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Hydrogeological and Groundwater Maps in Africa

The lists below give details of more than 60 hydrogeological and thematic groundwater maps of all or parts of Africa, at various scales. Many of these maps are available to view online, and weblinks are provided where relevant.

If you know of maps that aren't on this list but should be, please let us know! Email us: AfricaGWAtlas@bgs.ac.uk

Continental Maps

Hydrogeological Maps of Africa

Map Title	Date	Scale	Editors	Publishing Organisation	Format	Where to find	Notes
Groundwater resources of Africa	2018			BGR / WHYMAP	Paper , pdf		Special edition produced for 7th Africa Water Week. Depicts current status on groundwater resources mapping in Africa. Includes cross sections, TBA maps and information from regional hydrogeological studies
Transboundary aquifers of Africa	2018			IGRAC and UNESCO-IHP	GIS; pdf	Available to view in Online map portal; pdf
Groundwater (aquifer) productivity for Africa	2012	nominal 1:20 million	MacDonald et al	BGS	xyz tab-delimited text file (easily convertible to raster/grid in GIS)	Download digital map	Part of Quantitative Maps of Africa set. Shows estimated relative aquifer productivity based on potential borehole yield (properly located, constructed etc) as a proxy, with 6 classes from Very High (> 20 l/s) to Very Low (< 0.1 l/s)
Groundwater storage for Africa	2012	nominal 1:20 million	MacDonald et al	BGS	xyz tab-delimited text file (easily convertible to raster/grid in GIS)	Download digital map	Part of Quantitative Maps of Africa set. Shows potential groundwater storage as water depth in mm, with 6 classes from 0 to > 50,000 mm
Depth to groundwater for Africa	2012	nominal 1:20 million	MacDonald et al	BGS	xyz tab-delimited text file (easily convertible to raster/grid in GIS)	Download digital map	Part of Quantitative Maps of Africa set. Shows potential groundwater storage as water depth in mm, with 6 classes from 0 to > 50,000 mm
Groundwater resources map of Africa	2008			WHYMAP	Scanned pdf map	Scanned pdf map	Extract from ‘Groundwater Resources map of the World
Carte hydrogeologique de l’Afrique	2008	1:10 million	Jean Jaques Seguin et al	BRGM		Project webpage	Not currently available to download
Hydrogeological map of Africa	1992	1:5 million	Safar Zitoun, M. & Nouiouat, A.C	Organisation Africaine de Cartographie et de Télédétection (OACT)		Scanned image available to view in WHYMAP/WHYMIS portal
Major Hydrogeological Formations (after Geological Map of Africa, 1:5,000,000)	1988	1:5 million		United Nations		Scanned image available to view in WHYMAP/WHYMIS portal

Hydrogeological and Thematic Groundwater Maps of the world that include Africa

Map Title	Date	Scale	Editors	Publishing Organisation	Format	Where to find
Groundwater resources of the world	2008	1:25 million & 1:40 million		WHYMAP	Vector shapefile; webmap service; view online; pdf poster; printed map	Download shapefile or poster pdf; web map service; view online on WHYMAP Viewer or IGRAC online portal; for a printed copy contact whymap@bgr.de
Groundwater and river basins of the world	2012			WHYMAP	Vector shapefile; webmap service; view online; pdf poster; printed map	Download shapefile or poster pdf; web map service; view online on WHYMAP Viewer; for a printed copy contact whymap@bgr.de
Global transboundary aquifer (TBA) maps	2009, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017			IGRAC and UNESCO-IHP	Shapefile; view online; printed map on poster	IGRAC online portal
Global Groundwater vulnerability to floods & droughts	2015	1: 25 million		WHYMAP	Vector shapefile; webmap service; view online; pdf poster; printed map	Download shapefile or poster pdf; web map service; view online on WHYMAP Viewer; for a printed copy contact whymap@bgr.de
World Karst Aquifer Map	2017			WHYMAP	Vector shapefile; webmap service; view online; pdf poster; printed map	Download shapefile or poster pdf; web map service; view online on WHYMAP Viewer; for a printed copy contact whymap@bgr.de

