The Nile River

By Andrea Alsenz

What types of animals live in or near the Nile River?

• Birds, Cats, Scarab beetles, Crocodiles, and hippos.

• Most animals in Egypt live around the Nile.• The two most common animals living in the

Nile are fish and crocodiles.

Why is the Nile Important?

• Annual flooding brought much needed water for irrigation, and it was a fresh water source that was very necessary. Each flood deposited nutrient-rich, dark soil when the waters receded.

• Egypt’s farmers and society depended on the Nile for fresh water.

The Nile River Cycle

• A few weeks after the river flooded, the river shrunk again and left behind a layer of dark mud that was extremely fertile.

• The river floods because melting snow and heavy rain pour into it from very high mountains near its source.

• Before the Nile reaches the coast it splits into several branches that pour into the Mediterranean Sea.

Facts about the Nile• The most common reptile in the Nile River is the Nile crocodile.• The Egyptians called it “The Gift of the Nile”.• The Nile becomes increasingly important the farther north it flows into

Sudan and Egypt.• The Nile brings water to the greatest and most desolated desert, the

Sahara. • The Continued blessings of the Nile allow Egypt to continue today as one

of the largest and most powerful nations of Africa and the Middle East. • Two things define the Nile for almost 2000 km from Khartoum to Aswan:

the cataracts and the great bend. There are Six classical cataracts, but there are really many more.

• The great bend is one of the most unexpected features of the Nile. For most of its course, the Nile flows inexorably north, but in the heart of the Sahara, it turns southwest and flows away from the sea for 300km before resuming its northward journey.

• The Nile stopped flooding by dams.

Bibliography

• David Salariya Pg. 8-9, “How Would You Survive as Ancient Egyptian”.

• Mandy Barrow, Ancient Egypt, 10-20-10, Woodlands Junior School, November 2008, www. Woodlands-junior. kent. school. Edu.

• Think quest Junior, oracle think Quest, 10-21-10, all over, 2001, www.thinkquest.edu.

• Dr. Robert Stern, Remote Sensing Lab. 10-21-10, The University of Texas at Dallas, 2004, www.UTdallas.edu/geosciences/ .