-table
is generally high. In many areas it is either still rising or has risen to the extent as
to reach a state of balance under the present intensities of cultivation. Table 3
TABLE I-PERCENTAGE OF AREA IN EACHWATER-TABLEDEPTH CLASSBYCANALCOMMANDS,
APRIL, 1964.
Command
Gudu Left Bank
Gudu Right Bank
Pat Feeder Area
N.W. Canal
Rice Canal
Dadu Canal
Khairpur
Rohri Canal
Nara Canal
Tando Bago
G.M. Left Bank (N.P.)
Gaja
G.M. Right Bank (P)
G.M. Right Bank (N.P.)
SOllRCE:

0-4 ft.

4-S ft.

S-12 ft.

12-16 ft.

Nil
2.2
Nil
9.5
0.8
Nil
1\.8
1.2
7.0
2.2
5.3
Nil
Nil
5.1

O.S
56.7
3.1
68.0
61.3
56.0
46.4
7.3
42.2
22.7
23.9
97.0
27.4
42.1

0.5
39.2
3.7
21.5
31.1
28.8
10.5
24.5
36.4
49.5
49.0
3.0
31.6
50.0

6.4
0.7
12.2
0.7
0.8
14.4
5.5
29.0
7.8
18.2
19.1
Nil
20.2
2.8

"LOWER INDUS REPORT, PHYSICALRESOURCES,"WAPDA,

Below 16 ft.

1965, Vol. 2, P.456.

92.3
1.2
81.0
0.3
Nil
0.8
25.8
38.0
6.6
7.4
2.7
Nil
20.8
Nil

1969

ALLUVIAL

MORPHOLOGY

OF

THE LOWER

INDUS

PLAIN

23

TABLE 2-PERCENTAGE OF AREA IN EACH WATER-TABLE DEPTH CLASS BY CANAL COMMANDS,

OCTOBER, 1964.

Gudu

Left Bank

Glldll

Right

N'II.

Bank

Pat Feeder

4-8 ft.

0-4 ft.

Command

Area

8-12 ft.

12-16fl.

Below

16 ft.

0.9

13.1

16.5

64.5

34.9

0.6

Nil

Nil

Nil

7.7

2.5

10.2

79.6
1.9

69.5

46.0

35.0

11.3

5.8

Ri(;e Canal

84.5

15.5

Nil

Nil

Nil

Dadu

13.1

37.9

40.8

14.9

48.2

9.9

8.2
3.4

Nil
23.6

1.4

12.3

21.6

33.1

31.6

603

21.9

13.1

1.6

3.1

5.2

37.8

41.4

12.3

3.3

N.W.

Canal

Canal

Khairpur
Rohri
Nara

Canal
Canal

Tando
G.M.

Bago
Left

Bank

68.1

30.4

0.8

0.7

Nil

40.0

55.0

5.0

Nil

(P)

42.1

10.1

24.5

Nil
22.4

(N.P.)

73.2

22.5

4.3

Nil

Nil

(N.P.)

Gaja
G.M.
G.M.

Right

Bank

Right

Bank

SOURCE:

"LOWER INDUS REPORT,

shows the percentage

the

region

has

water-table

sixty

of cultivable

as a whole.

per cent

PHYSICAL RESOURCES,"

commanded

It reveals that

over

WAPDA,

1965, VOL. 2, P. 457.

area in each water-table

sixty

0.9

depth class for

per cent of the commanded

of twelve feet and less from the surface

in the month

of April,

area
while

of the area has eight feet and less in the month of October.

TABLE 3-PERCENTAGE

OF CULTIVABLE COMMANDED AREA IN EACH WATER-TABLE DEPTH CLASS.

4-8 ft.

1964 Perennial

2.8

20.3

16.8

9.2

10.9

April

1964 Seasonal

1.0

12.8

13.0

3.5

9.7

April

1964 Total

3.8

33.1

29.8

12.7

20.6

16.9

14.5

11.6

8.8

8.2

9.0

I.l

1.6

7.8

12.7

10.4

April

October

1964 Perennial

October

1964 Seasonal

20.5

October

1964 Total

37.4

SOURCE;

8-12 ft.

