Editing Hydrogeology of Egypt

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Egypt’s geography and history have been shaped by the Sahara desert and the Nile River. Irrigated agriculture on fertile flood plains supported the great ancient civilisations that flourished for three millennia until the 1st century CE. After this, Egypt was ruled by successive waves of incomers: Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Ottomans, French and finally British. French investment supported the construction of the strategic Suez Canal, completed in 1869. Egypt was a British protectorate from 1882 to 1953, when after a revolution in 1952 it became an independent republic. Since then, Egypt has seen a number of periods of military, civil and political unrest, including internal conflict and external war. The Arab Spring of 2011 saw a popular uprising followed by further unrest, culminating in the 2014 election of a new president who had initially claimed control as the head of the Egyptian Armed Forces. The military continues to play a large role in political and economic sectors.

Egypt’s population is concentrated along the Nile valley, with very low concentrations in the Sahara. The economy is fairly diverse, depending in large part on agriculture (including the export of cotton and citrus fruit), hydrocarbons, and tourism, although tourism has declined since 2011. Remittances from Egyptians working abroad are also an important contributor. There is an expanding information technology sector, and revenue from the Suez Canal bolsters income. Built between 1960 and 1970, the Aswan dam on the Nile provides water for irrigation, allowing the expansion of irrigated areas, as well as hydroelectric power potential, and regulates floodwater flows.

Egypt is an arid country. The only perennial surface water resource is the major transboundary River Nile, which is the main source of irrigation water, on which nearly all agriculture in the country relies. There is a dense network of canals branching from the Nile. Away from the Nile valley, the rural population depends on groundwater.  


==Compilers==

'''Dr Kirsty Upton''' and '''Brighid Ó Dochartaigh''', British Geological Survey, UK

''Dr Imogen Bellwood-Howard''', Institute of Development Studies, UK

Please cite this page as: Upton, Ó Dochartaigh and Bellwood-Howard, 2018.

Bibliographic reference: Upton K, Ó Dochartaigh BÉ and Bellwood-Howard, I. 2018. Africa Groundwater Atlas: Hydrogeology of Egypt. British Geological Survey. Accessed [date you accessed the information]. http://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.php/Hydrogeology_of_Egypt

==Terms and conditions==

The Africa Groundwater Atlas is hosted by the British Geological Survey (BGS) and includes information from third party sources. Your use of information provided by this website is at your own risk. If reproducing diagrams that include third party information, please cite both the Africa Groundwater Atlas and the third party sources. Please see the [[Africa Groundwater Atlas Terms of Use | Terms of use]] for more information.

==Geographical Setting==

[[File:Egypt_Political.png | right | frame | Egypt. Map developed from USGS GTOPOPO30; GADM global administrative areas; and UN Revision of World Urbanization Prospects. For more information on the map development and datasets see the [[Geography | geography resource page]]]] 

===General===


{| class = "wikitable"
|-
|Capital city || Cairo
|-
|Region || Northern Africa
|-
|Border countries || Libya, Sudan, Israel, Gaza Strip
|-
|Total surface area* || 1,001,450 km<sup>2</sup>  (100,145,000 ha)
|-
|Total population (2015)* || 91,508,000
|-
|Rural population (2015)* || 54,970,000 (60%)
|-
|Urban population (2015)* || 36,538,000 (40%)
|-
|UN Human Development Index (HDI) [highest = 1] (2014)*|| 0.6899
|}

<nowiki>*</nowiki> Source: [http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/data/query/index.html?lang=en FAO Aquastat]


===Climate===

[[File:Egypt_ClimateZones.png | 375x365px |Koppen Geiger Climate Zones]][[File:Egypt_ClimatePrecip.png | 375x365px |Average Annual Precipitation]][[File:Egypt_ClimateTemp.png | 375x365px |Average Temperature]]

