Benin Waterways from OpenStreetMap for Flood Risk and Watershed Analysis

OpenStreetMap exports provide water features across Benin, including rivers, streams, canals, lakes, ponds, and other water bodies. The data is sourced from the collaborative OpenStreetMap project and exported by the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT). The dataset was last updated on 2026-05-14.

Use Cases

• Model flood-risk based on the mapped network of rivers, streams, and canals.
• Conduct watershed analysis using the spatial distribution of lakes, ponds, and water bodies.
• Create an environmental basemap for contextual analysis using the comprehensive water feature data.

Strengths

• Data is available in multiple geospatial formats (GEOPACKAGE, KML, SHP, GEOJSON, JSON).
• The dataset is derived from OpenStreetMap, a widely-used, free, and collaborative mapping source.
• It includes features tagged with three specific OSM keys: `waterway`, `water`, and `natural=water`.

Limitations

• Completeness varies by region; urban areas are usually well-mapped, while remote areas may be incomplete.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

OpenStreetMap

Collection Method

Volunteer-contributed mapping, exported by the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-14 00:30:31.444621; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Benin