12-16 ft.

0-4 ft.

Area

------~
23.5

Below

16 ft.

--------

"LOWER INDUS REPORT, PHYSICAL RESOURCES," WAPDA,

1965, VOL. 2, P.

16.0

499.

24

PAKISTAN

GEOGRAPHICAL

REVIEW

JANUARY

Waterlogging
In the area where water-table
free from waterlogging
sub-soils

but where

get saturated

of the opinion
surface,

soils are bound

of the

Netherlands

evaporation

where

or comes

water-table

that,

reaches

near the surface,

such

a water-table

will

Mehta+s

But Dr. Vlugter,20

Assistance

water-table

stagnant

of lands.

soils and
is

to six feet from the ground

Technical

if ground

then there will be no

from

to,

of International

suggested

below the surface

it reaches

to show signs of waterlogging.

Bureau

has

ten feet or more from the surface soils are

with water giving rise to waterlogging

that in regions

Reclamation

is about

an expert

on Drainage

and

is fixed at three to four feet

water

and

be somewhat

no

waterlogging.

greater

The

than in the case of

a ten feet deep one, but it will not exceed one tenth of a free water surface.
The cultivable
the

surface

October.

commanded

is 3.8 per cent

It is unfortunate

manded

in the month

Right and Left Banks

Bank

stil1 larger
areas

Command
areas

of April

land particularly

been

can be reclaimed

of four feet and less from

and 37.4 per cent in the month

per cent of the

(non-perennial),

adversely

affected

canal closure

cultivable

a varying

com-

Barrage

Gudu Barrage

have gone out of production

by waterlogging.

of

degree.

Muhammad

Rice Canal Command,

and the menace can be prevented

open drains,

to

in the Ghulam

and Nara Canal Command

have

water by tube-wells,

water-table

as a whole suffers from waterlogging

Extensive tracts of once productive

Right

having

that more than thirty-seven

area of the region

Command

area

The

by canal lining,

and

waterlogged
pumping

of

etc-

at intervals

Salinity
Of the twin soil problems
ging is comparatively
extension

of area

of leaching

to rise

of saline

ground

surface)

less severe.

under

process

of waterlogging

salinity

of salts
water

21

foot or 30 centimeters

resulting
from

But waterlogging
by

below

from

preventing

in the

has

effective

water-table

deposition

surface

drainage

greatly
thereby

Salinity
eight

of salts in the

to

in the
retarding

is in fact due
ten feet of the

region of about

one

when the water evaporates.

"Some Aspects of Water Control

Review, Lahore, Vol. 25, No.2 (1960), p, 3.

21K. S . Ahmad
Geographical

contributed

(within

19Mehta : "The
Formation
and the Reclamation
of Thur
Paper No. 235. Vel. 28, Proc. Ellgg. Cong., p. 123.
2oH. Vlugter:

the menace of wa terlog-

the Zone of plant roots.

the high

the

and salinity,

in West

Lands
Pakistan,"

in the Punjab."
Pakistan

(1940)

Geographical

"Reclamation
of Waterlogged and Saline Lands in West Pakistan,"
Review, Vol. 26, 1\0. 1 (1961), P 3.

Pakistan

ALLUVIAL

1967

MORPHOLOGY

OF THE LOWER lNDUS

PLAIN

UPPER

25

SOIL

SALINITY

NON TO
SALINE
SEVERELY

MODERATELY

SALINE

2? , , ,9

2;>
MILES

FIGURE

10

5f

26

PAKISTAN

sulphate

REVIEW

A greater proportion
of salts deposited
and occasionally
sodium bicarbonate.

and magnesium
may

GEOGRAPHICAL

also

chlorides

occur

be due to solutions
salts

by evaporation

factor

for soil salinity

in areas where

are sometimes

in the

top-soil--",

deposited

present but calcium

The

applied

as to their

is certainly

adopted

salinity
per

the upward

is saline

under

by

using

centimeter
each

presence

and magnesium

of dissolved

irrigation

salts

sulphates

in soils may

water.

movement

different

the

of salts

most

of

dominant

by capillary

the electrical

classes by Hunting

conductivity

at 25C (Ec extract).

salinity

But

action

as well as shallow.

