LANDSAT satellite images were used to study the major factors which affect water consumption by irrigation in west-central Iowa. These factors are soil moisture, area under irrigation, and crop types. Once the monitoring system of these factors has been established, the amount of water withdrawn for supplementary irrigation can be estimated. The use of the microdensitometer and measurement of image reflectivity was emphasized in the soil moisture portion. The results from this part indicated that there is a linear relation between the measured reflectivity from the LANDSAT image and the generalized surface soil moisture;Applying a simple manual interpretation method of black and white and false color composite prints and transparencies, both irrigated lands and crop types were identified. The main instrument used in this part was the Zoom Transfer Scope. The results for both experiments were promising and supported the methods of interpretation. Examination of the methods introduced in this study showed that the manual interpretation of LANDSAT imagery is a low-cost and easy approach to monitor the irrigated areas and the crop types.