TECTONIC GEOMORPHOLOGY AND SEDIMENTOLOGY IN PARTS OF THE GANGA-GHAGHARA INTERFLUVE

Abstract

The Upper Ganga Plain, located within the Indo-Gangetic foreland basin, is the most geologically active area. While extensive research has been conducted on the neotectonics, geomorphology, and sedimentology of the Ganga plain in recent decades, most of these studies have focused on the eastern and southern parts of the upper Ganga plain. However, the northern region of the Ganga/Deoha-Ghaghara interfluve has received relatively less attention regarding its geomorphic and tectonic evolution. The Ganga/Deoha-Ghaghara interfluve region is primarily drained by the Ramganga and Deoha Rivers, along with their tributaries. It forms a sparsely drained upland interfluve in the west and a densely drained inter-cone in the east before ultimately meeting the main river, Ganga. The fluvial geomorphology of the study area is primarily influenced by the Ganga and Ramganga Rivers, which have experienced various phases of channel migration due to block tilting. Tectonically, the study area is situated in the northwestern part of the upper Ganga plain, resting upon two major subsurface basement faults, namely the Moradabad Fault (MF) and the Great Boundary Fault (GBF). It is bounded by the Delhi-Haridwar Ridge (DHR) in the west and the Faizabad Ridge (FR) in the east. In this study, the focus was on investigating the morphotectonic evolution of the study area during the Late Quaternary period. An integrated approach, combining remote sensing and GIS analysis, shallow subsurface stratigraphy, and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) techniques, was employed to understand the tectono-geomorphic characteristics of the bounding faults.