AbstractA simple numerical two‐dimensional interpretation model for resistivity profiles and soundings, similar to the one presented by Mufti (1976, 1978, 1980), has been developed for a PC. With the aid of the computer program, a synthetic response of Wenner and Schlumberger soundings or profiles can be generated for two‐dimensional subsurface structures. The possibility of calculating a resistivity response in advance offers a tool to optimize electrode configurations and spacings, and hence greatly improves the value of the measurements. A better insight is also obtained into how geological structures may affect the size and shape of anomalies in resistivity profiles. With the aid of the model, the sensitivity of Schlumberger and Wenner arrays to the weathered layer thickness in a granitic environment is illustrated, and a case study of the quantitative interpretation for a resistivity profile from a schistose environment in Burkina Faso is presen