The Nile is not only the main body of water on the African continent, but also one of the longest rivers in the whole world. Receiving the reserves of its tributaries, it is a life-giving force for the population located along its course. This is a priceless treasure of the “dark continent”, over whose waters wars were fought and states united, dams were built and dry lands were revived.
Historical reference
The most important water artery the hottest continent on the planet with ancient times was revered by its population as a source of life, well-being and prosperity. Thanks to the Nile, today we have the opportunity to get acquainted with Ancient Egypt, its architecture, art, science, wisdom, astronomical knowledge and religion. We can only guess what important role performed by the Nile in the formation of the largest civilization that had a huge impact on the life of mankind. As is known, about 20% of the river’s length is located in the territory modern state Egypt. The state of agriculture, the quality of the harvest and its quantity depend on the behavior of the Nile. Thus, the unflooded waters of the Nile mean death for the population. In most cases, the river is always associated with Egypt, where sacred waters guard the pyramidal tombs of the rulers of the state, the monumental sculpture of the Sphinx, the giant statue of Ramses, and temples dedicated to outstanding pharaohs.
Geographical position
The Nile River is located in Africa and originates from the East African Plateau at an altitude of 1134 m. Not always calm in its flow, but flat, the river passes through the territory of 7 countries, simultaneously uniting them with its waters. Among them is equatorial and multilingual Uganda, a country wildlife Kenya, unique Tanzania, the birthplace of humanity Ethiopia, the center of tropical epidemics, the desert Republic of Sudan and contrasting Egypt. The great river has been feeding the territory of these states for about 3 million years, saving the population from hunger and drought. Such historical centers of Egypt as Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, Giza and Alexandria, and the capital of Sudan, Khartoum, grew up on it.
Climatic conditions
With a length of 6852 km, the Nile crosses the following equatorial, subequatorial, tropical and subtropical. Most of its route, which is more than 3000 km, passes through the territory of the largest desert in the world - the Sahara.
The river's feeding regime directly depends on climatic conditions. The Nile has annual floods in summer and winter. The reason is due to the rainy season in equatorial latitudes, where one of its tributaries originates. Thanks to this type of precipitation, the great river is full-flowing and fast-flowing. At this time of year, the Nile can overflow its banks, flooding settlements and creating floods.
In winter it is replenished with the waters of the White Nile, and in summer - with the Blue Nile. Low water (most low level water) falls in the month of May. The temperature indicators of the water of a hydrological object vary depending on the type of climate. Average summer period is plus 26 o C, winter - plus 18 o C.
Source of the Nile
Many researchers disagreed with each other about where the source of the Nile was located. Inaccessible jungle, hilly terrain with ledges and rapids, mosquitoes and crocodiles became an obstacle to a thorough study of the hydrological object. The mystery became clear only in the middle of the 18th century, thanks to the efforts of the London Geographical Society and the determination of its employees - the officer, traveler John Speke and river explorer Samuel Baker.
The official opening began great river the year is considered to be 1864. The peculiarity of the Nile is that it has not one source, like most rivers on the planet, but two. The main tributary with geographic coordinates (0°N, 33°E) originates in the equatorial latitudes of Uganda, carrying its waters into Lake Victoria, and emerges as the stormy Kageroi River. Overcoming ledges and, at the same time, replenishing supplies fresh water into the lakes of the mainland, the right tributary emerges as the White Nile on flat surface African continent.
The birthplace of the second source is considered to be the area where the Blue Nile emerges. The confluence of two deep tributaries occurs near the capital of Sudan - the city of Khartoum. Following in a northern direction, the full-flowing river carries vitality through desert territory into the Mediterranean Sea, forming a huge delta on its way.
Mouth of the sacred river
The place where the Nile River flows has geographical coordinates (31 o N, 30 o E). The shape of the mouth of the reservoir is no less unique than the history of the search for the source of the river. Thanks to river sediments, it forms a huge triangle, resembling Greek letter"delta". 160 km from the capital of Egypt, Cairo, two large navigable branches are formed - Damietta and Rashid, as well as many small channels.