Regional / Multi-Country Groundwater Maps

Hydrogeological Regional Maps

Map Title	Date	Scale	Editors	Publishing Organisation	Format	Where to find	Notes
Ramotswa Aquifer	2018?			Ramotswa project consortium	Created as shapefiles. Available to view in online portal.	Ramotswa Information Management System (RIMS)	Online portal with maps of the Ramotswa aquifer (Botswana + South Africa). Multiple map layers including aquifer boundary, location of springs, groundwater levels and quality parameters, recharge.
SADC Hydrogeological map	2010	1:2.5 million		Sweco Internationl (Sweden); Council for Geoscience (South Africa); Water Geosciences Consulting (South Africa) and Water Resources Consultants (Botswana).	Created as shapefiles.	Online portal	Hydrogeological map shows aquifer lithology, flow type and groundwater potential
Middle East Hydrogeology / Vorderer Orient Hydrogeologie	1990	1: 8 million	Schöler et al	Universität Tübingen, Germany		View scanned image in WHYMIS portal
Hydrogeological Map of the Arab Region and Adjacent Areas	1988	1:5 million	J Khouri & A Droubi	Regional Office for Science & Technology in the Arab States, ACSAD; WRD & UNESCO		View scanned image in WHYMIS portal	Covers Somalia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, Egypt, Libya, (CAR?), Algeria, Morocco, WS, Mauritania, parts of Mali, Niger & Chad
Map of groundwater resource potentiality of West and Central Africa	1986	1: 5 million		BRGM Paris		View scanned image in WHYMIS portal	Combines type of reservoir, mainly based on lithology and potentiality grades, based on number of wells/sources inventoried.
North Africa – Tunesia, Algeria	1983	1: 1 million	Stuckmann et al	German Research Society, Berlin		View scanned image in WHYMIS portal
Carte de Planification des Ressources en Eau du Gabon et du Congo	1982	1: 1 million		Comité Interafricain d’Etudes Hydrauliques, Ouagadougou & BRGM, Orléans		View scanned image in WHYMIS portal	Represents ‘renewable resource of aquifers as fraction of mean effective precipitation. Also shows exploitable reserves, main geological formations, rivers, main wells
Carte de Planification des ressources en eau du Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, du Togo et due Benin	1978	1:1 million	Bourgeois	Comite Interafricain d’Etudes Hydrauliques, Ougadougou / BRGM		View scanned image in WHYMIS portal
Carte de planification pour l’exploitation des eaux souterraines de l’Afrique soudano-sahelienne	1976	1:1.5 million		BRGM with Bureau Central d’Etudes pour les equipments Outre-Mer (Mali) & Comite Inter-africain d’Etudes Hydrauliques (Niger)
Groundwater in North and West Africa	1975	1:4 million				View scanned image in WHYMIS portal
Carte hydrogeologique du Congo Belge et du Ruanda Urundi	1957	1:5 million	M J Snel	Service Geologique du Congo Belge		View scanned image in WHYMIS portal

Thematic Regional Groundwater Map

Region	Map Title	Date	Scale	Editors	Publishing Organisation	Format	Where to find	Notes
SADC	Groundwater drought risk maps	2013	n/a	Villholth, Tøttrup, Stendel & Maherry.	IWMI	GIS	Available to view in SADC online portal	Developed as part of the spatial analysis tool GRiMMS (Groundwater Drought Risk Mapping and Management System). Described in Villholth, Tøttrup, Stendel & Maherry. 2013. Integrated mapping of groundwater drought risk in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. Hydrogeology Journal (2013) 21: 863–885. DOI 10.1007/s10040-013-0968-1

