Country Profile: Egypt

Country Resources

Topographic
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Egypt 1:50,000 Scale Topographic Maps (DMA P777)Defence Mapping Agency1:50,0001978 – 199913
Egypt 1:50,000 Scale Topographic MapsEgyptian Survey Authority1:50,0001989 – 1998438
Egypt 1:50,000 Scale Topographic Maps (Arabic Editions)Egyptian Survey Authority1:50,0001968 – 199761
Egypt 1:100,000 Scale Topographic MapsEgyptian Survey Authority1:100,0001985 – 199420
Egypt 1:100,000 Scale Topographic Maps (Old edition)Egyptian Survey Authority1:100,0001934 – 19382
VMAP0 1:1,000,000 Scale Vector DataNational Imagery and Mapping Agency1:1,000,0001992 – 19924
Israel 1:250,000 Scale Physical Maps (SI)Survey of Israel1:250,0002023 – 20234
Israel 1:250,000 Scale Topographic MapsSurvey of Israel1:250,0001997 – 19972

Nautical
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Egypt Nautical Charts (All Scales)Egyptian Survey AuthorityVaries2018 – 202316

Geoscientific
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Israel 1:200,000 Scale Geological MapsGeological Survey of Israel1:200,0001998 – 19984
Israel 1:250,000 Scale Geological MapsSurvey of Israel1:250,0002021 – 20212
Egypt 1:100,000 Scale Geological MapsThe Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Authority1:100,0001986 – 201947
Egypt 1:250,000 Scale Geological Explanatory NotesThe Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Authority1:250,0002000 – 201912
Egypt 1:250,000 Scale Geomorphological Explanatory NotesThe Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Authority1:250,0002004 – 20063
Egypt 1:250,000 Scale Geomorphological MapsThe Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Authority1:250,0002002 – 200566
Egypt 1:250,000 Scale Geological MapsThe Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Authority1:250,0001983 – 201926
Egypt 1:500,000 Scale Metallogenic and Geological MapsThe Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Authority1:500,0001978 – 20055
Egypt 1:1,000,000 Geological Map (Metallogenic)The Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Authority1:1,000,0001998 – 19985
Egypt 1:2,000,000 Scale Geological MapThe Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Authority1:2,000,0001981 – 19811

Thematic
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
The World 1:30,000,000 Scale Topographic Map Series 1145 (NGA)DMA1:30,000,0002
Israel 1:250,000 Scale Touring Maps (English)SI1:250,0002023 – 20232
Israel 1:250,000 Scale Touring Maps (Hebrew)SI1:250,0002023 – 20232
Israel 1:450,000 Scale Touring Maps (English)SI1:450,0002023 – 20231
Israel 1:450,000 Scale Touring Maps (Hebrew)SI1:450,0002023 – 20231
Egypt Geological Ancillary Documents EGSMAVaries2016 – 20162
Egypt 1:100,000 Scale Geological Explanatory NotesEGSMA1:100,0001993 – 19931

Global Census Archive: GIS Census Data

YearQuestions / AnswersADM LevelPolygons at ADMData Points
201721 / 9745,890580,060

Global Resources

Topographic
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Soviet Military City PlansVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)Varies1944 – 20033017
Soviet Military 1:100,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:100,0001947 – 199924897
Soviet Military 1:200,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:200,0001949 – 200917799
Soviet Military 1:500,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:500,0001953 – 19983093

Nautical
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
NGA Nautical Charts POD Certified (All Scales)National Geospatial-Intelligence AgencyVaries1943 – 20134517

Aeronautical
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Joint Operations Graphic (JOG) 1:250,000 – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:250,0001958 – 20074204
Tactical Pilotage Chart (TPC) 1:500,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:500,0001967 – 2006598
Operational Navigation Chart (ONC) 1:1,000,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:1,000,0001969 – 2001243
Jet Navigation Chart (JNC) 1:2,000,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:2,000,0001971 – 1999117
Global Navigation and Planning Chart (GNC) 1:5,000,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:5,000,0001981 – 199927

Geoscientific
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Soviet Military 1:1,000,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:1,000,0001948 – 19941089

Note: East View Geospatial is continuously sourcing new resources that may not yet be listed in Global Explorer. Please contact us if you have geodata needs beyond what is listed above and we will be happy to discuss available off-the-shelf and custom solutions.


Historical Country Mapping Information

Jump to: Topographic | GIS/Vector | Nautical | Geological/Scientific | Tourist/Reference

Topographic

A survey department was established by the British in Cairo in 1898 and was renamed the Survey of Egypt in 1919. Official topographic mapping of Egypt had started in 1909 with series compiled at 1:25,000 scale serving as a source for 1:100,000 scale mapping of the Nile Valley. 1:100,000 was the largest scale for other settled parts of the country. These series were all based upon ground survey with very inadequate depiction of relief and by the 1950s about 50 percent of the country was covered. In 1954 the Military Survey Department was set up as a separate agency, with the Survey of Egypt subsequently taking responsibility for all aspects of civilian production. The two organizations have collaborated in the production of new topographic series based upon photogrammetric methods and a new mapping framework was started in 1959 using sub-divisions of the International map of the World. Four 1:500,000, 24 1:250,000, 16 1:50,000 and 64 1:25,000 scale sheets comprise a single 1:1,000,000 scale map.

