Namibia Waterways from OpenStreetMap for Environmental Analysis

OpenStreetMap exports from 2026 provide water features across Namibia, including rivers, streams, canals, lakes, and ponds. The Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) compiled this data, which is useful for environmental basemap context. Completeness varies by region, with urban areas likely being better mapped than remote areas.

Use Cases

• Model flood-risk based on the distribution of rivers and streams.
• Conduct watershed analysis using the network of waterways.
• Create an environmental basemap context with lakes and water bodies.

Strengths

• Data includes multiple water feature types: rivers, streams, canals, lakes, ponds.
• Available in multiple geospatial formats: GEOPACKAGE, KML, SHP, GEOJSON, JSON.
• Sourced from OpenStreetMap, a free, collaborative world map.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Completeness varies by region; remote areas may be incomplete.
• 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.

Geography

Namibia