National (Country) Hydrogeological Maps

Hydrogeological national maps

Country	Map Title	Date	Scale	Editors	Publishing Organisation	Format	Where to find
Angola	Mapa Hidrogeologico de Angola	1990	1:1.5 million		Hidroprojecto Consultores de Hidraulica e Salubridade SA, Lisboa & MacDonald & Partners Ltd Cambridge	Paper, scanned pdf	View scanned image in WHYMIS portal
Benin	Carte hydrogéologique du Bénin	2012	1:500,000		GIZ & DGEau	Pdf	Available to download
Benin	Cartes hydrogéologiques du Bénin	2012	1:250,000		GIZ & DGEau	Pdf?
Benin	Carte hydrogéologique du Bénin	1985	1:500,000	Engalenc	Service des Mines et de la Géologie & Fonds Européen de Développemen	Paper, scanned pdf
Botswana	Groundwater resources map of the Republic of Botswana	1987	1:1 million	von Hoyer & Struckmeier	Geological Survey Department, Lobatse	Paper, scanned pdf	View scanned image in WHYMIS portal
Burundi	Map of groundwater potential of Burundi (Carte des potentialites en eaux souteraines du Burundi)	2011	1:250,000		BRGM	Pdf	Image available to view in Gutierrez & Barrat (2016)
Cameroon	Carte de planification des ressources en eau du Cameroun	1979	1:1,000,000	Bourgeois	BRGM	Paper, scanned pdf	View scanned image in WHYMIS portal
Central African Republic	Carte de Planification des Ressources en Eau de la République Centrafricain	1987	1:1,500,000	Ricolvi	BRGM	Paper, scanned pdf	View scanned image in WHYMIS portal
Chad (Tchad)	Carte Hydrogeologique de la Republique du Tchad	1969	1:500,000	Scheider & Wolff	BRGM	Paper, scanned pdf	View scanned image in WHYMIS portal
Core d'Ivoire	Carte de Planification des Ressources en Eau de Côte d'Ivoire	1978	1:1,000,000		BRGM	Paper, scanned pdf	View scanned image in WHYMIS portal
Core d'Ivoire	Carte de Planification de Reconnaissance de la Côte d'Ivoire	1964	1:1,000,000	Maillary	BRGM	Paper, scanned pdf	View scanned image in WHYMIS portal
Djibouti	Carte de Reconnaissance des Eaux Souterraines de la Republique de Djibouti	1983	1:300,000	Müller et al	Service du Genie Rural, Djibouti & BGR, Hannover	Paper, scanned pdf	View scanned image in WHYMIS portal
Egypt	Hydrogeological Map of Egypt	1988	1:2 million		Research Institute for Groundwater, Giza / Water Research Center, Ministry of Public Works and Water Resources Arab Republic of Egypt	Paper, scanned pdf	View scanned image in WHYMIS portal
eSwatini	Groundwater resources of Swaziland: Hydrogeological Map	1992	1:250,000		Canadian International Development Agency; Kingdom of Swaziland Department of Geological Surveys and Mines. Georeferenced and converted to GIS format by IGRAC, 2020	Paper, scanned pdf, digital georeferenced	Digital georeferenced version available to view in SADC GIP. View scanned image of original map in WHYMIS portal
Ethiopia	Hydrogeological Map of Ethiopia	1988	1:2 million	Chernet	Ethiopian Institute of Geological Surveys, Ministry of Mines and Energy, Addis Abeba	Paper, scanned pdf	View scanned image in WHYMIS portal
Lesotho	Hydrogeological map of Lesotho	>1993	1:300,000	Arduino et al	Government of Lesotho Ministry of Natural Resources, Department of Water Affairs, Ground Water Division; Government of Italy General Directorate of Development Cooperation		View scanned image in WHYMIS portal
Libya	Groundwater maps of the Kingdom of Libya	1964	1:4 million	Jones	USGS	Paper, scanned pdf	View scanned image in WHYMIS portal
Madagascar	Carte Hydrogeologie de Madagascar	2008	1:500,000	Davies	BGS
Malawi	Hydrogeological and water quality map	2015	1:650,000	Saeze & Roos	Council for Geoscience, Republic of South Africa, for Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation & Water Development	pdf	Download from BASEflow site