The current national mapping authority was reformed in 1971 as the Egyptian Survey Authority (ESA) and incorporates all aspects of official surveying and mapping into a single organization. Current responsibilities include the establishment and maintenance of a modern geodetic network, cadastral surveying and mapping, acting as the national land authority responsible for taxation and registration, as well as topographic surveying and mapping.

The basic scale for many developed areas of the country is 1:25,000, which covers the Nile Delta, the Red Sea Coast, Oases and the Suez Canal in about 600 six-color photogrammetric sheets. 1:50,000 scale mapping is, however, the main mapping priority. There are currently about 450 published sheets. The majority of these have been produced using conventional analogue methods, either by derivation from 1:25,000 scale coverage or direct from aerial photographs, but from 1992 a digital production flow line has been established and new ARC/INFO-based mapping is appearing for some areas. Coverage of this series is extending from agricultural areas into desert regions with development potential. Aerial coverage of the eastern desert was flown in the late 1980s with British, Canadian and French aid, and a Finnish aid project has funded the extension of geodetic control in this area. 1:80,000 scale aerial coverage is used as a source for map compilation. 1:100,000 scale mapping extends to about half the country (including the Sinai Peninsula) and there is complete coverage at 1:500,000 and 1:1,000,000 scales. These topographic maps all have Arabic text.

Soviet military topographic mapping of Egypt is available at the following scales: 1:1,000,000 (7 sheets, complete coverage, published 1973-1990); 1:500,000 (25 sheets, complete coverage, published 1972-1990); 1:200,000 (179 sheets, complete coverage, published 1969-1988); 1:100,000 (625, mostly complete coverage, published 1977-1987); 1:50,000 (37 sheets, primarily north-eastern coverage, published 1991-1993) and city (1:10,000 and 1:25,000) topographic mapping of 23 major cities from Alexandria to Zagazig, published between 1972 and 1984. These products are available in paper, digital raster and digital vector GIS formats from East View Geospatial.

Substantial investment has taken place in the 1990s in setting up a modernized geodetic framework for the country. A project funded through the US Agency for International Development has installed a primary GPS network covering all the developed parts of the country and pilot extensions to support Land Information Systems have been developed in Upper Egypt. The second phase of the American project involves the adoption of the WGS84 datum and the UTM grid.

The Sinai Peninsula was mapped by Israeli agencies during its occupancy.

Between 1981 and 1987 an aid project funded through the German SFB 69 program and organized from the Technische Fachhochschule Berlin used image analysis to update topographic coverage. Topographic information was merged with LANDSAT image data to produce 1:1,000,000; 1:500,000; 1:250,000 and 1:100,000 scale mapping. Eighty geometrically corrected image-supported working sheets giving complete coverage of the country were published by the Egyptian General Petroleum Company.

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GIS/Vector

The Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE) operates its environmental GIS and remote sensing programs from headquarters in Giza Cairo. The Soil Water and Environment Research Institute (SWERI) Cairo maintains a national digital agricultural land information system for Egypt. Seven 1:100,000 scale maps are output for each governate, since 1997 SPOT Image France has been implementing a second phase to the project, which has the aim of developing the information system to allow more desert land to be reclaimed for irrigated agriculture. Other small-scale thematic mapping of Egypt has been published in the Tϋbinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients (TAVO).

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Nautical

The Egyptian navigation and hydrographic department Shobat Al Misaha al Baharia was established in 1951 and maintains about 30 charts covering local coastal waters, with more detailed coverage of ports.

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Geological/Scientific

Geological mapping of Egypt is carried out by the Geological Survey and Mining Authority (EGSMA). They too have used image mapping as a means of generating earth science coverage and produced 1:1,000,000 mapping of the country in conjunction with the Egyptian Remote Sensing Center (ERSC) in Cairo. The full-color series in six sheets on IMW sheetlines depicts geology, structural lineaments and drainage. Larger scale programs available on the international market include 1:250,000 and 1:500,000 scale series. Sinai was mapped by Israeli earth science agencies when the peninsula was under Israeli control.

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Tourist/Reference

Commercial mapping of Egypt is published by Lehnart & Landrock, who issue a range of town maps, as well as co-publishing maps of Egypt and Sinai with Swiss commercial house Kϋmmerly + Frey (K+F). Palm Press, Cairo also issues town mapping of the city including a regularly revised and indexed English language A-Z street-finder.

Many other western commercial mapping organizations compile general and tourist maps of Egypt, notably HarperCollins, Lonely Planet, Macmillan, Freytag-Berndt, and Nelles Verlag. GEOprojects, and Cartographia publish town mapping of Cairo in addition to their national tourist coverage.

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Content copyright © 2014 De Gruyter for e-version of World Mapping Today, 2nd Edition