Nepal Waterways from OpenStreetMap for Flood Risk Modeling

OpenStreetMap data provides water features across Nepal, including rivers, streams, canals, lakes, and ponds. The Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) exports this data, which is useful for environmental basemaps and watershed analysis. Completeness varies by region, with urban areas typically better mapped than remote locations.

Use Cases

• Flood-risk modelling based on the spatial distribution of rivers, streams, and water bodies.
• Watershed analysis based on the network of waterways and canals.
• Creating environmental basemap context based on lakes, ponds, and other natural water features.

Strengths

• Data is available in multiple geospatial formats including GEOPACKAGE, KML, SHP, and GEOJSON.
• The dataset is derived from OpenStreetMap, a free, collaborative world map built by volunteers.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Completeness varies by region, with remote areas likely being incomplete.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

OpenStreetMap

Collection Method

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-14 22:10:26.061279; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Nepal