THE NILE RIVER

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THE NILE RIVER --- KEYSTONE OF EGYPT’S GEOGRAPHY ---

description

THE NILE RIVER. --- KEYSTONE OF EGYPT’S GEOGRAPHY ---. EGYPT. This is Egypt. Notice that it is mostly desert... …except for that green strip down the central/east region, and the bit at the top. EGYPT. The green strip is the Nile River Valley and Delta. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Transcript of THE NILE RIVER

Page 1: THE  NILE RIVER

THE NILE RIVER --- KEYSTONE OF EGYPT’S GEOGRAPHY ---

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EGYPT

This is Egypt.

Notice that it is mostly desert...

…except for that green strip down the central/east region, and the bit at the top.

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EGYPT

The green strip is the Nile River

Valley and Delta.

The Nile is an excellent example

of how people both adapt to and

affect their environment.

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EGYPT

Everything you’ve ever read or heard about

Ancient Egypt took place in that

green strip.

Most everywhere else is unlivable.

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THE ANCIENT NILE

The Nile River provided the major transportation route through Egypt.

----The Nile Delta (delta: sediment-produced

landform where a river meets a sea or ocean) is over 150 miles wide; includes Alexandria.

----Because the Nile fertilized the farmland,

nearly all Egyptians lived within ten miles of the river, or within the Nile Delta.

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THE ANCIENT NILE

How did the Nile fertilize the farmland?

The Nile River carries silt downriver. This silt contains nutrients needed for plants to grow.

The Nile floods every year. The floods overwhelm the farmlands, and the river leaves some of its silt behind. This silt recharges the

farmland for another growing season.

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THE NILE RIVER DELTA

The Giza pyramids are near the delta’s point. ----

The Nile splits in two (Rosetta and Damietta Rivers), explaining the Nile’s large delta.

Giza

Alexandria

DamiettaRiver

RosettaRiver

City of Niledivides

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THE NILE AND THE PYRAMIDS

Boats on the Nile transported building materials from both ends of the river.

----Many pyramid workers were farmers whose

fields were unworkable during floods, meaning Egypt had a large available labor force.

----Some believe the pyramids’ foundations were

leveled by flooding the site from the river.

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THE ASWAN HIGH DAM

Built 1960-1970----

The dam has a hydroelectric generator station, which produces a significant amount of Egypt’s

electrical power.----

Construction of the dam formed Lake Nasser, which holds the water that the dam blocks

until it is released when needed.

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THE ASWAN HIGH DAM

Benefits1. Eliminates risk of floods, potentially saving

lives and property each year2. Increases safety sailing down the river

3. Increases the number of harvests annually from one to two or three

4. Greatly reduces risk of a bad harvest, thus stabilizing Egypt’s home-grown food supply

5. Provides electricity for the country6. National symbol of power, modernization

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THE ASWAN HIGH DAM

Drawbacks1. Requires a massive irrigation project

involving canals to feed every field2. Dam, irrigation, and electrical infrastructure require maintenance to remain useful and safe3. Everyone living above the dam site has to be evacuated for the new lake (50,000 Egyptians)

4. Historic site at Abu Simbel flooded5. Loss of fertile silt deposits on fields requires

use of chemical fertilizers