It is the Nile Delta that is considered the most fertile section of the famous river. A unique natural formation stretches for more than 240 km along southern shores Mediterranean Sea. This is the most populated part of Egypt and the entire Nile bed. The scale of river sediment is simply stunning; its size is equal to the area of the entire Crimean peninsula.
Flora and fauna
Vegetable and animal world the area where the Nile is located changes in its species composition, in the direction of the river flow. The richest areas of the zone are savannas and light forests, less expressive areas are deserts and semi-deserts.
The water world is saturated with such representatives as Nile crocodile, multifeathers, hippos and various fresh fish. About 300 species of birds nest on the banks of the river, many migratory and wintering representatives. But flamingos, pelicans, and herons especially stand out.
The most interesting flora and fauna of the Nile Delta and Valley is papyrus, date palms, acacias, oleander, citrus fruits, reed thickets, cattails and ferns, cultivated vegetation. Here you can find representatives of the fauna such as turtles, hippopotamuses, artiodactyls, reptiles and many insects. The leaders among the animal world are birds. The Nile River basin is simply a salvation for the established flora and fauna.
For any tourist, getting to the area where the Nile is located will not be a problem. The most exciting and at the same time dangerous is traveling along the river. The source of the Nile is interesting for its inaccessibility. The place where the Nile River flows captivates with rich colors and amazing objects.
The distance between Moscow and the capital of Egypt on the map is more than 4000 km. For air transport in a straight line - about 3000 km and 4 hours of travel. Flights are organized by 8 airlines, where there are direct flights and with transfers in Istanbul. But where the Nile is most interesting is up to the tourist to decide. Not everyone likes the humid and hot jungle, some love warm sand, heat and pyramids.
Features of the great river
The main difference between the Nile and most rivers on the planet is the direction of the flow - from south to north. The nature of the river depends on the terrain. In the upper section it looks like a mountain river - seething and noisy. The hilly terrain and heavy rainfall help the river to develop its main channel with its flow. In its lower reaches, the sacred river is calm, quiet and navigable. Here, according to all the characteristics, we see that the object is lowland river Nile. Continent Africa, its homeland, is hot and deserted at its confluence, and humid at its source.
The section of the river with rapids and waterfalls is called the Victoria Nile, the calm Albert Nile stretches until the tributaries reunite into one channel, the most swampy section is in the Bahr el-Jebel. Forming six rapids, the river created many problems with navigation for centuries, so the construction of a reservoir was simply a necessity. It solved the issue of transport movements and at the same time became a salvation for arid regions.
Unlike the Amazon, the Nile flows through the desert regions of the “dark continent”, but does not lose its full flow. It brings a lot of silt deposits, which are organic fertilizer, thereby doubling its advantage.
Tourist opportunities
The Nile is not just a hydrological feature of the planet. This is a ready-made natural route stretching from the equator to the tropical borders. Its tourism opportunities are endless. For those who like to see more and faster, cruise trips along the river with stops in famous historical cities have been created:
- Cairo attracts with museums and ancient Egyptian art, pyramids and statues;
- Alexandria captivates with legends, forts and beaches;
- Thebes - temples and honorable age;
- Aswan - palm islands and the standard of living of Egypt;
- Sudanese Khartoum - ensembles of palace architecture.
Lovers to explore natural resources along the river, they may spend more time, but as a result they will get a brighter impression.
Nile- a river in Africa, one of the two longest rivers in the world. The word "Nile" comes from the Greek name for the river "Nilos". The Greeks also called this river "Aegyptos", hence the name "Egypt".
The river originates on the East African plateau and flows into the Mediterranean Sea, forming a delta. IN upper reaches receives large tributaries - Bahr el-Ghazal (left) and Achwa, Sobat, Blue Nile and Atbara (right). Below the mouth of the right tributary of the Atbara, the Nile flows through a semi-desert, having no tributaries for the last 3000 km.
For a long time, the Nile was considered the most long river on the ground. It has now been definitively established that the longest river is the Amazon, which has a length of over 7,000 km not only from Ucayali, but also from Marañon (the Apacheta River, discovered in 1996).
