The flooding of the nile was just an ordinary event in ancient egyptian life. During this short period, those rivers contribute up to ninety percent of the water of the nile and most of the sedimentation carried by it, but after the rainy season. Egypt is mostly a desert, and the nile is the largest source of water in that country. Its ultimate source is the little abbai, a stream emerging at mount gish. Floodplain management flooding the village of niles straddles two major watersheds. The population of egypt grew from nomads who settled along the fertile nile banks and transformed egypt into a sedentary, agricultural society by 4795 b. Dependence on the annual inundation was keenly felt during times of drought or flooding, causing uncertainty, famine or extreme hardship in the ancient egyptians daily life. The viability of hydropower, a renewable source of energy, is also higher in flood prone regions. The inundation of the nile river would bring a rich alluvial deposit of fertile black silt over the croplands. The flooding of the nile river in ancient egypt created no problems whatsoever. In the 1960s, the aswan high dam was built across the nile, putting an end to the river s flooding but bringing other problems to the region. I hope that this project will help children of 1011 to learn about the nile. Just north of the border between egypt and sudan lies the aswan high dam, a huge rockfill dam which captures the worlds longest river, the nile river, in the worlds thirdlargest reservoir, lake nasser. In the last few years of the 6th dynasty, the erosion of power of the.
Eshra researcher, nile research institute, national water research center, egypt email. Human impacts london escaped flooding in 2007 due to cement dykes built around river normal flooding was hindered by man made dykes it was stated that builders did not consider the flood plain when building roads and paving areas which contributed to the flood. It had a regular flooding schedule so the farmers took advantage of that and planted the crops in a way that the flooding would be beneficial for the agriculture. These form part of the great nile delta, which is composed of fine silt from the basalts of the ethiopian highlands. Slightly further out is another area which was called the red land. The construction of the aswan dam, finished in 1971, aimed to control the annual flooding in the lower nile, although. Each year the river nile used to flood, completely changing the scenery around the nile. Tahani moustafa sileet abstract since the dawn of human civilization, water related extreme events as floods and droughts have always been a great concern. The flooding of the nile was known by them as the tears of isis. When herding animals across flooded areas, the egyptians chanted. Periodic flooding was essential to the wellbeing of ancient communities along the tigriseuphrates rivers, the nile river, the indus river, the ganges and the yellow river among others. New orleans flooding animation, nasa jet propulsion laboratory this animation, based on radar topography data captured from the space shuttle, illustrates the vulnerability of new orleans to flooding. Most will never travel its waters, and see its sights firsthand. Daily discharge ata from a total of sevd en gauging stations.
The flooding of the nile the nile used to flood once every year during the inundation season, what the egyptians called akhet, between june and september. In fact, the start of akhet, the flooding season, was the beginning of the egyptian new year. This allowed the growing of crops which sustained their agriculture. Some of the most popular rafting rivers are the nile in uganda and the zambezi in zimbabwe. What did ancient egyptian farmers do while the nile. This flooding brought nutrientrich soil and washed away accumulated salts in the soil, too.
The unpredictable annual flow of the nile river is legendary, as evidenced by the story of joseph and the pharaoh, whose dream foretold seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine in a land whose agriculture was, and still is, utterly dependent on that flow. The egyptians divided their year into three seasons based on the action of the nile river. Providing water requirements for agricultural lands. The annual flood allowed them to farm and live securely. The nile river, so important to egypts populace, is no exception. The first aswan dam provided valuable irrigation during droughts but could not hold back the annual flood of the mighty nile river.
Human impacts london escaped flooding in 2007 due to cement dykes built around river normal flooding was hindered by man made dykes it was stated that builders did not consider the flood plain when building roads. Nile river is source of innovation history for kids. In 2020, it falls on a saturday, and some businesses may choose to follow saturday opening hours. In ancient times, the people of egypt depended on the flooding of the nile for survival. A series of winter storms brought more than 20 inches of rainfall to the midwest and southeastern united states in december 2015. August 15, 2020 the flooding of the nile used to be an important natural cycle in egypt. Already, a series of environmental crises are parking themselves on the banks of the nile. Sep 04, 2009 why the nile river is important duration. The monsoonal rains in the ethiopian highlands thus drive seasonal flooding along the length of the nile from below khartoum to its outlet in the mediterranean sea.
