Water is the most vital requirement for mankind. The growth of any area is dependent on its natural resources of which land and water form the core of ecological system. The water resources of Panchkula district are under threat due to depleting water table, which is causing land-degradation.

The principal source of ground water recharge in the district is through rainfall, although the river and streams emerging from Siwalik hills also form a significant recharge source The advent of Remote Sensing has opened up new vistas in geological, geomorphological and structural mapping for ground water exploration.

The satellite imagery portrays an unbiased picture of the area providing integrated information on different terrain factors controlling the ground water regime. In the present study the ground water prospect zones in Panchkula district were delineated using remote sensing techniques.

Objective
The present investigation is undertaken to prepare hydrogeomorphological maps of the Panchkula district on 1:50,000 scale using satellite images to delineate the ground water potential zones.

Study Area
The Panchkula district is located in the northernmost part of Haryana State, bounded by 76° 48' - 77° 10' east longitude and 30° 27' - 30° 57' north latitude covering an area of 893 square kilometers. The district is mainly drained by the river Ghaggar and its tributaries.

The relief of the area ranges from the lowest of 305m over the plains to the highest elevation of 1353m over the Siwalik hills. The climate of the district is characterised by a hot and dry summer, a southwest monsoon season and cold season. The average annual rainfall of the district is 1100 mm. Soils of the district are excessively drained, highly permeable and have low to medium productivity.

Geology of the area
The geological milieu in the district represents the lithological formation belonging to the Indo-Gangetic plain and Extra-Peninsular regions ranging in age from Upper Miocene to recent. The Subathu Series consist of shale with occasional sandstone and limestone forms the oldest rock type of the area. The Tertiary group of rocks belonging to Upper Siwalik are dominated by thick boulder and conglomerate horizons whereas the rocks of the Lower Siwalik are characterised by grey sandstone, purple shale and clay. The recent sediments mainly represent thick pile of fluviatile, unconsolidated sediments. The general geological succession in the district is given in Table-1.

Hydrogeomorphology
Hydrogeomorphological mapping incorporates relationship of geomorphic units with their groundwater potential as interpreted from the landform characteristics (nature of landform occurrence, lithology, structure, inter-relationship with other units etc.) as well as sub-surface geology. The Hydrogeomorphological interpretation (fig.1) of the investigated area has been carried out on 1:50,000 scale with the help of Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) 1C, False Colour Composite (FCC) imageries (February & October 2000) and Survey of India topographical sheet (53 B/13,14,15 & 53 F/1,2,3). Based on image characteristics of landforms (tone, texture, drainage, size, association etc.), their genesis, occurrence and composition, the hydrogeomorphic units of the area are classified under fluvial origin, denudational origin and structural origin. The aerial coverage of different units and their water prospects are given in Table- 2.

Fluvial origin
Alluvial plain and flood plain constitute the main forms of fluvial origin in addition to valley fills and channel bars. These are characterised by very gentle sloping, thick deposits of river alluvium mainly pebbles, cobbles, boulders, sand, silt and clays. These units form the main source of ground water in the region. The alluvial plain extends south of piedmont zone occupying elevation of 300 to 350 m above msl. They have a southwestward slope with an average gradient of 1.5m /km. Units of fluvial origin cover 30.87% (275.67 sq. km.) area of the district of which 20.49% and 6.60% area belongs to alluvial plain and flood plain units respectively. Ground water can be tapped through shallow and deep tube wells in alluvial plains and flood plains. The wells tapping the flood plains generally give high yield with good quality of water.

Denudational origin
The relief features of Panchkula district are dominated by units of denudational origin, which covers 387.08 sq. km. (43.34%). Denudational hills, piedmont zone and intermontane valley constitute the main units of denudational origin. Denudational hills cover 21.09% area followed by piedmont zone and intermontane valley accounting for 13.42% and 8.83% of area of the district respectively. These act as the main recharge zone in the area.

Dedudational hills are characterised by steeply sloping, highly weathered hills mainly consisting of sandstone, shales and boulder beds. These occupy elevation between 400 to 600m above msl and have poor ground water potential.

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