The length of the Nile is often measured from Lake Victoria, although quite a lot of water flows into it large rivers. The most remote point can be considered the source of the Rukarara River - one of the components of the Kagera River, which originates from an altitude of more than 2000 m on one of the mountain ranges East Africa south of the equator and flows into Lake Victoria. The length of the Nile (including Kagera) is about 6,700 km (the most commonly used figure is 6,671 km), but from Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea it is approximately 5,600 km.
It is this length that is the true length of the Nile River, since taking into account Lake Victoria and Kageru and Rukarara, we can only talk about the total length of the river system. The Nile is the only great river for which an unprecedented exception is made in determining its length, adding to it not only the length of the Kagera, but also the length of Lake Victoria.
Nile Currents
Victoria Nile
The section from the source at the northern end of Lake Victoria to the confluence with Lake Albert is called Victoria Nile. Its length is about 420 km. Crossing rocky ridges across Uganda, the river forms numerous rapids and waterfalls with a total drop of 670 m. The largest Murchison waterfall reaches 40 m in height. The river passes through the Lake Kyoga depression and flows into Lake Albert on the border of Uganda and Democratic Republic Congo, lying in a tectonic depression at an altitude of 617 m.
Albert Nile
The area between Lake Albert and the mouth of the right tributary Achva is called Albert Nile. The river has a flat flow until it enters Sudan through the narrow Nimule gorge, where the flow again becomes stormy and rapids.
Bahr el Jabal
Below the city of Juba, leaving the highlands, the river crosses a vast flat basin for 900 km, the swampy area of Sadd (here it is called Bahr el Jabal, « mountain river»).
Swamping occurs due to the fact that huge masses of algae and papyrus clutter the channel, the channel breaks up into a series of branches, the flow speed drops, and most of the water brought from the mountains spills over the surface, evaporates, and is consumed by aquatic vegetation. Islands of aquatic vegetation, called sedds, break away from the muddy ground in high water and slowly float downstream. Colliding and merging with each other, they often clog the riverbed and interfere with navigation.
White Nile
Below Sobat the river gets its name White Nile (Bahr el Abyad), leaves behind an area of swamps, and then flows calmly in a wide valley through semi-desert terrain to Khartoum, where it merges with the Blue Nile. From here to the Mediterranean Sea the river is called the Nile ( El Bahr).
Blue Nile
The Blue Nile is much shorter than the White Nile, but it plays a much larger role in the formation of the Nile regime below Khartoum. The Blue Nile originates from the Abyssinian Highlands, flowing from Lake Tana. From the same highlands, the Nile receives its last high-water tributary - Atbara.
Significance for Egypt
Nile- the only river North Africa, which passes through the Sahara and brings its waters to the Mediterranean Sea, being the source of life in the waterless desert. The permanent flow of the Nile exists due to precipitation falling in more southern regions and feeding its origins. White Nile, starting at equatorial belt, receives nutrition from year-round rains. In the upper reaches its level is very high and quite constant, since it is still regulated by lakes. However, within the Upper Nile Basin (Sedd) a large number of water is lost through evaporation and in nutrition Nila below Khartoum more important has the Blue Nile, which carries abundant water after the summer rains that fall on the Abyssinian Highlands. The highest flow on the lower Nile during this period is approximately 5 times higher than the flow during low water.
Nile in the lower reaches it overflows, flooding the entire valley. Tributaries Nila, flowing from the Abyssinian Highlands, bring a large amount of silt that settles during the spill. This regular fertilizer plays a huge role in Egyptian agriculture.
The water resources of the Nile have been used since ancient times for irrigation and natural fertilization of fields, fishing, water supply and navigation. The river is especially important for Egypt, where about 97% of the country's population lives in a 10-15 km wide coastal strip. The creation of the Aswan hydrocomplex contributed to the long-term regulation of the Nile flow, eliminated the threat of catastrophic floods (previously, during floods, the water level in the river near Cairo rose to 8 m) and made it possible to increase total area irrigated lands.
On Nile are worth big cities Khartoum, Aswan, Luxor (Thebes), Cairo-Giza metropolitan area; in the delta - Alexandria. River Nile north of Aswan is a popular tourist route.
The Nile has been a source of life for ancient Egyptian civilization since the Stone Age. It is in its valley that all the cities of Egypt are located and almost the entire population still lives. It should be recognized, however, that the construction of the Aswan High Dam and hydroelectric power station, completed in 1970, putting an end to the spring floods, simultaneously deprived Agriculture Egypt's most important natural fertilizer- silt.
