Hydrological analysis of the characteristics of the natural environment of the Erbil water basin

Abstract

Extract The current study dealt with research and analysis the characteristics of the natural environment of the Erbil Water Basin with an area of ​​(1684.73 km2), which is one of the water basins within the Erbil Governorate / northern Iraq and its discharge ends in the Great Zab River, and is represented by three secondary basins (Northern Erbil Basin - Middle Erbil Basin - Erbil Basin The study and analysis of the characteristics of the natural environment such as the geological structure, slope and vegetation, as well as climatic data, soil types and natural cover are controlling elements in determining the hydrological behavior of water basins. The study showed the distinction of the study area with a basin body as a result of the presence of a group of convex structural structures of varying heights and confined to concave lands, and topographically divided into three units (highlands - hills - plain lands), and that (76.16) % of the area of ​​the study area according to (Zuidam) classification is On flat and low-slope surfaces with gradients of (0-7%), and that the majority of the directions of the slopes are compatible with the topography of the region that the waterways of the basin follow in their flow, and as a result of the coincidence of the low temperatures and evaporation rates with the season of rain precipitation increases the actual value of rain and the occurrence of surface runoff, It was also noted that the percentage of vegetation cover reached (88.98) %, which is a high percentage in the density of the vegetative evidence, and in terms of soil it is brown soils (94.76 %) and lithosol (5.24 %).