[[File:Egypt_pre_Monthly.png| 255x124px| Average monthly precipitation for Egypt showing minimum and maximum (light blue), 25th and 75th percentile (blue), and median (dark blue) rainfall]] [[File:Egypt_tmp_Monthly.png| 255x124px| Average monthly temperature for Egypt showing minimum and maximum (orange), 25th and 75th percentile (red), and median (black) temperature]] [[File:Egypt_pre_Qts.png | 255x124px | Quarterly precipitation over the period 1950-2012]] [[File:Egypt_pre_Mts.png|255x124px | Monthly precipitation (blue) over the period 2000-2012 compared with the long term monthly average (red)]]

More information on average rainfall and temperature for each of the climate zones in Egypt can be seen at the [[Climate of Egypt | Egypt climate page]].

These maps and graphs were developed from the CRU TS 3.21 dataset produced by the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, UK. For more information see the [[Climate | climate resource page]].

===Surface water===

{|
|-
|


| [[File:Egypt_Hydrology.png | frame | Major surface water features of Egypt. Map developed from World Wildlife Fund HydroSHEDS; Digital Chart of the World drainage; and FAO Inland Water Bodies. For more information on the map development and datasets see the [[Surface water | surface water resource page]]]]
|}

===Soil===
{|
|-
| [[File:Egypt_soil.png | frame | Soil Map of Egypt, from the European Commission Joint Research Centre: European Soil Portal. For more information on the map see the [[Soil | soil resource page]]]]

|
|}

===Land cover===
{|
|-
|

| [[File:Egypt_LandCover.png | frame | Land Cover Map of Egypt, from the European Space Agency GlobCover 2.3, 2009. For more information on the map see the [[Land cover | land cover resource page]]]]
|}


===Water statistics===

{| class = "wikitable"
| || 2002 ||2005||2010||2012||2014||2015
|-
|Rural population with access to safe drinking water (%) || || ||  || || ||99
|-
|Urban population with access to safe drinking water (%) || || ||  || || ||100
|-
|Population affected by water related disease || No data || No data || No data  || No data || No data || No data
|-
|Total internal renewable water resources (cubic metres/inhabitant/year) || || ||  || ||19.67 ||
|-
|Total exploitable water resources (Million cubic metres/year) || || ||  ||49,700|| ||
|-
|Freshwater withdrawal as % of total renewable water resources || || || 126.6|| || ||
|-
|Total renewable groundwater (Million cubic metres/year) ||  || || || ||2,300 ||
|-
|Exploitable: Regular renewable groundwater (Million cubic metres/year) || || ||  ||700 || ||
|-
|Groundwater produced internally (Million cubic metres/year) || || ||  || ||1,300 ||
|-
|Fresh groundwater withdrawal (primary and secondary) (Million cubic metres/year) || || ||8,045  || || ||
|-
|Groundwater: entering the country (total) (Million cubic metres/year) || || ||  || || ||1,000
|-
|Groundwater: leaving the country to other countries (total) (Million cubic metres/year) || No data || No data || No data  || No data || No data || No data
|-
|Industrial water withdrawal (all water sources) (Million cubic metres/year) || || || 2,000|| || ||
|-
|Municipal water withdrawal (all water sources) (Million cubic metres/year)  || || || 9,000|| || ||
|-
|Agricultural water withdrawal (all water sources) (Million cubic metres/year) || || ||67,000 || || ||
|-
|Irrigation water withdrawal (all water sources)<sup>1</sup> (Million cubic metres/year) || No data || No data || No data  || No data || No data || No data
|-
|Irrigation water requirement (all water sources)<sup>1</sup> (Million cubic metres/year) ||45,110 || ||  || || ||
|-
|Area of permanent crops (ha) || || ||  || || 1,075,000||
|-
|Cultivated land (arable and permanent crops) (ha) || || ||  || ||3,745,000 ||
|-
|Total area of country cultivated (%) || || ||  || ||3.74 ||
|-
|Area equipped for irrigation by groundwater (ha) || || 227,600 || || || ||
|-
|Area equipped for irrigation by mixed surface water and groundwater (ha) || No data || No data || No data  || No data || No data || No data
|}

These statistics are sourced from [http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/main/index.stm FAO Aquastat]. They are the most recent available information in the Aquastat database. More information on the derivation and interpretation of these statistics can be seen on the FAO Aquastat website.