There are three huge rivers in Africa, but the largest is the Nile - the second longest river in the world.
The Nile flows into the Mediterranean Sea.
But where the Nile comes from, where it began, people did not know for a long time.
They only saw that from somewhere, from the depths of Africa, a mighty stream of water was pouring, pouring for many thousands of years and not drying up, although in the countries through which it flows - in Nubia and Egypt - it almost never rains.
The birth of the Nile and especially its annual floods seemed miraculous to people. People considered the Nile to be a deity and prayed to it.
Many thousands of years passed, and no one knew where the Nile came from.
Only in 1860 did two English officers decide to see the sources of the Nile at any cost.
They went by ship to the east coast of Africa, about 5° south. sh., and from there, with great difficulties and dangers, they made their way on foot to the middle of Africa, where no European had ever been before.
There they saw a huge freshwater lake, which was four times larger than our Ladoga lake. The British called this lake Lake Victoria. The Nile flows from it.
Having traveled about two-thirds of its way to the Mediterranean Sea, the Nile takes right side large influx, the Blue Nile, which begins in the Abyssinian mountainous country. Connecting with this river, the Nile immediately becomes twice as wide.
Starting from here, it receives no more tributaries. Other rivers become fuller the further they flow; and the Nile, on the contrary, the closer to the mouth, the narrower it becomes poorer in water. This is because the Nile flows here through a terrible, waterless and dead desert - the Sahara. There is only sand and stones, hot from the sun. Sand absorbs water, the sun evaporates.
This is where Egypt is located.
This is a low-lying strip of fertile land lying on both banks of the Nile, in the middle of the desert.
In September, the Nile in Egypt becomes muddy, dirty, overflows its low banks and floods them.
Egypt becomes like a shallow lake.
The villages of the Egyptians are built on hills and now seem like islands; their houses and palm trees are reflected in the muddy water. Communication is made possible only by boats. But everyone rejoices and rejoices, because the wider the Nile floods, the more bread there will be this year.
Why does the Nile flood?
Our rivers flood from the melting snow in the spring. In Africa there is no winter, and there is no snow. The reason for the Nile flood is different.
This reason is heavy rains, which pour during the hottest time in Africa, where Lake Victoria is and where Mountain country Abyssinia. The rains are so strong that they do not fall in drops, like ours, but in whole streams. Then the whole middle of Africa is flooded with water, and the blacks sit in their huts under thatched roofs, not going anywhere and shivering from the dampness.
Several weeks pass like this.
From these rains, the water in the Nile rises, and by September the flood reaches Egypt. After all, the length of the Nile is 6.5 thousand kilometers.
After standing for twenty days, the water begins to recede, first slowly, then faster, and the Nile again enters its low clay banks.
Now all the land in Egypt has become wet, saturated with water, and, in addition, the river has left behind a dark soft silt, which consists of clay, fine sand and rotten plants. This silt is characterized by extraordinary fertility.
As soon as the river subsides, the Egyptian peasants (fellahs) quickly sow wheat, corn, millet, and cotton on this damp, dark soil, and the harvests are amazing.
During our winter, Egypt turns green and blooms. There it is the best, most fertile time of the year.
When the harvest is harvested, and the dark earth dries up and cracks from the hot rays of the sun, Egypt becomes like a desert.
At this time, a dry, hot wind - “khamsin” - begins to blow from the Sahara.
The sky becomes pale, the sun becomes dull and reddish. Animals and birds try to hide somewhere. The wind is dry and hot; one might think that he is flying out of a hot furnace. It’s almost impossible to breathe in this air, your lips are dry, your whole body feels as if thousands of needles are pricking your skin.
The khamsin rages for two hours. Finally, the wind dies down, the air becomes clear, the sky turns blue. But everything around bears traces of the terrible breath of the Sahara. The greenery has withered, the people are pale and silent, everything is covered with dust. This is what summer is like in Egypt.
That's why everyone is waiting and can't wait for the autumn flood.
And so the Egyptian women, having gone early in the morning with jugs on their heads to fetch water to the Nile, bring joyful, long-desired news: the ibises have arrived.
