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 EgyptA. 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.