The soils have been divided into

millimhos

consist of sodium chloride, sodium

In the worst affected areas calcium

at an earlier stage as well as from the concentration

of the

water-table

JANUARY

Technical

Services

of the saturation

The

range

extract

of Ec extract

class is the same as that adopted

by the U.S.

in

values

Bureau

of

More than

40

Reclamation.
Electrical

Conductivity

(saturation
Salinity

Class

For purposes
centimeters,

while

upper soil

0-4

an

4-8

8-16

16-40

Extract)

of determining
that

average

salinity,

of the substratum
Ec is obtained

50-100 and 100-150 centimeters,

upper

soil

limit

IS

taken

from 150-450 centimeters.

of three samples

and this value

ranging

is used

for

from

In the case of

in depth from 10-50,

determining

salinity class from the above given data.

Similarly an average
substratum
from samples ranging
in depth from 150-250,

0-150

directly

the

Ec is obtained for the

250-350 and 350-450

centimeters.
The soil salinity profile ranges from 0-450 centimeters
and is written
in two numbers each of which denotes the salinity class e.g ., 3/1, the former for the
upper

soil and the latter

The

salinity

for the substratum.

classes

are

directly

related

to the

average

Ec of both the upper

soil and the substratum

and the values give a fairly good idea of the amount
of salt
that must be removed
from the upper soil for getting better crops.
All the land in
the region can be divided into two broad categories
(a) non to moderately
saline
and (b) severely saline (Fig. 10). The non and moderately
the average

electrical

and the substratum

conductivity

is less than sixteen

saline lands it exceeds this figure.

and

less (non

regional
a greater

and

of the saturation

moderately

differences.
proportion

22Lower Indus Report,

In

Table-4
saline

Gudu

of the

millimhos

saline lands are those where

extract

in both

upper

soil

per centimeter,

while in the severely

shows the percentages

of class three salinity

soils).

It also

very

Barrage

Left

Bank

land

is of low salinity

West Pakistan

and

clearly

abandoned

Physical Resources,

the

Rohri

WAPDA.

brings

Canal

out

the

mands

as also in Khairpur

Vol. 2, p. 259.

1969

ALLUVIAL

MORPHOLOGY

OF THE LOWER INDUS

PLAIN

27

LAND USE

D
f;; tl

PREDOMINANTLY

CULTIVATED

PREDOMINANTLY

ABANDONED

I===l CULTIVATED 8. ABANDONED

t::::::j MIXE D

[II] NEVER

CULTIVATED

SCALE
10

0
I

- - - -O-F - --K--U-TFIGURE

11

c- H-

10

20
I MILES

PAKISTAN

28

Command.

One can logically

Bank and Rohri Canal

but

for

Khairpur

hold good.

are concerned

severely saline,

and in both water-table

Right Bank and Gudu Barrage

TABLE 4-DISTRTBUTJON

OF

MODERATELY

about

is shallow.

for the purpose

as far as Gudu

is shallower,

Commands

Sukkur Barrage

JANUARY

Barrage

because water-tables

where water-table

Conal and Gaja

per cent of the bores drilled

REVIEW

arrive at this conclusion

Commands

Command

In Nara

GEOGRAPHICAL

this reasoning

half the

In Ghularn

Left

are fairly deep

does not

abandoned

land

Muhammad

Right Bank Commands

is

Barrage,

only twenty-five

showed low salinity.

SALINE

LANDS

IN EACH

COMMAND BY PERCENTAGE UNDER

DIFFERENT LAND USE HEADS.

Cultivated

Abandoned

Never cultivated

Gudu R.B.

8l

24

54

Gudu L.B.