Ibises are birds, like storks or herons: they are white, but their head, neck and legs are black. They arrive shortly before the Nile floods; therefore, in ancient times it was forbidden to touch these birds, and if anyone killed an ibis, he was executed by death.
People thought that these were messengers of the god Nile, who brings harvest and happiness to many millions of people. Now we know that ibises come to feed in the Nile-flooded valley of Egypt and fly away from drought to damp tropical Africa.
One of the greatest rivers on the planet is undoubtedly the Nile River. The oldest human civilization arose on its shores thousands of years ago. This is evidenced by the unique architectural monuments located on the left bank of the mighty river. Since ancient times, the Nile has been revered by people as the source of life and general prosperity. He was worshiped like a deity, and they always wondered: where do the great waters originate, where does the majestic deep stream begin to flow, ending its path in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
Source of the Nile
Where does the greatest of the planet's rivers originate? The question is not at all simple, as it might seem at first glance. In its flow African continent the river crosses lakes, has many tributaries, and it’s quite difficult to immediately determine where the beginning is. People began to deal with this issue two and a half thousand years ago.
The original inhabitants of the Nile Valley, the Egyptians, could not provide any intelligible information. They had the skill to build the great pyramids, but for some reason they were unable to determine the source of the wide river. That's why the ancient Greeks got down to business. Herodotus (484-425 BC) was the first to say his weighty word. Greatest Thinker ancient times claimed that somewhere far in the south mighty river comes out of the bowels of the earth. Some of the waters rush to the north, and some of the waters to the south.
Where such conclusions came from is unknown. But today we know that Herodotus was wrong. The Greek historian Agatharchides of Knitsky was also mistaken. This venerable man, who lived 2,200 years ago, sincerely believed that the great river originated in the Ethiopian Highlands. The historian was misled by sailors sent by the king of Egypt Ptolemy II to examine East Coast Africa. They came to the Ethiopian Highlands during the rainy season and saw how the rivers overflowed there. They immediately connected the Nile flood with this. It is difficult to deny logic to these people, but their conclusions were fundamentally incorrect.
Ptolemy Claudius (87-165) turned out to be closer to the truth. This Greek astronomer and mathematician stated that the Nile River originates in the Mountains of the Moon. This is how the well-known Rwenzori mountain range was called in ancient times. It is located much south of the Ethiopian Highlands, and from it it is already very close to Lake Victoria.
Hundreds of years have passed. People naively believed that it was from the mountain peaks of Rwenzori that the great waters began their journey. But in 1768, the Scottish traveler James Bruce (1730-1794) set foot on African soil. He was deeply convinced that the Nile originated in Ethiopia, and not in the southern wilds of Africa. He found the source of the mighty river in 1770 on the Abyssinian Highlands. The river flowed out of Lake Tana. The Greek Strates, born in Ethiopia, pointed to the source. But this was the beginning not of the White Nile, but of the Blue Nile. The Blue Nile, which is 1,600 km long, is considered only a tributary. Having merged with the White, it forms the pure-blooded Nile, ending its journey in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
This is where the White Nile originates
Lake Victoria was discovered in 1858. Humanity owes this to the British army officer John Hennig Speke (1827-1864). It was then that the firm confidence appeared that the great river originates from this lake. It is the largest in Africa by area, and in the world, according to this indicator, it ranks second after Lake Superior in North America.
This hypothesis was indirectly confirmed English journalist Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904). In 1871 he went to Central Africa search for the missing Livingston and at the same time explored this little-studied region. He established that Lake Tanganyika is in no way connected with the Nile. From here it was taken final decision that the great river originates in Lake Victoria.
Neil from space
Nile length
Speaking about Lake Victoria, many researchers stated that the source of the Nile should be sought to the east of the vast lake waters. In the east, the Kagera River flows into the lake, and it, in turn, has a tributary, the Rukarara. It is precisely the source of the last river that should be considered the source of the White Nile, located at an altitude of 2000 meters above sea level.
From Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea, the length of the river is 5600 km. To the source of Rukarara, the length corresponds to 6758 km. The difference is quite noticeable. Today, it is officially believed that the Nile River is 5,600 km long and originates in Lake Victoria. And here river system The great river begins from the source of Rukarara and has a length of 6758 km. Thus, all the i's are dotted in this rather sensitive issue.
