Determining the fractal pattern in a reach of Qharesou river, Ardabil province, Northwest of Iran

Fractal dimension is a powerful and important index that reflects the physical and morphological characteristics of rivers and has a close relationship with geometric features of rivers. The fractal pattern was used to investigate the sinuosity of the Gharehsou River in Ardabil Province, using the box-counting method. The results show that the fractal dimension of the Gharehsou River varies between 2.068 and 2.186. The minimum fractal dimension is in the first category of meanders with lower areas of tangent circle, and the maximum number of circles falls into the eighth category (having high areas of tangent circle). Based on the correlation between the number and area of tangent circles (0.71 to 0.84), it can be said that the river reaches studied follow a fractal and self-similar pattern. The fractal dimension values in the Anzab village-Taleb Qeshlaqi village reach were calculated to be 2.23, indicating a higher level of self-similarity, which is related with the naturalness of this river reach, which is located within a plain area, and the river has undergone more evolution. On the other hand, in the Taleb Qeshlaqi village-Sabalān Dam reach, the fractal dimension value was found to be 1.85, which may be related to the river traversing steeper paths, limiting its meander development and making the fractal pattern less observable. Human interventions in the river's course, as well as the river's passage through agricultural lands in some cases, have led to changes in the width and depth of the river and restrictions on meander expansion.