Rapid calculation of catchment boundaries using an automated river network overlay technique

Techniques for constructing watershed boundaries by combining a river network and raster data bases are described. Data types and archive structure required for application of the river network technique are presented, and the methods and algorithms for watershed boundary construction and catchment characteristic derivation are defined. The river network methodology allows rapid watershed definition that is equivalent in ease to the generation of boundaries from digital elevation or digital terrain models, but without the necessity for large and expensive data bases of elevation data.