Open Journal of Modern Hydrology, 2018, 8, 1-12 http://www.scirp.org/journal/ojmh ISSN Online: 2163-0496 ISSN Print: 2163-0461 DOI: 10.4236/ojmh.2018.81001 Dec. 25, 2017 1 Open Journal of Modern Hydrology Investigations into the Morphometric Characteristics of Obibia Drainage Basin, Awka Urban Area, Nigeria Emma E. Ezenwaji 1 , Emmanuel O. Nwabineli 2 , Philip O. Phil-Eze 3 1 Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria 2 Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechnic, Unwana, Nigeria 3 University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria Abstract The aim of the study was to investigate the morphometric characteristics of Obibia drainage basin which is wholly located within the Awka Capital terri- tory of Anambra State, Nigeria. The basin was delineated with conventional method from topographic map (Udi SW) on the scale of 1:50,000 published by Federal Survey office. Field survey was conducted for 9 months between April and December 2015 and data were obtained on linear, areal and relief aspects of the basin to ascertain the morphometric characteristics of the basin. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) reduced our 19 variables into 5 while Principal Component Regression (PCR) was employed to reveal the relative contributions of morphometric variables. Result shows a bifurcation Ratio R (Rb) of 3.00 around the month of the river basin indicating higher risk of flooding. The relationship between mean stream length and stream order shows that order 2 drifts too far away from straight line on plotted graph sug- gesting some structural imbalances. The study recommends proper urban land use planning within the basin that would preserve the natural condition of the basin. Keywords Morphometry, Basin, Relief, River, Land Use 1. Introduction The problems posed by the morphometric characteristics of some urban river basins in Nigeria are widely recognized. In a comparative study of Ogunpa and Ogbere drainage basin in Ibadan, Ajibade, Ifebiyi, Iroye and Ogenteru [1] con- How to cite this paper: Ezenwaji, E.E., Nwabineli, E.O. and Phil-Eze, P.O. (2018) Investigations into the Morphometric Characteristics of Obibia Drainage Basin, Awka Urban Area, Nigeria. Open Journal of Modern Hydrology, 8, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojmh.2018.81001 Received: October 20, 2017 Accepted: December 22, 2017 Published: December 25, 2017 Copyright © 2018 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access