Watershed delineation using geographic information systems

Abstract EN

Water resources have become significant element of national concern, notably in arid and semi-arid regions where they constitute serious geo-environmental issues.

A watershed is a geographic area where all rainwater and any other type of precipitation drain into lakes, rivers, or other bodies of water.

A watershed or running water infiltration area is the most important unit for management of wetlands and water resources.

When creating watersheds, GIS assumes that water will simply flow downhill.

Watersheds are physically delineated by the area upstream from an outlet point and are usually separated by ridgelines.

Before watersheds can be managed, it is necessary to delineate their boundaries and this was done in ArcGIS using the hydrologic analysis tools.