Shapefile / GeoTIFF
HydroSHEDS
Global hydrography — river networks, catchments, and lakes — free for research, with a commercial licence available from WWF.
River network maps Basin analysis
Hydrology
Hydrology & Coastlines
Hydrology, rivers, basin, and coastline datasets for water and environmental mapping.
Quick answer: compare official sources, download formats, coverage, licensing, and practical GIS workflows in this Hydrology directory.
HydroSHEDS Rivers Basins Coastlines
Downloadable datasets in this category
9
Each dataset page captures official source links, access notes, and related GIS workflows.
Official sources and direct access
Mixed delivery
Find provider portals, available file downloads and instructions for accessing each source.
Spatial data guidance
Choose a source
Compare geographic coverage, file formats and reuse terms before choosing data for your map or analysis.
Hydrology pages concentrate on reusable global water layers with clear downstream analysis value.
These sources work well in comparison blocks because users often need rivers, basins, or coastlines together with DEM data.
Downloadable datasets in this category
Category directory
Open a dataset guide for source links, download steps and practical answers about working with the files.
GeoJSON / Shapefile
Natural Earth 110m Rivers & Lakes
Public-domain global rivers and lakes at 1:110m — a hosted ~42 KB GeoJSON with an instant map preview and feature-class summary.
River and lake basemaps Drainage overviews
Shapefile / NetCDF / WKT
GSHHG Global Coastline Download
A high-resolution shoreline database with coastlines, rivers, and political borders derived from public domain sources.
Coastline basemaps River network analysis
TXT / CSV
GRDC River Discharge Data
Global Runoff Data Centre river discharge observations for hydrological modeling and water resource analysis.
Hydrological modeling Water balance studies
GeoTIFF
JRC Global Surface Water
Annual surface water extent and transition maps derived from Landsat imagery at 30m resolution.
Flood mapping Water body change detection
Shapefile / File GDB
USGS NHDPlus
National Hydrography Dataset Plus for the United States with flow direction, catchments, and waterbody features.
Watershed delineation Stream network mapping
Shapefile / GeoJSON
OSM Water (osmdata.org)
Global water body polygons extracted from OpenStreetMap including lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and ocean boundaries.
Water body mapping Hydrological analysis
Shapefile / GeoJSON
FAO Major River Basins
Global major river basin boundaries and sub-basin delineations from FAO, useful for watershed and drainage analysis.
Watershed delineation Transboundary water management
GeoTIFF / Shapefile / KMZ
NOAA Sea Level Rise Inundation
NOAA's sea level rise inundation mapping showing projected coastal flooding at various sea level rise scenarios (1-10 feet).
Climate adaptation planning Coastal flood risk assessment
Recommended hydrology workflow
How to choose a source
- Start with HydroSHEDS for rivers and watershed context.
- Bring in DEM data when you need terrain-aware interpretation of flow and basin structure.
- Use coastlines and water layers together for environmental dashboards and regional atlases.
Category FAQ
Category FAQ
What free dataset should I use for global river and basin mapping?
HydroSHEDS is a common starting point because it provides global hydrology layers that are widely cited in GIS analysis.
Can I combine hydrology data with DEM downloads from this site?
Yes. The directory is structured so hydrology, DEM, and boundaries can cross-link into a clear analysis workflow.