HydroSHEDS data products are provided in three broad categories: core products (gridded maps of elevation, flow directions and flow accumulation), secondary products (derived vector maps of catchments, rivers, and lakes with attribute information), and associated products (products that are co-registered to HydroSHEDS). Access to information and downloads for all HydroSHEDS products is provided below.
Visit our about page to learn more about the development of the HydroSHEDS project.
The core data products of HydroSHEDS are a series of gridded datasets designed for use in hydro-environmental model development and custom GIS applications.
Data layers include the original digital elevation model (DEM) that underpins HydroSHEDS, a hydrologically conditioned version of the DEM, the derived flow direction and flow accumulation grids, as well as land mask and sink grids. These data products form the digital foundation of the derived secondary data products.
HydroSHEDS core data products are currently available for HydroSHEDS v1 only, which is mostly based on SRTM elevation data. HydroSHEDS v2, which is derived from TanDEM-X elevation data, is currently under development with the first product release scheduled for 2025.
The HydroSHEDS secondary products are a suite of pre-processed hydrographic map layers which are derived from the HydroSHEDS core products and complementary data sources. These products include three vectorized map products that offer delineations for the main hydrographic feature types: sub-basin boundaries (HydroBASINS), river reaches (HydroRIVERS), and lake shorelines (HydroLAKES). These products provide globally consistent feature geometry (as lines and polygons), as well as topologic information to allow for the identification of upstream or downstream connections.
The final and most comprehensive product is the HydroATLAS database, which provides a broad range of hydro-environmental attributes for the same three datasets of sub-basins, rivers, and lakes.
Associated data products are independent, complementary hydrographic datasets which are co-registered to and/or utilize some of the other HydroSHEDS data products, making them fully compatible within the larger HydroSHEDS data framework.
