WATERSHED CLASSIFICATION IS A POSSIBLE WAY TO REFLECT WATERSHED ENVIRONMENT TO RIVER ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT. IN THIS PAPER A METHOD OF WATERSHED CLASSIFICATION IS PROPOSED. THIS METHOD HAS FOLLOWING CHARACTERISTICS: (1) BRANCH WATERSHEDS ARE USED AS LAND UNITS, (2) ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS SUCH AS IANDFORM,GEOLOGY AND SOIL ARE CONSIDERED. TO CONFIRM THE SUITABILITY. OF THIS METHOD, A CASE STUDY WAS CARRIED OUT. THE WATERSHEDS OF ARA-KAWA RIVER SYSTEM CONTAINING 232 BRANCHES WERE CLASSIFIED INTO 10 GROUPS. EACH GROUP SHOWED ITS UNIQUE VEGETATION AND LAND-USE COMPOSITION AND RIVER CHARACTERISTICS. THESE RESULTS INDICATED THAT THE PROPOSED METHOD SUCCESSFULLY CLASSIFIED THE WATERSHEDS FROM THE POINT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT.