From source to delta
Located on the East African plateau at an altitude of 1134 meters above sea level. The waters of the great river flow out of it and rush north. The mighty stream always strives downwards. Accordingly, the river abounds in waterfalls, whirlpools and rapids. The largest waterfall is called Murchison. Its height reaches almost 40 meters. The total water drop over 500 km is at least 700 meters. The turbulent stream ends its path in Lake Albert. This section of the river is called the Victoria Nile.
One of the waterfalls on Victoria Nile
From Lake Albert, as you might guess, the Albert Nile flows. This section of the river has a relatively calm flow due to the more or less flat terrain. It belongs to the country of Uganda. Its inhabitants cross the great river on ferries. There is even one bridge connecting the eastern and western banks.
In South Sudan, the river changes its name to Bahr al-Jabel. It is considered as such for 716 km. The area around is flat and marshy. This causes the river to split into many narrow branches. Between them there are islands with vegetation. Gradually, the area of the marshy area decreases, and the river flows into Lake Net. The Bahr el-Ghazal River, flowing from the west, also flows into it. Having merged together, the rivers form a single stream, called Bahr el-Abyad or White Nile, since the water contains a lot of suspensions of white clay, and it has a pale yellow color.
Then the river flows through the valley to the capital of Sudan, Khartoum. At this point, the White Nile merges with the Blue Nile and a single full-flowing stream is formed, which is called the Nile River. 300 km north of Khartoum, the last tributary flows into the deep stream. This is the Atbara River. It begins its journey from the Abyssinian Highlands, like the Blue Nile, but flows further north. Its length is 800 km, and during the dry period from January to June the river usually dries up.
On the banks of the Nile
Having absorbed this river, the waters of the Nile flow into the Sahara Desert. Her East End is called the Nubian Desert. From the great river it spreads east and passes into the Arabian Desert. In the Nubian Desert, the Nile makes a sharp turn to the southwest and then turns north again. The river leaves the territory of the state of Sudan and begins its movement through Egypt.
In northern Sudan, the Nile River is called Lake Nasser. Most of The reservoir is located in Egypt. This is a man-made creation. It is one of the largest artificial lakes in the world. Its width reaches 35 km, greatest depth 180 meters, maximum length 550 km, area 5250 sq. km.
The reservoir was created thanks to Aswan Dam. It is located to the north at a distance of 270 km from the Sudanese border. Built between 1960 and 1970. Thanks to the dam, the rapids of the Nile disappeared under water. There were six of them in total. Flooding during the rainy season has also stopped. The river overflowed and flooded large areas, and this was a real disaster for the local population. The height of the dam is 111 meters, length 3830 meters, width 980 meters.
Next, the Nile River flows north through a wide, fertile valley. Numerous cities stretch along the shores, home to the vast majority of Egypt's population. Finally, Cairo appears on the path of the great river. This is the capital of Egypt - ancient city. It was founded in 969. Its population is 6 million 800 thousand people. The Nile cuts the city into two parts. It forms islands on which city blocks also rise.
Nile in Cairo
Nile Delta
After leaving Cairo, the river begins to split into branches. They multiply and form a huge delta. Its length from north to south is 160 km. Along the Mediterranean coast from west to east, the length reaches 240 km. At the western end of the delta is the city of Alexandria, on the eastern end of Port Said. The area of this giant nature education reaches 24 thousand square meters. km. There are 10 cities in the river delta. That is, it is a large residential area of the country. It is home to about 38 million people. The population of all of Egypt is 81 million people.
The largest city in the west of the delta is Alexandria. 3.9 million people live in it. In other cities it is less. Outside the cities, the population density is 1000 people/1 sq. km. The climate in the delta is Mediterranean and characterized by low rainfall. Due to global warming There is a forecast that by 2025 there will be a rise in sea level of 30 cm. This will entail the disappearance of the entire northern part of the delta under water and a massive shortage of food for people. At least 10 million refugees are expected as a result of this cataclysm.