Malawi	Hydrogeological reconnaissance map of Malawi	1987	1:250,000	Basali et al	Department of Surveys, Blantyre
Mauritania	Hydrogeologic map of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania	2013			USGS & Ministry of Petroleum, Energy and Mines		Image of map available to view in report
Mauritius	Ile Maurice (Mauritius) Carte Geologique au 1:50 000 Schema hydrogeologique	1999	1:50,000	Giorgi et al	Republique du Maurice; Union Europeene; Ministere des Affaires Etrangers Cooperation et Francophonie
Mozambique	Carta Hidrogeologica de Mocambique	1987	1:1 million	Ferro & Bouman	Direccao Nacional de Aguas, Ministerio da Constucao e Aguas, Maputo	Paper, scanned pdf	View scanned image in WHYMIS portal
Namibia	Hydrogeological Map of Namibia	2001	1:1 million	van Wyk et al	Geological Survey Namibia, Department of Water Affairs, Windhoek & Bundesanstalt fur Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR), Hannover	pdf	View scanned image in WHYMIS portal; explanations in report Groundwater in Namibia (Christelis and Struckmeier 2001/2011)
Niger	Carte de reconnaissance hydrogeologique du Niger Sud Oriental	1964	1:1 million	F Pirard	BRGM	Paper, scanned pdf	View scanned image in WHYMIS portal
Senegal	Carte Hydrogéologique de la République du Senegal	1965	1:500,000	Depagne, Moussu & Margat	BRGM	Paper, scanned pdf	View scanned image in WHYMIS portal
Somalia	Regional Hydrogeological Map of Somaliland and Puntland	2012	1:750,000	Stevanovic & Milanovic	FAO UN, SWALIM	Pdf	Available to download from FAO-SWALIM
Somalia	Hydrogeological Map - Somalia	1971	1:1 million	Popov	Ministry of Mining & Water Resources, Mogadiscio	Paper, scanned pdf	View scanned image in WHYMIS portal
South Africa	Groundwater harvest potential of the Republic of South Africa	1996	1:3 million	Seymour et al	DWAF, Pretoria	Paper, scanned pdf	View scanned image in WHYMIS portal. See also DWAF.
South Africa	Groundwater resources of the Republic of South Africa – Sheet 1	1995	1: 2.5 million	Vegter et al	DWAF, Pretoria	Paper, scanned pdf	View scanned image in WHYMIS portal. See also DWAF.
South Africa	Groundwater resources of the Republic of South Africa – Sheet 2	1995	1: 2.5 million	Vegter et al	DWAF, Pretoria	Paper, scanned pdf	View scanned image in WHYMIS portal. See also DWAF.
South Africa	Hydrogeological Map of the Republic of South Africa	2004	1:2 million	I du Toit	Department of Water Affairs & Forestry, Pretoria	Paper, scanned pdf	View scanned image in WHYMIS portal
South Africa	Geohydrological Map Series of South Africa	1998-2002	1:500,000	Girmann et al	DWAF, Pretoria
Sudan	Hydrogeological Map of Sudan	1989	1:2 million		National Corporation for Development of Rural Water Resources, Sudan & TNO-DGV Institute of Applied Geoscience, The Netherlands	Paper
Tanzania	Hydrogeological map of Tanzania	1990	1:500,000		Sir M MacDonald & Partners Ltd, Cambridge with Hidroprojecto Consultores de Hidraulica e Salubridade, SA, Lisboa	Paper, scanned pdf	View scanned image in WHYMIS portal
Tunisia	Carte des ressources en eau de la Tunisie	1990	1:500,000	Zebidi	Direction Générale des Ressources en Eau, Tunis.	Paper
Uganda	Hydrogeological map of Uganda	1989	1: 1.5 million		Sir Alexander Gibb and Partners / Institute of Hydrology / BGS	Paper, scanned pdf	View scanned image in WHYMIS portal
Zambia	Hydrogeological Map of Zambia	1990 / 2018	1:1.5 million		Original map by MacDonald & Partners; reissued by WARMA & BGR.	Paper, scanned pdf	View scanned image of original map (1990) in WHYMIS portal. New map available to download as pdf from BGR
Zimbabwe	Zimbabwe Regional Hydrogeological Map	1986	1: 500,000		Ministry of Energy & Water Resources & Development, Harare	Paper, scanned pdf	View scanned image in WHYMIS portal

