GEOMORPHOLOGICAL UNITS AND LANDCOVER MAP OF WADI EL-NATRUN AREA USING REMOTE SENSING AND GIS TECHNIQUES, WESTERN DESERT, EGYPT

Document Type : Research articles.

Authors

Soils, Water & Environment Research Institute, ARC, Giza, Egypt

Abstract

Wadi EL-Natrun area is one of the promising areas in the
Western Desert for reclamation and utilization due to its location and
the presence of ground water in a suitable quality for irrigation. It is
located in the northeast corner of the Western Desert between
longitudes 30o 00\ and 30o 30\ East and latitudes 30o 15' and 30o 30'
North. Wadi El-Natrun is a morphotectonic depression, having the
lowest portion at its center (-23 m ASL) with gradual increase
elevation towards the outer margins of the depression. The
geomorphological characteristics of Wadi El-Natrun depression and
their surrounding lands were studied using the remote sensing (RS)
and geographic information system (GIS) techniques. Landsat ETM+
image (2006), Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN map), Digital
Elevation Model (DEM map), geological map and data verification
by in situ observation were used for delineating the main
geomorphologic units. The study area (acreage 135890 hectares)
could be divided into four main regions; namely hills (foot slope and
table land), Wadi terraces, Wadi depression (Aeolian deposits,
alluvium deposits hectares and lakes & sabkhas) and alluvial plain.
Each of these regions showed distinct geomorphological features.
Landcover classes were typically mapped from digital remotely
sensed data through the process of supervised digital image
classification. The study area was classified into five main classes
with specific spectral signature for each class as follows: cultivated
land (27040 hectares), bare soil and high land (98048 hectares), sand
sheet (5164 hectares), urban (4838 hectares) and lakes & sabkhas
(938 hectares). Descriptions of these landcover classes are presented

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