 The Nile is a river in north-east Africa and is the longest river in the world.  The Nile has two major parts, the white Nile and the Blue Nile. The white Nile is the longer and starts at the Great lakes in central Africa. It flows through Lake Victoria and South Sudan. The blue Nile starts in Lake Tana in Ethiopia and flows into Sudan from the South-East and the two rivers meet.. Than it goes through Sudan, Desert and Egypt it than ends in the delta and goes into the Mediterranean sea.  Length: 6,650km. (4,130 miles.)  Width: 2.8km.

 The Nile river was a important to the Egyptians  In the fall, every year, the river would overflow. At first, the Egyptians lost their crops, their houses, and in some cases their lives. But the Egyptian people noticed after a time that the floods came about the same time every year, in June.  They would make sure nothing important was on the banks of the river when it was time for the floods. Then, after the water level went back down, they would quickly plant new crops. The floods brought good, fresh soil up onto the land. This soil was ideal for planting barley and other grains.  They also used the river to catch fish. They would catch their fish with nets and spears. The also used the nets and spears to catch birds that flew along the surface of the water>  The Nile also provided protection from attack. People wanting to invade Egypt would have to first cross the river, which was very wide in places. The Egyptians would stand on their own side of the river and throw spears at the attackers. Another important way that the Nile helped the ancient Egyptians was in trade. Items went to and from Egypt down and up the Nile, which had its mouth at the Mediterranean Sea.

 The annual flooding of the River Nile in Egypt The inundation (Ancient Egyptian name ‘was of such importance to Ancient Egyptians that they based their lives around it. The flood, caused by water from the Blue and White Nile and Atbara Rivers, would reach Aswan by the end of June and Cairo in September. Fertile silt deposited by the yearly flood was essential for Ancient Egyptian agriculture, which would begin planting in October and harvest in April..

 The ancient Egyptians called their country the black land. Because black was the colour of the rich soil in the Nile Valley. The valley had once been a swamp, but as the climate changed only the Delta retained large areas of marshland.  Every year summer rains in Africa cause the waters of the Nile to rise along its length, flooding the low-lying fields in Egypt for about two months. The area covered in water was known as the flood plain.  When the waters went down they left a layer of fertile mud ideal for growing crops. A low Nile meant that only part of the flood plain would be covered and not enough crops could be grown to feed everyone. A very high Nile might flood villages and towns.  To the east and west of the Nile valley lie the deserts, which the Egyptians called the Red Land. The valley dwellers thought of the Red Land as a dangerous and sinister place.  South of Egypt the Nile becomes difficult to sail because of the rapids known as the Cataracts. To the North, Egypt was protected by the marshes of the Delta. These natural barriers made Egypt a difficult country to invade. Its isolation from the rest of the ancient world helps to explain its unique culture.