It flooded onto the desert land because of of the rain and melting snow causing a torrent of water to invade the river s banksfrom the ethiopian mountains. Next to each one, you should draw a quick cartoon to help you remember how this process works the best will be featured here. Seasonal rains in the ethiopian highlands prompt the annual summer flood of the nile river, which for thousands of years made possible the agriculture that supported the dense human population of the rivers lower valley and delta in egypt. The ancient sphinx sits in shadow of the incredible great pyramids of giza, all there because of the annual nile flooding. Most of this rainwater is taken by the blue nile and by the atbarah river into the nile, while a less important amount flows through the sobat and.
Text on image reads global precipitation measurement gpm mission. Aug 29, 2001 heavy rains in the blue nile catchment area of the ethiopian highlands led to a rapid overflow of the river s floodwaters into the main stream of the great nile, leading to extensive flooding, the worst effects of which occurred north of khartoum. Although flooding along the nile river in the african country of sudan is an annual event, this years river levels are the highest in more than 20. Flooding the village of niles straddles two major watersheds. Oct 28, 2006 egypt is mostly a desert, and the nile is the largest source of water in that country. The flooding of the nile has been an important natural cycle in egypt since ancient times. During akhet, the nile river flooded and replenished the nutrients in the. The nile rivers flooding could be described as see answers 2 ask for details. A tune, hymn to the nile, was created and sung by the ancient egyptian peoples about the flooding of the nile river and all of the miracles it brought to ancient egyptian civilization. Because the time of flooding was so important to the egyptians, they considered it to be the start of their new year. It flooded onto the desert land because of of the rain and melting snow causing a torrent of water to invade the rivers banksfrom the ethiopian mountains. If you know that the nile floods every year, you may think that the egyptian people will have enough water as long. However, ethiopias blue nile accounts for more than 80% of the niles water that flows through egypt.
The majority of people will get their information about what is perhaps the most famous river in the world, and certainly the longest river, from books, classrooms, museums, movies, television, and of course, the internet. Nile river fluctuations near khartoum, sudan internet archive. When the high dam at aswan was completed in 1970, the flooding cycle came to an end, but the celebration of wafaa elnil is still held, mainly to entertain tourists. Flood frequency analysis of the eastern nile rivers. The past and the future of flood management in the eastern. Longterm variations in nile floods are beyond the perceptions of people. The niles flooding and the limits of logic beachcombing. Physical effects of the nile on ancient egyptian life. The nile is an international river as its water resources are shared by eleven countries. The importance of the annual nile flooding for the nile river. As long as 5,000 years ago, the nile was believed to be a gift from the gods. Aswan low dam or old aswan dam and the high dam in the nile river in aswan, egypt.
These three seasons were inundation, emergence, and harvest. The nile by the giza pyramids, egypt, 1927 history in pictures predecessors. The river nile no longer floods, thanks to the construction of the aswan dam in the 1960s. Eight countries feed into the nile river upstream of egypt. Nov 02, 2014 degan and addys 1st grade history project october 2014.
Just south of cairo, the nile divides into two rivers or distributaries known as the rosetta and damietta branches. Every june, the nile river would flood, and this slightly coincided with the helical rising of the dog star sirius, which let them know inundation was near. The nile has a very predicable flooding season, but the depth of inundation is variable. Due to its length, characteristics, and its path through many cities and villages, many impacts and. Most of this rainwater is taken by the blue nile and by the atbarah river into the nile, while a less important amount flows through the sobat and the white nile into the nile.
However, ethiopias blue nile accounts for more than 80% of the nile s water that flows through egypt. Every year in august, the constellation orion returns to northern hemisphere skies at dawn, bearing with him the brightest star in our sky after. The oldest records of the nile floods barbara bell because rainfall over all but the northern delta has long been rare and irregular, egyptian farmers have depended for at least some 5000 years upon the annual flood of the nile river to water their fields and prepare the soil for culti. A fly up the nile river in egypt, then a pullout into space. When the river flooded, it carried silt and new earth onto the land it covered. But since the late 1960s, the nile river has been under the control of humans because of the construction of the aswan high dam. Timing our nile expedition with the nile river flood. It left rich nutrients which would be how they grew their crops to support their large nation. The animation shows the effect of flood ranging from 0 to 9 meters in height, and which portions of the city would be submerged. The flooding of the nile has been blamed for the sinking of two ancient cities, eastern canopus and herakleion, although some argue that an earthquake was the culprit stanley, 2001. Jun 04, 2007 the inundation of the nile river would bring a rich alluvial deposit of fertile black silt over the croplands.
You can see how the earths surface slopes down from the headwater. Heavy rains in the blue nile catchment area of the ethiopian highlands led to a rapid overflow of the rivers floodwaters into the main stream of the great nile, leading to extensive flooding, the worst effects of which occurred north of khartoum. Farreaching trade has been carried on along the nile since ancient times. Nile cartoons and comics funny pictures from cartoonstock. The importance of the annual nile flooding for the nile. Since there was natural variability, there were occasional years of too little flooding and others of way too much. It almost never rains in egypt, where approximately 95% of the land is desert.