96

90

47

Sukkur R.B.

iO

24

Khairpur

91

84

73

Rohri

94

74

78

Nara

81

42

30

Command

Ghularn Muhammad

R.B.

66

26

10

Ghulam

R.B.

68

21

19

Muhammad

SOURCE:

"LOWER

In Rohri
of low

Canal

salinity.

uncultivated

In

for

INDUS REPORT,

PHYSICAL

and Khairpur
these

reasons

Commands

commands

WAPDA,

RESOURCES".

never

abandoned

other than salinity.

the area of these commands

being situated

country

by canals.

cannot

be irrigated

To show the distribution

In Gudu

line between

percentages

of areas under these soils in the different

Canal

and Khairpur

lands

2,

P.

are

336.

mostly

never

cultivated

lands

are

Barrage

Command

Right and

land is of low salinity _ Most of

salinity

the dividing

Left Bank, Rohri

and

VOL.

at a level a little higher than the surrounding

of soil salinity,

moderately

cultivated

and

Left Banks about fifty per cent of the never cultivated

1965,

severely

Commands

class 3/3 has been adopted

saline

soils.

commands.
have a low

Table

shows

as
the

The Gudu Barrage

percentage

of severely

saline soils, whereas Gudu Barrage Right Bank and Nara Canal Commands have one
third of their area under this salinity
class.
The Sukkur Barrage Command
Right
Bank

has

almost

half, while Ghulam

Banks taken together

have two thirds

Muhammad

Barrage

Command

of their area as severely saline.

Right

and Left

1969

ALLUVIAL

TABLE 5-DISTRIBUTION

MORPHOLOGY

OF

THE

LOWER

INDUS

29

PLA[N

OF SALINITY IN THE REGION (PERCENTAGES OF AREAS UNDER COMMANDS).

Command

Moderately

Saline

Severely

Saline

90
86

10

Khairpur
Gudu

81

19

63

37

Rohri
L.B.

Nara
Gudu

R.B.

Sukkur

R.B.

14

63

37

52

48

Ghularn

Muhammad

L.B.

34

56

Ghulam

Muhammad

R.B.

33

67

SOURCE:

"LOWER

Since

INDUS REPORT,,pHYS1CAL RESOURCES",

all classes

of upper

of water-table,
therefore,
table depth
and upper
and salinity
equal

soil

of sites

are found

no definite relationship
can
soil salinity.
Relationship

is also not very distinct,

number

salinity

WAPDA,

of class

most saline of all the geomorphic

since
four

all

five salinity.

Salinity

associated

with all depths

be established
between waterbetween geomorphic
features

in almost

and

units.

1965, VOL. 2, P.361.

the

landforms,

there

are

The levees are in fact the

in them

varies

considerably

and

it is very difficult to find out whether

it is due to landform or land use, because
the saline part of the cover floodplain in proximity
with the levee deposit is never
cultivated.
LAND

A study
following

of

three

land in the right

on

the

never
mands.
regions
to

left

land

bank

bank

Canal

land

in the Gudu

abandoned

land

cultivable

commanded
of

of waterlogging

area

Indus

contiguous

extensive

tracts

Command

Barrage

in lands

and improper
The two

from canals running

mences no sooner
Ibid, Vol.

in close proximity.

irrigating
7, p, 42.

of land ceases.

sixteen

be explained

in proximity

soil

evils

The

land

situated
and

Barrage

Com-

per cent

of the

to be mainly

due

saline lands, b) deficiency

to canal

extremities

and c) harmful

of waterlogging
rise in water-table

process

of abandoned

of abandoned

Muhammad

canal maintenance

in areas where there has been appreciable

11) reveals the

of cultivated

approximately
can

(Fig.
tracts

and c) patches

and Ghulam

This

23.

Plain

efforts in never cultivated

particularly

and salinity.

