Mapping an inland valley catchment area
The inland valley bottom or lowland is the lowest part of an inland-valley catchment area, which includes from top to bottom: the hillerest, the upland slopes (upper and lower slopes), the hydromorphic one and the actually valley bottom.
The catchment area is the entire land area in a valley depression that forms the hydrogrphaic (water-channel) network, which conveys water to the valley bottom. Among others, this network determines the inflow (irrigation) and outflow (drainage) of water in the inland-valley lowland. The shape of the catchment area, the soil types and their depth, the vegetation, the rainfall regime and other factors also influence the functioning of the inland valley and determine its potential and limitations for agricultural use.
To understand the functioning of the valley bottom, it is necessary to have an overview of the entire catchment area and its hydrological system.