Mr. Herneisen 2008-09
THE NILE RIVER: A JOURNEY FROM
SOURCE TO MOUTH
VOCABULARY TO KNOW

Hydroelectric Potential


Perennial Irrigation


System of year-round watering for crops
River Basin


Electrical power generated from flowing water
The area drained by a river and its tributaries
Water Cycle

Movement of water from Earth to the atmosphere and back again
WATER CYCLE
THE NILE RIVER

World’s Longest River!

Two Branches

White Nile


Blue Nile


4,160 miles long!
870 miles long
Uses:




Food
Hygiene
Transportation
Energy
BLUE NILE

Source:
Lake Tana,
Ethiopia

Source not
discovered until
1615 by Spain
WHITE NILE

Source:
Lake Victoria, Uganda

Source discovered in 1850s by
England
KHARTOUM, SUDAN

Meeting place of the two
branches (confluence)
THE GREAT BEND


800 mile “S-curve”
Cataracts of the Nile:


6 major rapids or low waterfalls
Major barriers to travel up and
down the Nile River
THROUGH THE DESERT

Nile River creates a lifeline for the
Sahara Desert – largest desert in
the world.

Lake Nasser & Aswan High Dam

One of largest reservoirs in the world
(man-made lake)

Uses Nile River to create electricity

Controls flow of river to prevent
flooding, help river travel, and provide
perennial irrigation.
EGYPT’S NILE RIVER DELTA

95% of all Egyptians live along the Nile River

Richest farmland in all of Africa

Nile pours into Mediterranean Sea