Chapter Three
Section One
The Geography of the Nile
I. The Course of the Nile
A. Background of the Nile
1. World’s longest river
2. Flows North from East Africa to the Mediterranean Sea

4, 000 miles

Sources- Blue Nile and White Nile
o Meet in Sudan
B. The Nile through Ancient Nubia
1. Nubia- Ancient region in the Nile River Valley

Today’s Aswan City, Egypt
2. Lower Nubia- Between 1st and 2nd cataracts

Little rain and farming

People lived close to the river
3. Upper Nubia- Between 2nd and 6th cataracts

Rain and farming- 2 miles on each side of the river
C. The Nile through Ancient Egypt
1. Ran 700 miles from Aswan to the Mediterranean Sea

Upper Egypt- Fertile area of about 6 miles on sides of river

Lower Egypt- Deserts stretched on each side
2. Nile splits and flows into the Mediterranean Sea

Form delta- plain at the mouth of the river
o Deposit mineral rich soil
D. Gifts of the Nile
1. Silt- fine soil excellent for farming
2. Egyptians praise Hapi

God of the Nile
E. Black Land/ Red Land
1. Black Land- Kemet

Dark soil

Few flash floods
2. Red Lands

Desert spread out on the either side of the Nile

Uninhabitable
3. Desert shielded Ancient Nubia and Egypt
II. The Growth of Communities and Trade
A. Living Along the Nile
1. Early farming communities settled in delta and valley regions of the Nile
2. Homes were built of straw and mud bricks
3. Nubia had less farmland than Egypt

Ate fish and hunted ducks
B. A Highway for Trade- Egypt
1. Nile was used to transport goods
2. Trade routes ran across desert
C. Routes through Nubia
1. Cataracts prevented travel by river
2. Used extensive trade routes over land

Traded many exotic goods