LAND COVER CHANGES AND WATERSHED GEOMORPHOLOGY IN HOUSTON, TEXAS: A PRELIMINARY STUDY

Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States with a population of over 2 million as of 2010. The land cover of this area is dominated by urban development as a result of rapid population growth. Houston, which is situated on a large delta of the Gulf Coastal Plain is level to gently sloping with meandering stream channels dominated by clay, silts and sands, which are derived from the marine sediments that constitute the area. Has this rapid urbanization, which has resulted in major land cover changes, impacted the various watersheds in the area? Specifically, we examined slope, sediment transport, drainage density, and peak flows to establish linkages between these geomorphic parameters and land cover changes.

This research compares and contrasts the Buffalo Bayou and Spring Creek watersheds of the Houston Metro Area. The Buffalo Bayou watershed is dominated by urban land cover while the Spring Creek watershed has minimal urban land. Preliminary results suggest that drainage density, sedimentation, and magnitude and occurrence of peak flow increase while there were no significant changes in the slope.