O Nilo river it is the largest in the world in terms of territorial extension. Located in African continent, this river is from Extremely important for the entire society that surrounds it., being an essential item for us to understand the development of ancient civilizations, such as the Egyptian one.
The Nile passes through 10 African countries until pouring into Mediterranean Sea, through its mouth in Egypt. Its size directly contributes to its being part of the main watershed on the continent, which makes it impressive.
Read too: Rivers - water reservoirs that contribute to survival on Earth
Nile River General Information
Length of the Nile River
When we add up from the southernmost source, south of Uganda, to its mouth in the Mediterranean Sea, the Nile has a length of 7088 km. There is controversy among scholars about this data, and some put the ryo Amazons being bigger than him. In terms of flow, the river in South America is even larger, but in terms of length, the African river has the advantage.
Nile River Position
this river born in the interior of the African continent, in the eastern part from Africa. Its course is the longest in the world, running south-north. This sense based the development of ancient societies, like the Egyptian. Much of it settled on the right bank of the river, to the east, as it is where the sun rises. For the Egyptians, the gods of Egyptian mythology used the Nile as a transport, and the place where the sun rises would be the most conducive to life.
source of the river Nile
the river Nile has its origin in two great lakes: Lake Victoria in Uganda and Lake Tana in Ethiopia. In Uganda, the Victoria feeds a large tributary, the White Nile. In Ethiopia, the Blue Nile (another tributary) is reinforced with the waters of the Tana. However, a source further south, in Rwanda, can be considered the beginning of this mighty river. This spring is located in Nyungwe Forest, the southernmost point of Lake Victoria.
Average flow
Despite being a long river, your flow is low. This is due to the arid climate of much of its course, making it have an average annual flow of 3100 m³/s. For comparison purposes, the Amazon River has an average annual flow of 209,000 m³/s.
Nile river mouth
Nile mouth is in format delta (similar to the figure of a triangle) and is in Egypt, measuring 160 km long and 250 km wide. The mouth of a river is the place where sediments accumulate and are not carried away by the ocean currents. fertile, alluvial zones, or form numerous lagoons — species of depressions formed by salt water in the coastlines.
Nile is no different. Its mouth has these characteristics and is located near the cities of Cairo (further south of the mouth) and Alexandria (northern coast of Egypt). When the course of the river crosses the city of Cairo, it bifurcates to reach the Mediterranean Sea. This bifurcation goes by two names: the Rosetta channel, to the west, and the Damieta channel, to the east.
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basin area
It is estimated that the Nile River watershed area is approximately 3,349,000 km2, which amounts to a tenth of the entire African continent.
countries
The Nile passes through 10 African countries, being essential for their populations. In Uganda, Ethiopia, there are the sources of its main tributaries, the White Nile and Blue Nile; and in Sudan and Egypt it reaches the Mediterranean Sea. In addition to these locations, the river runs through areas of Tanzania, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, South Sudan and Rwanda.
Etymology
The name Nile can have several explanations, but most of them reach a common denominator. The Egyptians, Greeks and Hebrews have different words for "river". rtw, yor and potamos, respectively. These three peoples were the ones who used the Nile the most throughout history, so the reference comes from them. Among the Egyptians, the Nile was called Ar, or Aur, which means "black."
However, for Sanskrits, the word nil it means "blue", and any addition to it may have a translation of "blue" or "blue power".
It is, therefore, a name with a strong semantic charge, which carries a sense of blue power, purification, calm and strength, and which well designates the Nile River along its course.
Nile River Features
The Nile River has a periodic flood regime along its course. As it is perennial, in times of drought, its banks become extremely fertile due to the sediments deposited there during the flood season. In general, the period of lowest flow of the river in its low course (closest to the mouth) is during the spring, in mid-September and October.
falls
As it is a river that runs from south to north, its upper course has some waterfalls that in history were used as borders between African peoples. Of the most famous falls on the Nile, two stand out: Aswan and Khartoum, the first in Egypt and the second in Sudan.
Between these two cities, there are other waterfalls along the Nile course, but these two are highlighted by the water potential and for being part of two important cities for their respective countries.
dams
In Aswan, in the 1890s, the Aswan dam by the British, to dam large amounts of water that served the British bases in the region during European imperialism in Africa.
Between the 1950s and 1970s, the Egyptians expanded it, altering the river's seasonal regime. Some scholars claim that this dam enabled agricultural crops in lands that were previously desert, in addition to alleviating the frightening floods of the river in the region. However, the natural fertilization of the margins was drastically altered, leading agricultural producers to use more and more inputs and pesticides chemicals.
The Aswan dam created a large lake, the lake nasser, in reference to the Egyptian president at the time, Gamal Abdel Nasser. The dam was built to house the Aswan hydroelectric plant, which currently generates energy for a large part of the population of Egypt.
See more: Water cycle - important biogeochemical cycle for the maintenance of life on Earth
Importance of the Nile River
The size of the Nile is directly associated with its importance to African society. Historically, it was essential to the development of one of the most intriguing and enigmatic civilizations: the egyptian civilization. Egypt's arid and dry climate makes its occupation a great challenge, but thanks to the river and its fertile floods, Egyptian development has seen times of glory, wealth and magnitude.
Herodotus, a Greek known as the “father of history”, called Egypt a gift from the Nile in allusion to the importance of this river for the growth and consolidation of the Egyptians as a society imperial.
Its floods move nutrients from the river, bringing to the surface, during the dry season, a large amount of humus and natural fertilizer. For this reason, the most important cities in countries where the Nile runs are located on its banks or in nearby areas.
Historical studies indicate that the banks of the Nile have been occupied since the Paleolithic period. The trees near the river had a variety of fruit, providing plenty for human groups that, in that era, did not practice agriculture.
Adding up the populations of the 10 countries where the Nile runs, we have the incredible figure of approximately 513 million people assisted, directly and indirectly, by this majestic river full of peculiarities.
River Nile currently
One of the serious problems facing the Nile is in its delta. Because of climate changes caused by the issuance and accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere, many farmers in the delta are losing arable land. That's because the salinity advances gradually, making the soil poor and intensifying the use of chemical fertilizers.
The severity of climate change in the Nile Delta could affect more than eight million people, who will have to be displaced from the coastal areas by the end of the century, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an organ of the Organization of Nations United.
Another problem is that many areas of the delta are sinking. This is because, in the construction of the Aswan dam, several tons of mud were displaced from the course of the river, accumulating in the delta, due to the natural course of the waters. With the dammed water, the sediment flow slowed down, reducing the delta. There are places where the coastline is already reducing at an impressive rate of 175 meters per year.
This dam, with the creation of Lake Nasser, caused great problems for the region's monuments, flooding important archaeological sites, with almost the majority of Nubian Temples damaged.
By Attila Matthias
Geography teacher