Country	Date	Scale	Publishing Organisation	Format	Notes
10 maps of main aquifers in 10 African countries	1977	1:5 million	BRGM	Paper	Funded by EEC and FAC (French Fund for Aid & Cooperation). Based on inventory of docs in CNRS, UNESCO & BRGM. Represents main continuous & discontinuous aquifers, graded according to facies, mean thickness & overall flow rates & water quality

Thematic National Groundwater Maps

Country	Map Title	Date	Scale	Editors	Publishing Organisation	Format	Where to find	Notes
Botswana	Groundwater pollution vulnerability map	1995	1:1 million	Busch & von Hoyer	Geological Survey Department, Lobatse		Paper, scanned pdf
Ethiopia	Water security and drought	2001	1:3.5 million	MacDonald et al	BGS	Pdf	View e in WHYMIS portal
Mauritania	Chemical Hydrologic Map of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania	2013			USGS & Ministry of Petroleum, Energy and Mines		Image of map available to view in report
Mauritania	Diagrammatic Geological Map - Location of Mauritania's Main Aquifers	1975	1:2,500,000	Elouard, P., Paloc, H., Barrere, J. et al.	UN	Paper map in report, scanned pdf	View scanned image in WHYMIS portal
South Africa	MAR suitability map	2009			DWP	Paper, scanned pdf	Available to view in IGRAC online portal

Some Sub-national (e.g. district, catchment, aquifer) Hydrogeological and Thematic Groundwater Maps

Country	Map Title	Date	Scale	Editors	Publishing Organisation	Format	Where to find	Notes
Ethiopia	Groundwater availability in Benishangul-Gumuz region, Ethiopia	2009		Ó Dochartaigh	BGS / RIPPLE	Created in GIS; available only as pdf	Ó Dochartaigh (2009)	Thematic map on poster with information on how it was developed
Ethiopia	Groundwater Potential of part of Benishangul-Gumuz region, Ethiopia	2008		Lemacha	WaterAid Ethiopia / RIPPLE	Created in GIS; available only as pdf	Lemacha 2008)	Thematic map on poster with information on how it was developed
Ethiopia	37 maps in Abbay river basin, Ethiopia	1997		BRGM / BCEOM / ISL				Maps created for 'Abbay river basin integrated development master plan project'
Ghana	Groundwater development potential map for the Northern Region, Ghana	2011		Ó Dochartaigh et al	BGS	Created in GIS; available only as pdf in report	Ó Dochartaigh et al (2011)
Ghana	Afram Plains Groundwater Development Map	2002		Davies & Cobbing	BGS	Created in GIS; available only as pdf in report	Davies & Cobbing (2002)
Kenya	Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) suitability map for North Kenya	2013			Acacia Water		Available to view in IGRAC online portal
Madagascar	Carte Hydrogeologique du Sud de Madagascar	1957	1:500,000	J Aurouze	Service Geologique de Madagascar	Paper, scanned pdf	View scanned image in WHYMIS portal
Niger/Nigeria	The transboundary hydrogeological map of the Komadugu-Yobe basin (Niger/Nigeria)	2018	1:1,000,000	Rückl	Lake Chad Basin Commission / BGR	Created in GIS; pdf available to view in report	Rückl (2018)
Nigeria	Groundwater development maps of Oju and Obi Local Areas, eastern Nigeria	1998	1:100,000	MacDonald & Davies	BGS	Created in GIS; available only as pdf in report	MacDonald & Davies (1998)
Somalia	Hydrogeological Maps for four selected areas of interest in Somaliland and Puntland	2012	1:250,000		FAO UN, SWALIM	Pdf	Available to download from FAO-SWALIM
Tanzania	Groundwater Potential Maps for Nzega and Tabora study areas, Tanzania	2002		Davies & Ó Dochartaigh	BGS	Created in GIS; available only as pdf in report	Davies & Ó Dochartaigh (2002)	Maps with accompanying table describing geology, groundwater targets, quality and recommended field development techniques
Uganda	Groundwater Maps of Uganda		1:175,000					A series of maps produced during the Groundwater Mapping Programme. Six map types, including water supply coverage, hydrochemical characteristics, water quality, hydrogeological characteristics, groundwater potential and groundwater supply technology options

Unlisted Maps

As well as the maps in the lists above, there are other maps at a country or sub-country scale, many of which were produced and/or edited by BRGM. The BRGM maps are mainly in Sahelian countries (see the map below). They were produced between 1952 and 2010, and are held in BRGM archives. Most of the maps exist as pdf images; a few are in paper (hard copy) format only. Also in BRGM's archives are more groundwater maps produced by other organisations, most of which are in paper format only. The details of these maps will be added to the lists on this page soon.

The number of groundwater maps produced and/or edited by BRGM in African countries between 1952 and 2010. These maps are held in BRGM archives.

Africa Groundwater Atlas >> Resource pages >> Hydrogeology and Groundwater Maps of Africa >> List of Groundwater and Hydrogeology Maps in Africa