Lower
almost

constitutes

development
of water

a)

b)

Rohri

The

maldistribution

23.

of the

cultivated

: a) failure

rampant

map

features:

commands,

in the

of water or its absence

to

use

outstanding

USE

of salinisation

and

due
effects.

salinity

are

due to seepage
of soil

com-

PAKISTAN

30

GEOGRAPHICAL

JANUARY

REVIEW

Table 6 indicates
that the three major commands
viz, Gudu, Sukkur and
Ghulam Mohammad
have a gross area of approximately
fifteen million acres of which
1.7 million acres are uncultivable.
The balance of more than thirteen
million acres
is either at present
used for irrigated agriculture or is potentially irrigable.
Apart
from

the

excluding
cultivated

above

mentioned

fifteen

acres,

the area between

the river bunds

the main channel consists of 1.6 million acres of which 418,000 acres are
and 387,000 acres are under forest
(Table 7).
The remaining 834.000

acres consist

of non-cultivable

and unproductive

TABLE 6-LAND

I
Barrage

million

USE SUMMARY (1,000

ACRES).

Total

Cultivable
land
Productive
Unproductive

Command

land.

Non-cultivated

c. c. A

Gross
area

land

Gudu

1.436

1.366

2.802

298

3,100

Sukkur

5.691

1,779

7.470

1,031

8.501

Ghularn
Muhammad

1,279

1.645

2,924

392

3.316

Total

SOURCE:

:-

8,406

"LOWER INDUS REPORT, PHYSICAL RESOURCES".

TABLE 7-LAND

River

WAPDA,

1,721

14,917

1965,

VOL. 7, P. 41.

USE IN RIVERAIN AREA (1,000 ACRES).

tract

to Sukkur

Gudu

13,196

4,790

Suk kur to Sehwan

Non-cultivable
and unproductive land

Gross
area

Cultivated

Forest

188

94

213

495*

119

107

358

584*

58

111

114

283*

53

75

149

277*

Sehwan

to G. M. B.

G. M. B. to Sea

---------------_._-----Total

:-

418

387

1,639

834

"Excludes main channel.

SOURCE:

The
commanded
centage

"LOWER INDUS REPORT, PHYSICAL RESOURCES",

unproductive

land

comprises

area of the three major

of unproductive

thirty-six

commands.

land to its cultivable

WAPDA,

per

cent

In individual

commanded

1965,

VOL. 7, P.42.

of the total cultivable

commands

area is the highest,

the

per-

fifty-six

ALLUVIAL

1969

MORPHOLOGY

per cent in the still developing

per cent

in the

Ghulam

Gudu .Barrage

Sukkur Barrage Command.

for 11.5 per cent of their

OF THE LOWER

Mohammad

Command

the

rest

of the

tween sand-hills

Barrage

PLAIN

31

Command,

and the lowest twenty-four

forty-nine

per cent in the

The non-cultivable
land in these commands
accounts
gross area.
The non-cultivated
land within these com-

mands is such which can be developed

In

INDUS

commands

by canal irrigation

the never cultivated

provided

etf~rts

land represents

and sand dunes on the one side and the

already

are

made.

the transition
cultivated

be-

area

on

the other.
Lakes,

permanent

and

seasonal

eight per cent is in the Rice Canal

Mohammad
Barrage Command,
accounted
within
nent

for

this category
swamps

fifty

seasonal

reaches

Of this figure

In

the

Rice

Canal

corner

which have been included

Command,

swamps

lakes and

29,000 acres.

of the command.

of the command

respectively.

permanent

swamps

This concentration

of the uncultivable

area.

In the Ghularn

occupy

185,000

The seasonal

perma-

They are mostly

three per cent of the area under lakes and permanent

lakes and

seven per cent

584,000 acres.

of the Nara Canal

19,000 acres and seasonal

in the south-west

and thirty
swamps

Command

broad

occupy

Command,
seventy four per cent within the Ghulam
and the remaining
eighteen
per cent is largely

of land use.

occupy

concentrated
for

by the

swamps

accounts.
swamps and

Mohammad

acres,

swamps

Barrage

representing

account

forty-

for 246,000

acres, or eight per cent of the cultivable

commanded
area. These two categories
totalling 431,000 acres or about 13 per cent of the gross area of the command,
reduce
to a very considerable

degree the area of land available

LANDFORMS

A comparative

study

of landform

gives a clear understanding

of the

On

the basis

doned

lands.

environment

and maladjustments

studies.

interpretation

in land

area is generally

shortcomings.

bank Commands

south of Hyderabad--

However,

Tando

Muhammad

and never cultivated

land are widespread.

cultivated

excluding

the bar and levee deposits

command.

