Interesting Facts About Nile River

Friday, September 12, 2008



  • The Nile is famous as the longest river in the world. The river got its name from the Greek word Neilos, which means valley. The Nile floods the lands in Egypt, leaving behind black sediment. That's why the ancient Egyptians named the river Ar, meaning black and "Rivers of Life".

  • The River Nile is about 6,670 km (4,160 miles) in length and is the longest river in Africa and in the world. Although it is generally associated with Egypt, only 22% of the Nile’s course runs through that country.

  • The River Nile runs through Egypt, creating a fertile green valley across the dessert.

  • It was by the banks that one of the oldest civilizations in the world began. The ancient Egyptians lived and farmed along the Nile, using the soil to produce food for themselves and their animals.

  • The Nile and its tributaries flow through 10 distinct African nations: Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Eritrea and Burundi.

  • The vast river system of the Nile includes two main tributaries: the White Nile (so named for its milky, silt-filled appearance), and the Blue Nile, which joins the White Nile in Sudan on its way to the sea.

  • The source of the White Nile is the springs of Mount Bigugu in Rwanda. The source of the Blue Nile is Sakala Springs above Lake Tana in Ethiopia, which contributes to more than 50 percent of the river’s flow. The water’s volume from the Blue Nile increases tremendously in the monsoon season, from July to September.

  • The Nile flows south to north, beginning in the highlands of Ethiopia and Rwanda heading toward the Mediterranean Sea at Alexandria, Egypt.

  • Around 5000 B.C., the first great Egyptian civilization was founded in the northern Nile Valley. The Egyptians came to rely heavily on the Nile and its annual summer floods for irrigation, agriculture and transportation.

  • The ancient Egyptians worshiped the Nile as one of their gods (the god Hapi) and made sacrifices solely for the Nile’s sake.

  • The first dams were built on the Nile in 1861 in order to raise the river levels for easier navigation and increased irrigation. Major dams on the Nile today include Aswan Dam, Roseries Dam, Sennar Dam and Owen Falls Dam.

  • Today the Nile remains a vital pathway that is essential to millions of African farmers. Egypt still imports 40 percent of its grain by means of the Nile.


  • The entire Nile River Delta is estimated to drain an area of 1,293,000 square miles. This area is so vast that is has a number of different climate areas. North, in Egypt and Sudan, rainfall is sparse. More to the south, in and around Ethiopia, rainfall is heavy, contributing to the floodwaters that rush downstream and eventually create the wonderfully fertile soil that supports so much of life in Egypt and Sudan. Dams, the most notable being the Aswan High Dam, have been built along the route to prevent massive flooding of populated areas.

  • The Nile River Delta is home to many species of animals, including crocodiles, turtles, baboons, wildebeest, and more than 300 species of birds, including fishing eagles, ibis, and the Nile Valley Sunbird.

  • The people who lived along the Nile in ancient times used the river for agriculture and transportation. That hasn't changed, although the methods of agriculture and transportation have. Steam ships are still used in Egypt and Sudan, to transport goods.

  • Only 22% of the river passes through Egypt, the other countries through which Nile passes are Sudan, Burundi, Ethiopia, Zaire, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania.

  • The cities that Nile flows past are Cairo, Khartoum, Gondokoro, Aswan, Karnak, Thebes and the town of Alexandria.


  • The source of the river is debatable since it is commonly known that the source of the river is Lake Victoria, which is the biggest lake in Africa, but it is observed that on the northern side of the lake there is a waterfall called Ripon Falls, which has a small opening and seemingly that is where the water in the River Nile comes from but then this cannot be held as the ultimate truth since there are many rivers that flow into Lake Victoria therefore which one of these or if all of them are the sources of The Nile. Presently River Kagera and its tributary, which is called Ruvubu whose headwaters are in Burundi, are considered to be the source of the River Nile.

  • Nile also played an important in the building if the famous Pyramids since the blocks of stone, which were used to make these pyramids, were actually transported from the source to the site with the help of Nile.

  • Its average discharge is 3.1 million litres (680,000 gallons) per second.

33 comments:

Tyson said...

Loking through your blog I found an interesting information about Egyption geography. Next time, being in Egypt I'll try to pay attention to ithe Nile River!
Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Cool.
Good information.
Thanks 4 help.

Anonymous said...

Cool.
Good information.
Helped a lot.
Thanks.

unknown said...

this is very good info next time in egypt i will have a look at the river nile and explore it alot more than i did

Anonymous said...

I am doing a project and this gave me alot of help, Thank you!!!

Anonymous said...

Wow thats incredible, the Nile is shaped like a river, oh wait because it is. But anyway thank you for this incredible information I used it well in my biology home work.

Anonymous said...

thx very helpful

Anonymous said...

No helpful

Anonymous said...

I can't believe you actually published this excuse for a website. Absolutely disgraceful. The information is irrelevant, probably incorrect and it all adds up to be a n appalling "resource" for people who actually want to get some work done.

husain topiwala said...

By this blog only I got a lot
Thanks,

Anonymous said...

i have a project for school... it gave me alot of info.. and am getting alot of my work done.. thnks...

Anonymous said...

In fact three you spelled desert wrong. Other than that, very good imformation

Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

It worked a lot and helped. Most of it is all u need unless u need more info but this info is very useful and helped me a lot on my project with my friend. This information on the Nile River is very useful and i recommend u use this and not only use it but to understand how it is and imagine it inside ut head and mind. thx do much for this info and i hope u like my lond comment and i actually tried to make it long. well thx again

Anonymous said...

the pandarazon is the longest river in world *_*

Anonymous said...

I had to do a fact file on the River Nile at school and this information helped me a lot :)
Thanks :)

Labib said...

you can add more information as you know this website got my homework done

Anonymous said...

clarification: the river nile actually starts in Uganda in a place called Jinja

Hey......your awesome!!!! said...

thanks....i used this on one of my research papers! dont worry i gave credit =^))))))

Anonymous said...

This information was very helpful for the school project I am doing. As I am only in year 8 I could understand it very well. Thanks

Anonymous said...

wow good detail doing project

Anonymous said...

good

Anonymous said...

very helpful and full of facts. there's quick and easy ones to write and quite a few interesting ones.

ariana grande said...

This really helped on my school project if you got anymore info on da river nile plz post them :'D

Anonymous said...

This helped lodes! Thanks.

Ellie said...

I was looking for a website to do my geography homework on the River Nile and when I found this one I thought it wouldn't have much information but it has loads and I have do 3 pages! Thanks!!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks this helped a lot for my school essay.

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Lebron Bryant said...

This is such great information about something no one cares about

Anonymous said...

is it okay if I use some of this info for my school project.

Anonymous said...

I like turtles.