Chapter 3 Section 1
“There would be no Egypt without the Nile.”
The Course of The Nile
 World’s Largest River.
 The River flows North.
 Begins in East Africa.
 End’s dumping into the
Mediterranean Sea.
 4,000 miles long (Distance between
New York to Alaska)
Two Main Sources.
 Broken up into two rivers.
 1st: Blue Nile Rough waters.
 Begins in the highlands of Ethiopia.
 Races down to the Deserts.
 2nd: White Nile Begins in East Africa.
 Flows Northward through the
swamps.
 The 2 rives meet in the Sudan.
Checking for Understanding…
 What are the
names of the
two rivers
which make up
the mighty Nile
River?
The Blue Nile
and White
Nile.
The Nile Through Ancient Nubia
 In the North:
 Nile has 2 bends (makes an S shape)
 1,000 miles long.
 Northern Tip:
 City of Aswan in Egypt.
 Nubia: Ancient region in the Nile
River Valley.
 Has 6 Cataracts that run through
it.

Rock filled Rapids.
 Formed Settlements way before the
began the art of farming.
 Were hunting and fishing
communities.
Lower Nubia
 Located between the 1st and




2nd cataracts.
Made up of mostly Deserts
and Granite Mountains.
Little Farming Land.
Little rain fall occurs.
People lived close to the
Nile for it was their main
water supply.
Upper Nubia…
 Located between the Niles
2nd and 6th Cataracts.
 Had a good amount of rain
fall each year.
 Allowed them to:
 Plant in the Fall.
 Harvest in the Spring.
 Farm land was small. (2
miles wide).
Checking for
Understanding…
What is a
Rock
Cataract?
filled
Rapids.
The Nile Through Ancient Egypt…
 The Nile runs 700 miles long
through Egypt.
 It’s first cataract began in
Aswan, making its way to the
Mediterranean Sea where it
ends.
 Along its journey passes through
Upper and Lower Egypt.
Upper Egypt.
 Located in Southern Egypt.
 Contained Fertile Land on both sides
of the river.
 6 miles wide of farm land made up
Upper Egypt.
 Located “Upstream” of the Nile.
 Cuts through stone cliffs and desert
sands.
 Built scattered farm villages along the
banks of the Nile.
Lower Egypt
 Located in the North.
 Lies “lower” or downstream of
the river.
 Fertile marshy area.
 Has deserts on each side of
the Rivers Green Banks.
End of the Nile
 Nile empties into the
Mediterranean Sea.
 There the river divides into
several branches (streams)
forming a vast fan-shaped
DELTA.
 Delta:
 Is a plain at the mouth of a river.
 Deltas are very rich fertile land
made of silt dropped by a river
as it drains into a larger body of
water.
The Gifts of The Nile.
 Desert sands are unsuitable for




agriculture.
The silt-filled floodwaters were rich
in minerals needed by plants.
Silt:
 Is a fine soil found on the
river bottoms.
Every Spring in the Highlands of
Africa water rushed downstream
flowing over the banks in Egypt.
The Egyptians prayed to “Hapi” the
God of the Nile in hopes of a good
flood each year.
Nile farming…
 Flood land began to dry in
October.
 Farmers planted:
 Wheat.
 Barley.
 Cucumbers.
 Lettuce.
 Onions.
 Beans.
 Flax: plant used to make
linen, a kind of cloth.
Nile Farming continued….
 To water the plants:
 Used Irrigation.
 Dug Canals for water flow.
 Used a device called a
Shadoof: to lift water onto
their fields.
 March:
 The crops were ready to be
harvested.
 Any surplus was taken to a
storehouse.
 This allowed for specialization
and community life possible.
Black Land…
 Known as “Kemet”
located in Egypt.
 Was given its name the
“Black land”, due to the
Dark Soil that was left
behind by the Niles
Flood.
Red Land…
 Located in the Vast Deserts
of Egypt on both sides of
the Nile.
 To the West:
 75% is made up of the
Sahara desert.
 In the East:
 Known as the Eastern
Desert.
 consisting of the remaining
25% of the Sahara desert.
Desert Protection:
 Hot sands shielded
Egypt and Nubia from
foreign attacks.
 The Nile Valley:
 Supplied the people a
path for Trade with
Central Africa.
 The Mediterranean and
Red Sea:
 Provided access to
Southwest Asia.
Checking for Understanding
What is a
Shadoof?
Was a device used
to lift water out of
the Nile river and
onto the fields or
irrigation canals
to keep constant
water on the
fields.
A Highway for Trade…
 Nile was used to
transport goods.
 Could travel North on
the Nile because it was
moving downriver.
 Could sail upward with
the help of winds that
blew to the South.
Routes Through Nubia…
 Cataracts did not
allow travel by river
through Nubia.
 Depended on Land
Routes for Trade.
 Famous Traders.
 Trade Routes:
 Central Africa and
Nubia into Egypt
and South West
Asia.
Routes Through Nubia
continued…
 Brought Many Goods
back.
 Ebony wood.
 Ivory from Elephant
Tusks.
 Ostrich feathers and
eggs.
 Panther Skins.
 Throw Stick.

Type of boomerang used
for hunting by Africans.
Checking for Understanding..
What made it
difficult to
travel by
water in
Nubia? How did
they trade?
The cataracts in the Nile
made it impossible for the
Nubians to trade by sea.
Instead they had to trade
by land, in which they are
famous for the good they
brought back from Africa
and Asia.