Further water and related statistics can be accessed at the [http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/data/query/index.html?lang=en Aquastat Main Database]. 

<sup>1</sup> More information on [http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/water_use_agr/index.stm irrigation water use and requirement statistics]

==Geology==

The geology map shows a simplified version of the geology at a national scale. More information is available in the report [https://www.bgs.ac.uk/africaGroundwaterAtlas/atlas.cfc?method=ViewDetails&id=AGLA060035 UN (1988)] (see References section, below). 

{|
|-
|


| [[File:Egypt_Geology.png | center | thumb| 500px | Geology of Egypt at 1:5 million scale. Developed from USGS map (Persits et al. 2002). For more information on the map development and datasets see the [[Geology | geology resource page]]]]
|}

==Hydrogeology==

The hydrogeology map below shows a simplified version of the type and productivity of the main aquifers at a national scale (see the [[Africa Groundwater Atlas Hydrogeology Maps | hydrogeology Map]] resource page for more details). 

More information on the hydrogeology of Egypt is available in the report [https://www.bgs.ac.uk/africaGroundwaterAtlas/atlas.cfc?method=ViewDetails&id=AGLA060035 United Nations (1988)] (see References section, below). 

One summary of the major groundwater systems in Egypt is as follows (fromj [http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/countries_regions/EGY/ FAO Aquastat]):

:- the Nile aquifer: this is mostly recharged by infiltration of excess irrigation water originally from the Nile river, so it is not an additional primary source of water but, does contain a secondary source of water available for use. In term of abstractions, it provides about 85% of the total groundwater abstractions in Egypt ([https://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Environmental-and-Social-Assessments/Egypt_-__National_Drainage_Programme_ESMF_SUMMARY_-_05_2015.pdf AfDG 2015]).

:- the Nubian sandstone aquifer: in the southwest of Egypt; shared with Libya, Chad and Sudan. Contains fossil groundwater.

:- Fissured carbonate aquifer: widely spread over more than half of Egypt; overlies the Nubian aquifer

:- Moghra aquifer: towards the Qattara depression, recharged both by rainfall and lateral inflow from the Nile, but containing also saline water in the north west

:- Coastal aquifer: on the northern and western coasts; recharged by rainfall; known to contain saline water below fresh recharge, which limits the amount of fresh groundwater that can be abstracted.

:- Basement aquifer: found mostly in the eastern desert and southern Sinai.

 [[File:Egypt_Hydrogeology.png| center | thumb| 500px | Hydrogeology of Egypt at 1:5million scale. For more information on how the map was developed see the [[Hydrogeology Map | hydrogeology map]] resource page]]

[[File: Hydrogeology_Key.png | center | 500x195px]]





=== Transboundary aquifers===

For further information about transboundary aquifers, please see the [[Transboundary aquifers | Transboundary aquifers resources page]].

==References==

References with more information on the geology and hydrogeology of Egyptcan be accessed through the [https://www.bgs.ac.uk/africaGroundwaterAtlas/atlas.cfc?method=listResults&title_search=&author_search=&category_search=&country_search=EG&placeboolean=AND&singlecountry=1 Africa Groundwater Literature Archive].

AfDG. 2015. https://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Environmental-and-Social-Assessments/Egypt_-__National_Drainage_Programme_ESMF_SUMMARY_-_05_2015.pdf National Drainage Programme (NDP), Egypt: Environmental and Social Management Framework Summary]. Africa Development Bank Group, April 2015.

United Nations. 1988. [https://www.bgs.ac.uk/africaGroundwaterAtlas/atlas.cfc?method=ViewDetails&id=AGLA060035 Groundwater in North and West Africa: Egypt]. United Nations Department of Technical Cooperation for Development and Economic Commission for Africa. 


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