[63] The connection of the different Niles occurred during cyclic wet periods. The Sudd swamp which forms the central part of the basin may still be subsiding. They believed the gods were intimately involved with the people and could help them in all facets of their lives. The Nile also has served as an important transportation route for thousands of years. Summer solstice: The science behind the longest day of the year, How to watch Our Planet II: David Attenborough's latest series shows how animals adapt to our changing world, Fathers Day Science gift guide: Perfect gifts for science-loving dads, What is SPF? 1) Found in northeast Africa, the Nile has long been recognised as the longest river in the world - stretching a massive 6,695km! about 250 km wide. Ancient Egyptians used the papyrus plant in many ways, such as making cloth, boxes, and rope, but by far its most important use was in making paper. The Nile River is home to a wide variety of plants, animals and fish. The average flow of the White Nile at Lake Kawaki Malakal, just below the Sobat River, is 924m3/s (32,600cuft/s); the peak flow is approximately 1,218m3/s (43,000cuft/s) in October and minimum flow is about 609m3/s (21,500cuft/s) in April. It discharges an average of 2,830 cubic meters of water per second. 1. In 2006, a British explorer named Neil McGrigor said he'd traveled to the Nile's most distant source at the beginning of the Kagera River, Lake Victoria's longest feeder river. [30][31], The source of the White Nile, even after centuries of exploration, remains in dispute. Follow the course of the longest river in the world, the Nile, Pop Quiz: 18 Things to Know About Ancient Egypt. The Aswan High Dam, built in 195970, provides flood protection, hydroelectric power, and a dependable water supply for both crops and humans. Bamboo is an important source of food for herbivore animals and building material for humans. Many cruise ships ply the route between Luxor and Aswan, stopping at Edfu and Kom Ombo along the way. When you search online to learn how long the Nile River is, you'll find many different numbers, ranging from 3400 miles (5499km) to 4400 miles (6695km). Nearly all the cultural and historical sites of Ancient Egypt developed and are found along river banks. Until recently, the Nile River was recognized as the longest river in the world. On 29 January 2005, Canadian Les Jickling and New Zealander Mark Tanner completed the first human-powered transit of Ethiopia's Blue Nile. Known as both the "Father of Life" and the "Mother of All Men," the Nile was the center of life in Ancient Egypt. 1996 - 2023 National Geographic Society. ", "The origin of the word INDIGO and ANILA", "EarthTrends: The Environmental Information Portal", "Bridging the Gap in the Nile Waters Dispute", "Rain event properties at the source of the Blue Nile River", "Next on Egypt's to-do: Ethiopia and the Nile", "Supporting the Development of Efficient and Effective River Basin Organisations in Africa: What Steps Can Be Taken to Improve Transboundary Water Cooperation Between Riparian States of the Nile? After leaving the lake, it flows generally north through Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan, and Egypt. [75] Jernimo Lobo describes the source of the Blue Nile, visiting shortly after Pedro Pez. First Ring Road Bridge (Moneeb Crossing), Moorehead, Alan, "The White Nile" (Hamish Hamilton, 1960; revised and illustrated edition, 1971). The Atbarah flows only while there is rain in Ethiopia and dries very rapidly. From here it meets with the Sobat River at Malakal. An anabranch river, the Bahr el Zeraf, flows out of the Nile's Bahr al Jabal section and rejoins the White Nile. Today, its river regime is the best known of any large river. Updates? The Blue Nile meets up with the White Nile near Sudan's capital city, Khartoum. The water god Khnum, who ruled over all forms of water, even the lakes and rivers in the underworld, was believed to be in charge of the amount of silt that flooded the river banks every year. This fearsome predator has a reputation as a man eater and rightly so. [82] From the 70 incidents of drought which took place between 1900 and 2012, 55 incidents took place in Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya and Tanzania. The source of the Blue Nile is Lake Tana[28] in the Gish Abay region[29] in the Ethiopian Highlands. She or he will best know the preferred format. A canyon, now filled by surface drift, represents the Eonile that flowed during 235.3million years before present. While the White Nile contributes more during the drier season than the Blue Nile, the Blue Nile's discharge can drop to a low of 4626 cubic feet per second in the drier season. Nile River - Nile River - Source, Delta, Length: It is thought that approximately 30 million years ago the early Nile, then a much shorter stream, had its sources at about 18 to 20 N latitude. The Blue Nile originates from Lake Tana, Ethiopia, and flows for about 1,460-1,600 kilometers through Ethiopia and Sudan before joining the White Nile. students ask How Wide Is The Nile yosepi January 23, 2023 But, the release volume of both tributaries varies considerably over the yearly cycle. If the floods were too large, it could cause flooding harm in the surrounding villages. How narrow is the Nile river? - Short-Fact Irrigation, navigation and other needs were considered. The last part of the approximately 200 kilometers (120mi) river section starts from the western shores of the lake and flows at first to the west until just south of Masindi Port, where the river turns north, then makes a great half circle to the east and north to Karuma Falls. Because the river overflowed its banks annually and deposited new layers of silt, the surrounding land was very fertile. The Lates niloticus is a freshwater fish that is found in much of the Afrotropic ecozone including the Nile river system. The White Nile emerges from Lake Victoria, in Jinja, Uganda, as the Victoria Nile and flows through Lake Kyoga and Lake Albert. The Nile River - Tour Egypt Nile Perch . Anthropology, Sociology, Geography, Social Studies, Ancient Civilizations. The average flow rate of the White Nile at the tails of the swamps is about 510m3/s (18,000cuft/s). Flooding is a regular occurrence though it varies in date and volume. The Nile includes a length of about 4, 160 miles or 6, 695 kilometers. In Sudan, the Blue Nile flows for about 650 kilometers, with the Dinder River joining on the right bank at Dinder. At the coast the delta is about 250 km wide, from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the east. [12], The northern section of the river flows north almost entirely through the Nubian Desert to Cairo and its large delta, and the river flows into the Mediterranean Sea at Alexandria. During the wet season, the peak flow of the Blue Nile often exceeds 5,663m3/s (200,000cuft/s) in late August (a difference of a factor of 50). Corrections? Recommendations were made to the Sudanese authorities. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The ancient Egyptians called the river Ar or Aur (Coptic: Iaro), Black, in allusion to the colour of the sediments carried by the river when it is in flood. Its three main tributaries are the White Nile, the Blue Nile, and the Atbara. In 1970, the Aswan High Dam was built in Egypt to help regulate the Nile's flooding. It offers a forum for discussion and coordination among the countries to help manage and share the river's resources. From there, the river flows north through the desert in Egypt, and finally, by way of a large delta, the Nile flows into the Mediterranean Sea. Before the 20th century, little was known about the Niles hydrology. The Red Nile only flows during the rainy season in Ethiopia and dries up during the dry season. It begins at Lake Victoria and flows through Uganda and South Sudan. Over 600 models were run. However, some researchers have contested its status as the worlds longest rivers, bestowing honors upon South Americas Amazon River. The growth of the current Sahara began about 6,000, conquest of the northern and central Sudan, "Pinpointing the sources and measuring the lengths of the principal rivers of the world", Amazon Longer Than Nile River, Scientists Say, "The Quest for Cooperation in the Nile Water Conflicts: A Case for Eritrea", "What's the Blue Nile and the White Nile? With a total length of about 6,650km (4,130mi)[a] between the region of Lake Victoria and the Mediterranean Sea, the Nile is among the longest rivers on Earth. These seasons, each consisting of four months of thirty days each, were called Akhet, Peret, and Shemu. In the Odyssey, the epic poem written by the Greek poet Homer (7th century bce), Aigyptos is the name of the Nile (masculine) as well as the country of Egypt (feminine) through which it flows. It became so important to life and culture that it earned the nickname the father of African rivers. The river used to flood on a yearly basis, but now the Aswan High Dam, built in the mid-20th century, allows surrounding countries to control the floods. Joseph Awange is an associate professor in the department of spatial sciences at Curtin University in Australia. The silt area was known as the Black Land, while the desert lands further out were known as the Red Land. The Atbarah overflowed its closed basin during the wet periods that occurred about 100,000 to 120,000 years ago. Today, the river continues to serve as a source of irrigation, as well as an important transportation and trade route. Upstream from Khartoum (to the south), the river is known as the White Nile, a term also used in a limited sense to describe the section between Lake No and Khartoum. Thus, all tombs were west of the Nile, because the Egyptians believed that in order to enter the afterlife, they had to be buried on the side that symbolized death. The first use of the Nile for irrigation in Egypt began when seeds were sown in the mud left after its annual floodwaters had subsided. British explorer and missionary David Livingstone pushed too far west and entered the Congo River system instead. Even today, families come to the banks of the Nile River to gather water for their day, against the backdrop of ancient Egyptian ruins. Though their expedition included others, Brown and Scaturro were the only ones to complete the entire journey. [51] This change in climate also led to the current extents of the Sahara desert, around 3400 BCE. It flows north for some 130 kilometers (81mi) to Lake Kyoga. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The Ancient Egyptians also called the river Ar or Aur, which means "black," in reference to the black silt left behind after the yearly flooding. The Nile River System has three main branches - the White Nile, the Blue Nile, and the Atbara river. It's the longest river on Earth. Their journey of over 5,000 kilometres (3,100mi) took five months. The fish has a silver color with a blue tinge. [3] Geography The Nile in Egypt and Sudan is now called Al-Nl, Al-Bar, and Bar Al-Nl or Nahr Al-Nl. Nile River Facts for School The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest river in the world,[3][4] though this has been contested by research suggesting that the Amazon River is slightly longer. The Bahr al Ghazal's drainage basin is the largest of any of the Nile's sub-basins, measuring 520,000 square kilometers (200,000sqmi) in size, but it contributes a relatively small amount of water, about 2m3/s (71cuft/s) annually, because tremendous volumes of water are lost in the Sudd wetlands. February 5, 2015 What is the world's widest river? Roughly halfway to the sea, it originates in Ethiopia north of Lake Tana, and is around 800 kilometers (500mi) long. Europeans began to learn about the origins of the Nile in the 14th century when the Pope sent monks as emissaries to Mongolia who passed India, the Middle East and Africa, and described being told of the source of the Nile in Abyssinia (Ethiopia)[67] Later in the 15th and 16th centuries, travelers to Ethiopia visited Lake Tana and the source of the Blue Nile in the mountains south of the lake. In addition, routine annual flooding no longer occurs along parts of the Nile.