Egypt may be a dry, scorching place but it also has a lot of water resources. One of Egypt's greatest sources of water is the great Nile River. The Nile River is very different than other rivers. It goes south to north and it empties in the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile River is about 960 miles (1,545 km) long! Every year, it floods and enriches the soils of the land so it's very important. Also, the Egyptians used the Nile as a clock to see what time of year it was. Another source of water is the Red Sea. The Red Sea is an inland sea. The Red Sea is approximately 169,000 square miles. Its width is 190 miles long and it has a depth of 9,800 ft. Lake Nasser is in Egypt too. It extends to the south across the Sudan border. It is about 480 km long and about 16 km in width. About 2/3 of the lake lies in Egypt.

One desert in Egypt is the Sahara. The Sahara is the biggest desert in all of Egypt. It has rocks, sand, and gravel. It is so big that it is almost the size of the U.S. It is about 3 1/2 million square miles and extends 3,000 miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. The Sahara Desert is in the northwest part of Egypt. Another desert is the Western Desert. The Western Desert is one of the driest deserts in the whole world. The elevation of the desert is more than 3,300 ft in the southwest. The Libyan Desert is also in Egypt. The Libyan is mostly dunes. Several depressions are also in the desert which were caused by wind-erosion.

Egypt has not only desert but also mountains. One particular mountain is Mount Shayib which is 7,718 ft tall above sea level. The highest peak in Egypt is the Jebel Katherina which is in the Musa Mountains which is located in Southern Sinai. Jebel Katherina is 8,655 ft high above sea level. Other mountains that are found in Egypt are Jebel Gharib, Jebel Yelleq, and Jebel Hamada.

Egypt has an arid climate. Inches of rain range from 2.5 to 7.4 inches. It rains only in the winter and none in the summer. The lowest temperature in Egypt is 20 Celsius (69 F.) The highest temperature is 27 C. (80 F.) Alexandria has the highest rainfall in a year. The most is 7.4 inches of rain.