General Information

The Nile, also known as Al-Bahr or Bahr en Nil in Arabic, is the longest river in the world. From the Ruvyironza River in Burundi, the Nile’s furthest headstream, the river is measured at 6671 km long. The entire river basin has an area of more than 3,349,000 sq km, approximately one tenth of the total land area of Africa. The river is roughly bordered by the Red Sea and the Ethiopian Highlands on the east, the East African Plateau on the south, the Jebel Marra of Sudan and the Libyan Desert on the west, and the Mediterranean on the north.

On leaving Lake Victoria at the site of the now-submerged Ripon Falls, the Nile rushes for 483 km between high rocky walls and over rapids and cataracts until it enters Lake Albert. The section between the two lakes is called the Victoria or the Mountain Nile. The river leaves the northern end of Lake Albert as the Albert Nile, flows through northern Uganda, and at the Sudan border becomes the Bahr al Jabal. At its junction with the Bahr al Ghazal, the river becomes the Bahr al Abyad or the White Nile. At Khartoum the White Nile is joined by the Blue Nile, Bahr al Azraq. These parts are so named because of the color of the water. The Blue Nile, 1529 km long, gathers its volume mainly from Lake T'ana in the Ethiopian Highlands. From Khartoum, the Nile flows northeast; 322 km below that city, and is joined by the 'Atbarah River. The black sediment brought down by this river settles in the Nile delta and makes it very fertile. During its course from the confluence of the 'Atbarah through the Nubian Desert, the river makes a broad S-bend. Below Khartoum, navigation is rendered dangerous by six cataracts, the first occurring north of Khartoum and the last near Aswan, before it enters Lake Nasser near the Egypt-Sudan border. As the Nile approaches the Mediterranean Sea north of Cairo, it fans into a broad delta and branches into two major channels Rosetta on the west and Damietta on the east. Today, an extensive network of irrigation canals crisscrosses the delta.

Human Geography

The population density in the well-irrigated parts of the Nile is more than 386 per square kilometre. The largest group is contained within the many peasant farmers raising beans, maize, cotton, millet, rice, and wheat on the fertile land. Egypt is fortunate that almost three fourths of the total area irrigated by the Nile is in their nation.

Vegetation & Wildlife

The vegetation surrounding the Nile varies greatly along its enormous length. Tropical rain forests of coffee shrubs, bamboo, and rubber trees are found in southwestern Ethiopia and the East African Plateau while savanna grasslands extend along the Blue Nile. Papyrus, a reed the ancients used for making paper, flourishes along the swampy As Sudd region. North of Khartoum, true desert can be found. There, vegetation consists of the few stunted shrubs except in the heavily irrigated Nile Valley in Egypt.

Many varieties of fishes are found in the Nile system such as the Nile perch, catfish, eel, lungfish, mudfish, and tiger fish. Common reptiles are the Nile crocodile, soft-shelled turtle, lizard, and about 15 species of poisonous snakes. The hippopotamus can also be found in As Sudd.

History

The Egyptian civilization, one of the oldest in the world, flourished in the Nile Valley after about 3000 BC. The people of the time connected the river icon to their worship of gods and the prosperity of both their land and life.

Several attempts were made to explore the Nile from the 17th century onward by Spanish, Scottish, and English explorers. Exploration and mapping of the origins and course of the Nile continued over the years. The source of the Nile was considered one of the last great mysteries on earth before the 19th century when the secret was thought solved with the discovery of Lake Victoria in the 1850s.

Historical Development

Modern irrigation in the Nile Valley started with the completion of a delta barrage scheme in 1861. Today, there is a series of dams between Lake Victoria and the Mediterranean that holds water in reserve until needed for irrigation. The first dam on the Nile, the Aswan Dam, was built in 1902 while the newer Aswan High Dam, 800 km south of Cairo, was dedicated in 1971. This barrier impounds the world's largest man-made lake, Lake Nasser, with an area of 5,000 sq km. The dam altered the environment of the Nile Basin by making possible irrigation on a year-round basis. It also provides electricity and protection against severe floods in Egypt and Sudan. The Owen Falls Dam at Lake Victoria, one of the largest hydroelectric developments in Africa, provides power for industries in East Africa.

Interesting Facts

• While almost 95 percent of Egypt's population live in the Nile Valley and Delta, but the area makes up only about 5 percent of Egypt's land