View of the Nile Delta from space
In the delta, in winter, several hundred thousand waterfowl live. It has the highest concentration of gulls and terns in the world. White and gray herons, cormorants, and ibises also live here. In the waters they live in a huge number frogs and turtles. Lots of different fish. Crocodiles and hippos have long disappeared from the delta. They were once the indigenous inhabitants of these places, but people gradually drove the animals outside the delta, leaving them no hope of return.
The Nile River is the second longest in the world, second only to the queen of rivers, the Amazon. It was on the banks of the Nile that the most ancient human civilization arose. It still amazes people with the Great Pyramids and other fundamental architectural masterpieces. Alexander the Great was not yet in the project, and the cladding on the Cheops pyramid was already peeling off.
All this once again emphasizes the greatness of the mighty waters that begin their thorny path in Lake Victoria. That is, the river originates almost at the equator, passes through the territory of 10 countries and flows into the Mediterranean Sea near the Suez Canal, touching it with the eastern edge of the delta. Thus, the river has a connection with the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, connecting central part Africa with the endless waters of the World Ocean.
Yuri Syromyatnikov
Nile- a river in Africa, the second largest river in the world. It was this river that greatly contributed to the birth of the huge, interesting and prosperous Egyptian civilization!
General characteristics
The Nile, originating in the East African Plateau, flows into the Mediterranean Sea, forming a huge delta with an area of about twenty-four thousand square kilometers. In its upper reaches, this mighty river has several major tributaries: right - Atbara, Blue Nile, Sobat and Achwa, as well as one left tributary - El Ghazal. Just below the mouth of Atbara, the Nile flows through a semi-desert, and over the last three thousand kilometers it no longer has any tributaries.
Previously, the Nile water system was considered the longest on the planet. However, Brazilian researchers subsequently found that the longest river system is still the Amazon - according to them, the length of the Amazon is 6992 km, while the length of the Nile is only 6852 km.
The source of the Nile is located in Rwanda - it is the Rukarara River, which flows into a river called Kagera. Throughout the year, the water flow in the Nile changes quite sharply and greatly, and the total length of the navigable sections of this river is 3.2 thousand kilometers.
The Nile basin area covers the territories of Egypt, Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Rwanda.
The waters of the Nile are widely used for electricity generation and irrigation. Moreover, in the valley and delta of this amazing river Not only does almost the entire population of Egypt live, but almost the entire economy of this hot country is based. The largest Egyptian cities located on the Nile are Cairo, Alexandria, Aswan and Khartoum.
About the name
The name Nile comes from the Latin Nilus and the Greek Neilos. And the very first historical name this river may well trace its origins to the Semitic root nahal, which translates as “ river valley"or simply "valley" (in more broadly understood- “river”). However, it may also come from the language of the Libyan tribes - there was a word lil, which was translated as “water”; after some time given word converted to nil.
It is noteworthy that Neil has absolutely different names in different sections of its course - its main name this river bears only below the confluence with one of the largest tributaries called the Blue Nile.
- The Nile is the longest, widest and deepest river on the African continent.
- The Nile flows through ten different countries.
- The Nile, just like the Ob, is the largest Russian river, flows from south to north, and not vice versa.
- The waters of the Nile are home to a rather interesting Nile perch, whose weight sometimes reaches one hundred and forty kilograms.
- The source of the Nile is located in Rwanda.
- You should not swim in the waters of the Nile, as they are quite heavily polluted - in the territories of most countries through which this river flows, numerous wastes are dumped into it.
- Quite a lot of crocodiles still live on the banks of the Nile, which can easily attack unwary travelers.
- For quite a long time, the Nile was considered the longest river in the world, but more accurate measurements showed that the Amazon is still the longest river. However, it is not much longer than the Nile.
- The mouth of the Nile was first called “Delta” by Greek geographers, who compared its characteristic triangular shape with the corresponding letter Greek alphabet. It is this fact that determines the name of all the others. river deltas located on the globe.
- The Nile River was not always navigable - the rapids presented serious danger, disappeared under water only after the construction of the artificial Lake Nasser, which serves as a reservoir. This operation made it possible to increase the river level in several places at once.
- During the construction of the pyramids, the ancient Egyptians floated huge stone blocks down the Nile using galleys and rafts.
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