1. Ancient Egypt Lesson 1-2 Pages
Chapter 4
Ancient Egypt
Lesson 1-2 Pages

2. The Geography of Egypt

3. Geography of Ancient Egypt – The Nile River
5000 B.C. people began building villages in a river valley in Africa.
Can you guess what river valley?
The _____ River is the longest river in the world. It is more than miles long.
It gets its name from the Greek word Neilos which means river valley.
The Nile
Geography of Ancient Egypt – The Nile River

4. Geography of Ancient Egypt – The Nile River
The Nile River begins when the Blue Nile (from Lake Tana through the Ethiopian Highlands) and the White Nile (from Lake Victoria) merge into one Nile River.
Geography of Ancient Egypt – The Nile River

5. Geography of Ancient Egypt – The Nile River
As the Nile River flowed through the desert (the red lands), it would flood its banks (it swamped everything in its path with) once a year for four months- from July to October.
The red lands were beyond the fertile river banks on both sides. These lands included desert areas of burning sands.
Most of the Sahara was on the west but part of it was on the east so it was called
the Eastern
Desert.
Geography of Ancient Egypt – The Nile River

6. Geography of Ancient Egypt – The Nile River
Even though it covered everything in mud- it left great soil- silt- (mixture of soft soil, nutrients) that made it great for farming.
The narrow strips of land between the Nile and the desert (red lands) was called the black lands because of the black silt left behind after the yearly flooding.
Geography of Ancient Egypt – The Nile River

7. Geography of Ancient Egypt – The Nile River
The Egyptians were able to predict when the Nile would flood each year by watching for the star Sirius to appear.
Egyptians counted 365 days between sighting the star.
They created a calendar of 12 months with 30 days in each and added 5 extra days a year for holidays and feasting.
Geography of Ancient Egypt – The Nile River

8. Geography of Ancient Egypt – The Nile River
The Nile River flows South to North. As it reaches the end of the river (called the mouth) it fans (branches) out into a flat, fan shaped area called the Nile River Delta.
This area is rich in silt and perfect for farming.
This region is in northern Egypt, but it is called Lower Egypt because it is downstream. Upper Egypt is south and has deserts and mountains.
Geography of Ancient Egypt – The Nile River

9. Geography of Ancient Egypt – The Nile River
Herodotus coined the phrase, “The Gift of the Nile”. What did he mean? You have 3-5 seconds write your answer on your paper.
Geography of Ancient Egypt – The Nile River

10. Geography of Ancient Egypt
The Nile River provided water for irrigation, transportation (movement from one area to another), food (fish ect.), and drinking water.
Geography of Ancient Egypt

11. Geography of Ancient Egypt
Farming: after the floods, the farmers would plant in the silt and irrigate by creating canals to drive the river water to the fields.
Transportation: During the flooding season, the Egyptians would travel up and down the river visiting and trading with other villages.
The 600 mile journey between Upper and Lower Egypt would take over a month to walk, but in a reed boat, it took only half that time.
Geography of Ancient Egypt

12. Geography of Ancient Egypt
Which is a better place for farming? Upper or Lower Egypt?
Describe the different types of physical regions that the Nile flows through.
Geography of Ancient Egypt

13. Goods Traded STOP HERE! Goods traded among Nubia and Egypt included
Gold (from Nubia), silver, copper, and pottery.
One caravan from Nubia was reported to have 300 donkeys carrying ebony wood, ivory tusks, ostrich feathers and eggs, and panther skins from southern Africa.
Another item was a popular weapon for hunting- was a “throwstick” - a type of boomerang.
Goods Traded STOP HERE!