1. Bellringer
What was silt and why was it so beneficial to the Egyptian people? (page 63)

2. Bellringer
How long was the Nile River in ancient Egypt? Page 62

3. Bellringer
Why was the area around the Nile River good for farming?

4. Chapter 3 Ancient Egypt & Nubia
Section 1: The Geography of the Nile

5. The Course of the Nile Nile is the world’s longest river
Flows north from its sources in central Africa to the Mediterranean Sea for more than 4,000 miles
More than the distance across the U.S.

6. The Nile Through Ancient Nubia
Nile makes two bends, forming an S shape
Northern tip of the S is the city of Aswan, Egypt
Land here is called Nubia

7. Nubian section of the Nile contained six rock-filled rapids called cataracts
Rain does not fall in Lower Nubia so people must live close to Nile
Rain does fall in Upper Nubia and people farm in the summer and fall very close to the river

8. The Nile Through Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egyptian section of the Nile ran for 700 miles
Nile spread out to form a fertile, marshy area called Lower Egypt
At the end of the Nile to the north, the river split into several streams that are shaped like a triangle and called the delta
Delta contained very fertile farmland

9. The Gifts of the Nile
Every spring, waters come from the highlands and bring rich, fertile soil called silt
Each spring, the Nile spills over its banks
Silt was very good for farming
Egyptians praised Hapi, the god of the Nile

10. Black Land and Red Land
Ancient Egyptians called their land Kemet- black land, because of the dark soil left by the Nile’s floods
Timing of the floods and height of the flood water varied from year to year
Egyptians did not have to worry about flash floods and dry years were rare

11. Black Land and Red Land Cont.
Red land was vast desert spread out on either side of the river
Most of this land is the Sahara Desert and were not friendly to human life because you could not farm

13. Deserts protected Egypt and Nubia from foreign attacks, unlike the Mesopotamians
Egypt was still open to trade through the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea and a path through Central Africa

14. Civilizations Along the Nile
Communities appeared in the Nile delta of Lower Egypt around 4000 B.C.
People built villages around the fertile river beds
Homes were built of straw or bricks made from a mix of mud and straw
First Nubian communities emerged around 3800 B.C.
Nubians also fished and hunted since farming was difficult

15. The Growth of Trade The Nile was a highway for trade
Were able to travel up and down the river easily
Many caravans also traveled through this region.

16. Because of cataracts, people could not travel through Nubia by river
Nubians developed trade routes over land
Nubians became famous traders of the ancient world

17. Section 1 Review
How did the Nile River affect the lives of the early Egyptians and Nubians?
Annual flooding of the Nile River left fertile land for Egyptians and Nubians to farm
How did trade develop in various places along the Nile?
Nile was a natural highway for Egyptian boats to sail to other African and Southwest Asian countries for trading