Hydrogeology Map

Africa Groundwater Atlas >> Resource pages >> Hydrogeology Maps of Africa

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Continental, Regional and Country Hydrogeological Maps

There are a number of different international maps showing aspects of the hydrogeology and groundwater resources of the whole continent of Africa. These are at scales of between 1: 5 million and 1: 12.5 million. Some of these maps are only available as hard copy/on paper; others are available to view digitally online and/or to download as image files that can be printed; and a few are available in digital format that can be used in GIS.

A regional hydrogeological map of the SADC region was developed in 2010.

Africa Hydrogeological Maps at Continental Scale

British Geological Survey - Quantitative Groundwater Maps of Africa

A series of quantitative groundwater maps for Africa was developed by the British Geological Survey as part of the Quantitative Groundwater Maps for Africa project (MacDonald et al., 2010, 2012).

This project produced three new digital groundwater maps for Africa, based on a geology map of Africa at 1:5 million scale (Persits et al., 2002, Furon and Lombard 1964). The three groundwater maps are:

Groundwater (aquifer) productivity

Groundwater storage

Depth to groundwater

These three maps can be freely downloaded in digital form as a 5 km resolution grid (xyz tab-delimited text file), which can be used in GIS. They are also available as high resolution PDF files. Download the Africa groundwater maps here.

Maps of Aquifer Productivity, Groundwater Storage and Depth to Groundwater

More information on these Africa-wide maps can be found here:

MacDonald, A M, Bonsor, H C, Ó Dochartaigh, B É, and Taylor, R G. 2012. Quantitative maps of groundwater resources in Africa. Environmental Research Letters, 7 (2), 024009. 10.1088/1748-9326/7/2/024009

MacDonald, A M, Ó Dochartaigh, B É, Bonsor, H C, Davies, J, and Key, R. 2010. Developing quantitative aquifer maps for Africa. British Geological Survey Internal Report, IR/10/103.

WHYMAP

WHYMAP global hydrogeological maps

The World-wide Hydrogeological Mapping and Assessment Programme (WHYMAP) was launched in 2000 to provide summary information about global groundwater resources. Several global and continental scale maps related to groundwater resources, groundwater basins, large aquifer systems, and transboundary aquifers have been produced. These maps are available to freely download (as pdf or image files) from the WHYMAP website. They can also be viewed online in the IGRAC Groundwater Resources in Africa portal.

WHYMAP Africa hydrogeological map

WHYMAP have also produced a hydrogeological map of Africa at a scale of 1:12,500,000, which provides a planning tool for groundwater resources. This map is available to freely download (as pdf or image files) as a poster that also shows hydrogeological sections of regional aquifers.

BRGM

In 2008, BRGM published a hydrogeological map of Africa at a scale of 1:10 Million, the first of its kind at this scale. The map is produced as a hard copy and in GIS form. It was developed by combining two categories of data: groundwater reservoir (or aquifer) type; and the proportion of precipitation available to recharge to aquifers. BRGM used extensive data to develop the map, which distinguishes eleven major hydrographic units.

The BRGM hydrogeological map of Africa

IGRAC Transboundary Aquifers of Africa

IGRAC

International Hydrogeological Map of Africa

This map, at 1:5 Million scale, is not available in any digital form. It is described in the report by Gilbrich and Struckmeier (2014).

Gilbrich, W H, and Struckmeier, W F. 2014. 50 Years of Hydro(geo)logical Mapping Activities. German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) and UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (UNESCO-IHP).

Africa Hydrogeological Maps at Regional Scale

SADC Hydrogeological Map

A hydrogeological map of the SADC region, with an accompanying atlas, were developed in 2010 under the SADC Regional Groundwater Management Programme to provide an overview of the groundwater resources in the SADC region. The map is available to view in the IGRAC SADC Groundwater Information Portal. This portal also gives access to borehole data and other associated groundwater data for the region.

Africa Hydrogeological Maps at Country Scale

Many countries in Africa, but not all, have national scale hydrogeological maps, but these are often relatively old and have not been updated with new information collected in recent years. For most countries, national hydrogeological maps are available only as hard copy/in paper form.

Many countries have national groundwater / hydrogeological mapping programmes, which are developing new or revised hydrogeological maps at higher resolution for selected areas within the country, with an ultimate aim to produce a complete national coverage - for example, Chad, Uganda and Ethiopia. This may also include the development of new national-scale hydrogeological maps. At present, few countries have digitally available hydrogeological maps

As part of this Atlas, we have developed new country-scale hydrogeology maps for each country in Africa that will be available to freely download as digital, GIS-enabled files.

Africa Groundwater Atlas Country Hydrogeology maps

The country hydrogeology maps in this Atlas are a further development of the quantitative groundwater maps for Africa described above. Each map is at 1:5 million scale, and combines key hydrogeological information to show:

• aquifer type (based on the geological environment and groundwater flow/storage type); and
• aquifer productivity (relative aquifer productivity, or groundwater potential).

For some countries, the maps have been developed in collaboration with Atlas co-authors to ensure that the maps represent the national scale hydrogeology of the country as well as possible.

More information about these country maps, and how they were developed, is on the Africa Groundwater Atlas country hydrogeology maps page.

Africa Groundwater Atlas Hydrogeology map of Africa, 1:5 million scale Legend for Africa Groundwater Atlas hydrogeology map of Africa

Benefits of the Atlas country hydrogeology maps

These maps provide an essential national overview of the groundwater resources of each country. For some countries in Africa, the Atlas hydrogeology map is the only available digital hydrogeology map.

Limitations of the Atlas country hydrogeology maps

The large scale of the original map (1:5 million scale) means that the maps provide a country-scale overview - they do not show local scale detail. These maps are not based on field mapping and they have not been ground truthed. They may be different from other available hydrogeology maps.

Like all maps, these country hydrogeology maps are a two-dimensional representation of the complex three-dimensional hydrogeological reality. In most cases, these maps show the uppermost aquifer only. If there are other aquifers at depth, these are not shown. In some cases, where a major aquifer is overlain by relatively low permeability unconsolidated sediments (that don't form an important aquifer), the overlying unconsolidated sediments are not shown on the map.

WHYMIS - Hydrogeological maps at country scale

WHYMAP provides digital scans of national hydrogeological maps across Africa through its WHYMIS application. These national maps are also indexed in the Africa Groundwater Literature Archive.

The BGR WHYMAP viewer showing an example of a scanned national hydrogeological map available through WHYMIS

Africa Groundwater Atlas >> Resource pages >> Africa Hydrogeology Maps