Geography of
Ancient Egypt:
The Nile River
I. Cataracts
A. At six places along the
Nile’s winding course,
stone cliffs and
boulders force its
waters through narrow
channels.
B. The rushing water
forms waterfalls and
rapids called cataracts.
C. The first cataract
marked the southern
boundary of ancient
Egypt.
I. Cataracts
II. Nile Delta
A. From the first
cataract, the Nile
flows north for
about 600 miles.
B. This triangle of
marshy wetlands
is called the
delta.
III. The Three Seasons
A. Farmers depended on the
annual flooding to water
their crops and provide the
fertile mud called silt.
B. The Egyptians measured time
by the river, dividing the year
into three seasons:
• Inundation (flood) Season
• Planting Season
• Harvest Season
1. This seasonal cycle of
flooding, planting and
harvesting gave a pattern to
Egyptian life.
IV. Upper & Lower Egypt
A. Ancient Egypt had two
regions: Upper and Lower
Egypt.
1. Upper Egypt, the
southern part, stretched
for over 500 miles from
the 1st cataract
northward to the
beginning the Nile Delta.
2. Lower Egypt, the
northern part, was the
Nile Delta. It was only
100 miles long but much
wider than Upper Egypt.
IV. Upper & Lower Egypt
IV. Upper & Lower Egypt
IV. Upper & Lower Egypt
V. Irrigation
A. To take advantage of the annual
flooding of the Nile (the
inundation) the Egyptians built:
1. irrigation channels to carry
water into the fields
2. dams to hold back the water
for use during droughts
B. All this work required a great
deal of planning and
organization, what was an
important job of the
government.