Deriving Rivers and Watersheds using ArcGIS Pro

In this tutorial, you will learn how to delineate catchments and derive the associated river networks, with the help of a digital elevation model, which is also commonly known as a DEM, using ArcGIS Pro.

Watershed delineation is a crucial process in hydrological analysis, aiming to identify the boundaries of drainage basins based on the topography of the landscape. ArcGIS software provides powerful tools to perform this task effectively. By utilizing a digital elevation model (DEM), which represents the terrain's elevation values, ArcGIS enables the extraction of essential information for watershed delineation. The process typically involves using the hydrological analysis tools available in ArcGIS, such as "Fill," which removes depressions, and "Flow Direction," which determines the flow path of water across the terrain. The subsequent step involves computing the "Flow Accumulation," which quantifies the accumulated flow at each pixel, aiding in the identification of stream networks and catchment areas. Finally, the "Watershed" tool allows for the delineation of watershed boundaries by assigning each cell to its corresponding drainage basin. Through these integrated functionalities, ArcGIS facilitates the efficient and accurate delineation of watersheds, enabling researchers, planners, and environmental professionals to gain valuable insights into hydrological systems and make informed decisions for water resource management.

[leonardorodrigo]

Thank you for your videos.!
I graduaded in GIS but it took me nearly 3 years to find a job. I forgot most stuff but thanks to your channel, I am able to keep up now. May God bless you!

[pedroseverino]

Keep making awesome videos like this. You are really one of the best teachers I have observed in Geo information.

[hlm]

Just in case this helps anyone with an invisible river in the future. I couldn't display the flow accumulation using classification, and couldn't see the points of high flow accumulation using stretch. This made it impossible to plot my outlet points. Then in the stretch symbology I changed the statistics from dataset to DRA, which basically made the river appear and makes it much easier to see at different zoom levels.

[JitendraSAHANI-vdxn]

Thank you for such informative video. I am doing my research thesis on future water availability in a watershed which has river that bifurcates and rejoins again. Can you share video on how to create watershed in such case?

[motfoho]

Thanks for your videos!
Earlier on ESRI portal was information that for calculations and analysis, for registered users, a more detailed DEM (made by Airbus) is available. This data is not accessed directly, but through building geoprocessing models.
Is it possible to check how Airbus data improves the results of the analysis?

[nazldemetuyank]

Thank you! Very informative video. Unfortunately, I can't change/edit the Id's on the attribute table. All of them are "0." Do you have any idea why and do you have any suggestions? Thanks again!

[aseelaladwan]

Thanks for sharing such information, may I know the source of that tif file, where can I extract elevations for my study area ?

[bernardbahaya]

I want to delineate watersheds in urban areas using GIS. Can I modify the terrain to capture local raises in terrain I.e. to obstruct the path of water?

[shazrielimran]

Is there any reason why I cannot generate the D8 type of flow direction? All i see is black and white colour

[giuseppecicchinelli]

i ve a problem, the d8 results with 255 values not 8 values

[anand_rajput]

Also one doubt, can we use this same method to track the runoff of a small region or a city?

[megalampz]

When I do the watershed tool it just makes a little line over my outlet point smh

[isqzbeg]

Hi, if I know lat/long how I can find and download DEM file? Thanks in advance.

[anand_rajput]

Hey, can you make the same tutorials in QGIS?
I don't have access to ArcGIS.

[undead]

I used fill tool but it gave me blank raster output

[handymanskill]

The key element you've overlooked in your efforts is the value of the drainage area. Without this, the entire exercise is rendered ineffective.