Nile River Facts

Like a giant snake, the Nile River slithers through some of the driest desert on earth to isolate a narrow green valley. Today, more than sixty million people live along the banks of the Nile, the world’s longest river. The Nile was also home to one of the earliest civilizations in history. Ancient Egypt could not have existed without the great river. Every year, the snow in the mountains of East Africa melts, sending a torrent of water that overflows the banks of the Nile. The river picks up bits of soil and plant life called silt. The silt is dropped on the banks of the Nile as the flood recedes, and creates excellent topsoil that provides two or three crops every year. The ancient Greeks spoke with envy when they referred to Egypt as “the Gift of the Nile.” Another way The Nile River helped Egypt was for the water source. Without the water, they wouldent be able to live, because people need water to live. They could drink it, use it to bathe, and use it for cooking. Secondly, they needed it to make mud blocks for the pyramids. Another small fact was the Nile had reed leaves in it, which the Egyptians crushed together and used as paper, also known (to them) as papyrus. As you can see, the Nile was very important in small and big ways. An intresting fact about the Nile's map was it was shaped as The Niles Flower, the Lotus Flower. The top, once known as Lower Egypt, was the petals, and the rest was the stem and leaves. Scientests and other people who study Egypt say this may be on purpose. The Egyptians we're pretty creative, so there is a high chance. The Nile was very important to the Egyptians.

(Posted by guest: The Smart One) posted to . at Thu Oct 21 02:08:56 EDT 2004.