The

deltaic

and abandoned

floodplains

Plain

in the

patches

section

floodplains
are

mostly
mostly

in Rohri

land as it is almost
of the plain in all

of predominantly

delta zone
menace

particularly

on the left bank

The meander

lands due to the twin

use.
and large

section

which

to

and aban-

in the northern

Khan,

reactions

of mixed cultivated

devoid of abandoned

and in the southern

human

of aerial photographs

that the cover flood plains consist

cultivated

free from natural

tivated

and

In the middle section of the Lower Indus

Canal Command
the right

of field

USE.

and land use maps Figs. 4 and 10 not only

physical

it but also reveals both adjustments

scale maps, it appears

AND LAND

for development.

of the

river

abandoned

are predominantly
saline
consist

of waterlogging

and

out

of

of mixed culand

salinity.

PAKISTAN

32
The

tidal

delta

of constant

is not cultivated,

onrush

since it is rendered

is bounded

On

unfit for agriculture

by embankments

forests are found in the area

channel.

JANUARY

REVIEW

on

account

of sea water at the time of high tide.

The active floodplain

Riverain

GEOGRAPHICAL

either

side

of

the

between

main

the

channel

along

most

of its length.

bunds excluding

river

the

main

of the lower Indus from Hyderabad

to Goth Mira (about eight miles south of Sehwan) in the north

in the south, the forests generally run in a continuous stretch.

and Chuh ar Jarnali

There are no forests

to be found in a 10 miles strip south of Hyderabad due to the narrowness of the river
channel. Northward
of Goth Mira almost upto Kashmor forests wherever encountered
are

generally

river bunds,
about

in patches
exculding

twenty-five'

or in strips of various

the main

channel

per cent is cultivated

and unproductive

sizes.

less than

Of the total area between

twenty-five

per cent

the

is forested,

and more than fifty per cent is non-cultivable

land.
CONCLUSION

All
one

the

river,

plain

alluvial

the

deposits

Indus,

together

with

of the Lower Indus Plain are obviously

which have completely

its earlier

marine

buried

deposits

the original

to a depth

the work of

land surface

of some

of the

thousand

feet.

The plain may be regarded as a fairly homogeneous

aquifer likened to a huge sponge,
capable
of absorbing
runoff from abjacent foothills as well as rainfall and seepage
from the river and canals that traverse it, and of transmitting
this subterranean
flow
downslope

to the Arabian

Human
channel.

control

by erecting

through

to

a more

Under
is now

should

be maintained

on account

easterly

course

such conditions

plains

restricted.

has virtually

soils

deposition

becomes

by adding such soil

of the

are

here

however,

mark

different

of these sediments

stratification

with

rapid

of recent

and '~at places

sand are limited

soils

arc

and vertical
while

a Il110st sandy.

to high bar deposits

deficient

and

in alluvial

clay,

in organic

up of its
the flood-

that the fertility

of which

and

they

are

so no

pedologically

horizons.

sedimentation.
changes.

The

deposited
textures

and certain
matter,

over

of soils
depleted

immature,

The

landforms

A redeeming

feature,

well sorted textures and reveal intricate

those
Soil

of its building

necessary

origin

is that they exhibit

lateral

are fine sandy loam to silty

coa rser

phases

of a break

the ages.

is very little or no profile development

found

tbe river to its own

tendency

of alluvium

constituents

crops through

region

confined

but the natural

still persists on account

the natural

It, therefore,

of their supporting

The

The

bunds

It can now no longer swing sideways,

channel.

