The Reest is a stream that starts in the now excavated bog between Slagharen, Lutten and Dedemsvaart. De Reest is a typical lowland stream, which meanders through a flat landscape. With a height difference of only 5 meters over a distance of 37 kilometers the stream flows near Meppel into the Meppelerdiep.

The stream largely forms the border between the provinces of Overijssel and Drenthe, as a result of which the plans to channel the stream have never been carried out and the River Reest, with its many curves, slowly flows through the valley, which varies in width from 100 to 600 metres.