Soil moisture is a central hydrological state variable. We set up a soil moisture and soil temperature profile monitoring network of 15 stations, distributed over the 495 km² Raam region. The Raam catchment faces dry and wet periods, which both have implications for agricultural and regional water management. The measurements at 5 cm depth provide a reference for soil moisture retrievals from earth observations, while the measurements at deeper layers enable investigation of root zone processes.