Degan and addys 1st grade history project october 2014. Thats why egyptian soil along the nile river was sustainably fertile and suitable for farming. Ethiopias blue nile the origin of the nile river floods. The first season, the season of flooding, was called akhet, which roughly means inundation. Now, the rapidly growing countries along the nile compete for a share of its water. It is celebrated by egyptians as an annual holiday for two weeks. It was a greatly needed part of their annual lifestyle. Flooding along the nile river nasa earth observatory. This was the time of the year when the nile river would flood. Dec 10, 2008 the flooding of the nile river in ancient egypt created no problems whatsoever.
Animation shows rainfall of mississippi river flooding nasa. The following map shows the topography of the nile river basin. It is a day off for the general population, and schools and most businesses are closed. Water conservation in the nile basin saving water provides. Flooding of the nile in egypt date in the current year. The niles flooding and the limits of logic beachcombings. The timing of the nile river floods was crucial to our attempt to become the first to paddle from the blue nile source to sea. The river nile flooded every year between july and october, in a season the egyptians called akhet the inundation. Agriculture depended on its summer floods, which fertilized land along the river banks by depositing silt. The west side of the village is the des plaines river watershed, while the east side is in the north branch chicago river watershed. School project on ancient egypt and how the flooding of the nile helped.
What did ancient egyptian farmers do while the nile flooded. The flooding of the nile is the result of the yearly monsoon between may and august causing enormous precipitations on the ethiopian highlands whose summits reach heights of up to 4550 m 14,928 ft. The inundation, which deposited rich silt along the nile floodplain, was. Whether you are teaching the nile river in the context of social studies, world geography, ancient history, ancient egypt, the fertile crescent, or water formations in africa, you will find nile river lesson plans, interactives, activities, videos and worksheets for all grade levels. Nile river bank protection about 200 km along the river nile were protected by stone revetment. The extensive middle and lower reaches of the nile river flow through the sahara desert, a parched land contributing little to the rivers waters. In the 1960s, the aswan high dam was built across the nile, putting an end to the rivers flooding but bringing other problems to the region. This was a region of desert beyond the reach of the flooding. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The nile is a major northflowing river in northeastern africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. The past and the future of flood management in the eastern nile basin eng. Some are subtle, like the rivers quiet vanishing act in the deltas northern fields. The ancient egyptians called the banks of the nile river the black land because of the mud that had been washed.
Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets. The nile river used to flood in the late summer every year. The blue nile proper emerges as the outlet of lake tana, situated at 1,788 meters 5,866 feet. Heres a short animation from france that beautifully captures the vermont rivers program mission to make. Until the building of the dam at aswan the nile river flooded egypt in late summer. My chosen audience is for ages 1011, although as this is on internet, children of other ages might look at this website for information. The yearly rise and fall of the nile river is directly responsible for the development of ancient egyptian society. The nile served not only as a source of food, but of water. May 06, 2015 the flooding of the nile was known by them as the tears of isis.
Aug 05, 2016 until the building of the dam at aswan the nile river flooded egypt in late summer. Prevention of nile encroachments to allow for the river maximum discharge capacity. Ancient egypt the gift of the nile how the nile impacted ancient egypt song for kids duration. This is the 2nd stopmotion animation using lego by 7 year old year 3. Physical effects of the nile on ancient egyptian life synonym. Reducing flood devastation in the nile basin nile basin initiative. It was even celebrated as a twoweek holiday known as wafaa elnil. The amazing fertility of the nile nile bbc earth youtube. Modernization changed the river and it does not flood the way it.
Test your understanding of some nile river facts for kids. The village has 44 miles of combined sewers, 48 miles of sanitary sewer mains, and 94 miles of storm sewer mains. For that reason, almost all the drinking water and water required for farming comes from the nile river. There are three main processes that affect rivers and their valleys. The eastern nile basinincludes the blue nile river and its twotributaries dinder and rahad, and river atbara. To stake claim of a true first descent we had to paddle every section of the river, including the massive rapids of ethiopias blue nile. A short animation film on river management gemapi by the rhone mediterranean corsica water agency.
631 743 596 924 741 298 1207 225 214 840 1524 576 119 476 1394 886 621 711 873 1203 1318 1040 725 212 186 1376 542 1066 471 619 54 520 6 671 843 293 1052 246 1323 656 1495 1235 514 746 817 879 599