Horton overland flow

Horton overland flow, a concept developed by hydrologist Robert E. Horton, describes the process by which water travels over the land surface to reach a stream. This is a component of total runoff, which is the quantity of water discharged in surface streams. Runoff also includes interflow (water moving through the soil towards a stream) and base flow (groundwater entering a stream).123

Horton's laws of drainage composition, established through quantitative analysis of stream networks, describe systematic relationships in stream numbers, lengths, and slopes based on stream order. These laws provide a framework for understanding how drainage basins develop and function, independent of specific network patterns.1