An irrigation spray head includes a plurality of orifices each for directing irrigation water in a substantially continuous stream to an impact location within an area around the spray head to be irrigated. Each orifice has associated with it a mechanism for adjusting the flow area and thereby adjusting the flow rate through the orifice and the distance between the spray head and the impact location associated with the respective orifice. Each substantially continuous discrete stream emitted through one of the orifices is at a flow rate higher than the local hydraulic loading rate associated with the soil in the respective impact location. Thus, each stream of water from the spray head produces localized runoff and a wide wetting pattern around each impact location. The flow rate for each stream is chosen so that the wetting pattern associated with each impact location combines with the other wetting patterns to substantially cover the entire area to be irrigated.
