5. Dendritic Drainage
A term used for drainage which is branching, ramifying or dichotomising, thereby giving the appearance of a tree. Thus, a dendritic pattern develops in a terrain which has uniform lithology, and where faulting and jointing are insignificant; e.g., massive crystalline rocks or thick plains consisting of clays. Most of the rivers of the Indo-Gangetic Plains are of dendritic type. The term dendritic, coined by I.C. Russel (1898), is used to denote the most common type of drainage pattern and is a distinctive feature of the regions having horizontally bedded sedimentary rocks or massive igneous rocks (Fig. 3.2-A).
Dendritic Pattern Trellis Pattern
Barbed Pattern Rectangular Pattern