There

Sea.

parts

available

most

a little

recent sediments
earlier

having

eighty-five

of the

meander

nitrogen

are

much

per cent of
floodplains.

and phosphate

but are

1969

ALLUVIAL

very productive

MORPHOLOGY

when

organic content
sities, thereby

irrigated.

OF THE LOWER

It is hoped

that

INDUS

the

PLAIN

present

33

situation

of

low

in soils will certainly improve

with an increase in cropping intenimproving
the physical
characteristics
of soils, provided the drainage

is good.
Abandoned
the cultivable
efforts
and

land

in saline
damage

(Gudu,

in the

commanded
lands

region

and Ghulam

approximately

is mainly

in proximity

done by waterlogging

Sukkur

constitutes

area, which

due

to

with canal extremities,

and salinity.

Mohammad)

Within

non-cultivated

sixteen

a failure

per cent of

of development

maldistribution

of water

the three major

lands

are

commands

those

which

can

be developed
by canal irrigation.
In the remaining commands the never cultivated
land represents the transition
between sand-hills
and sand-dunes
on the one side
and the already cultivated area on the other.
About

sixty per cent

of the region

has

itself in the form of waterlogging

of lands.
table is expected
to rise in all the perennial
areas evince a typical
much

change

seasonal

even where development

areas where it is envisaged

ping

will

supplies

indirectly

is alive to the
formulated

eight per cent

a very

can

tube-wells

is bound

for
but

manifests

existing conditions
waterThe seasonal rice growing

be expected

greater

water-table,

water-table

need of providing

has

to

persist

water supplies.
utilizing

without

In perennial

ground

water,

in areas where increased

to rise resulting

of

the

assumed

land

system.

alarming

is severely

saline

considerable

There is no dennite

a drainage

and are under various

now

per cent is moderately

to

which

which

in waterlogging

pumsurface

of

lands.

of a drainage
system in such areas is inevitable for bringing down
It will not be out of place to mention here that the government

for the purpose

Salinity

the

water-table

Under the
commands.

provides

to introduce

control

are inevitable

Thus provision
the water-table.

rythm

a high

Many

in the region.

affected

and

This soil defect together

degree

relationship

the

productivity

between

having

been

stages of execution.

proportion

salt

schemes

the

remaining

with waterlogging

of the cultivated

water-table

About

depth

and

thirty-

sixty-two
is limiting

land in the region.

upper

soil salinity,

since a II classes of upper soil salini ty are found associated with all depths of wa ter-table.
Abrupt changes in salinity
over short distances
are very common.
In such places
salinity

is associated

with water-table

depth,

These three factors are so closely interrelated

pendently

of the other two.

Relationship

land

use.

that no one factor can be considered

ground

inde-

between

water

landforms

salinity

and

and salinity

is also

not

very clear.
Since in almost all the landforms
there are equal number of sites of
class four and five salinity.
The levees are certainly the worst affected in this regard
and the extent of salinity in them is also variable.
It is difficult to make out whether
it is due to landform
or land use, because the
along side the levee deposits is never cultivated.

saline

part

of the cover floodplain

PAKISTAN

34
It

is,

indeed,

very

GEOGRAPHICAL

fortunate

that modern

man to evolve effective methods to eradicate

diseases.
It is now left to us to employ
tiously
and

then

culture
and

and intelligently.
to

redeem

on account

hydrological

Efforts
partially

of it.

damaged

conditions

as also

In

the

in appreciating
and

present

end

it is hoped

the relationship
land

may be undertaken

use and

to

be directed
must

to check

permanently

correspond

requirements

their

to

lost to agri-

local

of agriculture,

spreading
geological

for different

this study may prove to be of some advantage

exists

in indicating

for a planned

has enabled

areas.

that,
that

science and technology

lands as also those

employed

types of crops are raised in different

JANUARY

the harmful
effects of the twin soil
these methods to our advantage expedi-

at first should

Methods

REVIEW

between
the direction

and intelligent

the

geomorphic

features,

in which more detailed

use of the land.

soils
studies