**5. Conclusions**

The present study demonstrates the integration of remote sensing with the geoelectric resistivity and the aeromagnetic techniques as effective tools for exploring the groundwater potentiality of west Qena area. The study reveals that the old alluvial floodplain of the Nile Valley west of Qena is characterized by moderate to very high groundwater recharge potentiality from present-day and paleo-runoff in contrast to the plateau that shows poor and very poor potentialities. The alluvial desert plain zone located south and southwest of Hiw-El-Ghoneimia is characterized by very high potentiality. The old alluvial floodplain occupies a basin trending in the NW–SE direction and bounded by basement uplifts and plateau scarp. The eastern part of the basin south of Hiw Village is characterized by a major basement uplift at a depth of 0.5 km, whereas the basement depth increases toward the northwest to reach about 1.3 km west of Nag'a Hammadi and reaches more than 1.8 km west of Sohag. This reflects the increase in the groundwater potentiality toward the northwest due to the possible increase in the thickness of the groundwater-bearing sediments. The subsurface basement and surface of the plateau are affected by faults trending mainly in NW–SE direction parallel to the Nile Valley section between Qena and Asyut and the trend of the Gulf of Suez-Red Sea. The NE–SW trend, which is consistent with the Qena-Safaga Shear Zone, is less prevalent. These fault and fracture systems serve as preferential conduits for groundwater movement, recharge, and discharge. Based on the results of remote sensing together with the geoelectric resistivity and the aeromagnetic techniques, there is a good correlation between the surface and subsurface faults, especially near the plateau cliffs. They probably form conduits for groundwater movement and recharge.

There are two sandy aquifers in the study area: the shallow Quaternary and the deeper Miocene aquifer. The two aquifers are separated by a thick layer of Pliocene clays reaching about 59 m. The Quaternary aquifer is the main aquifer and has a large lateral extension throughout the study area. Its water table occurs at shallow depth about 20–30 m close to the cultivated lands and the depth increases toward the plateau to reach more than 70 m. The saturated thickness is more than 43 m near the cultivated lands and thins toward the plateau. The groundwater flow direction is toward the Nile as the water level of the Nile River is lower than the groundwater table of the Quaternary aquifer. Moreover, the aquifer occurs under unconfined condition due to its permeable Wadi deposits cover.

The desert zone located southwest of Nag'a Hammadi-El-Ghoneimia stretch is the most promising area for drilling groundwater wells. It is characterized by very high recharge potentiality and occupies a thick basin of about 1.3 km. In addition, it is characterized by a shallow water table at about 30 m depth and a saturated thickness of more than 43 m. Such zone is clearly controlled by fault systems and works as a trap for porous sediments accumulation and thus makes it a promising zone in terms of groundwater potentiality.

**Author Contributions:** Methodology, A.G. and A.E.; Resources, M.A.; Software, A.M.B.; Supervision, A.K.M.; Writing—review and editing, M.K. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Acknowledgments:** The authors would like to thank the USGS, JAXA, and ESA for providing the Landsat-8, ALOS/PALSAR-1 (through ALOS-2 6th RA PI-3131 agreement) and Sentinel-1 satellite images as well as SNAP software, respectively, free of charge. Finally, the authors are very grateful for the very helpful suggestions made by the three reviewers.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
