Chapter 3 Section 1 “There would be no Egypt without the Nile.”

Egypt Chapter 3 Section 1

“There would be no Egypt without the Nile.”

The Course of The NileWorld’s Largest River. The River flows North.Begins in East Africa.End’s dumping into the Mediterranean Sea.

4,000 miles long (Distance between New York to Alaska)

Two Main Sources. Broken up into two

rivers. 1st: Blue Nile-

Rough waters. Begins in the

highlands of Ethiopia. Races down to the

Deserts. 2nd: White Nile-

Begins in East Africa. Flows Northward

through the swamps. The 2 rives meet in the

Sudan.

Checking for Understanding…What are the

names of the two rivers which make up the mighty Nile River?

The Blue Nileand White Nile.

The Nile Through Ancient Nubia

In the North:Nile has 2 bends (makes an S

shape)1,000 miles long.

Northern Tip:City of Aswan in Egypt.Nubia: Ancient region in the Nile

River Valley. Has 6 Cataracts that run through

it. Rock filled Rapids.

Formed Settlements way before the began the art of farming.

Were hunting and fishing communities.

Lower NubiaLocated between the

1st and 2nd cataracts. Made up of mostly

Deserts and Granite Mountains.

Little Farming Land.Little rain fall occurs. People lived close to

the Nile for it was their main water supply.

Upper Nubia…Located between the

Niles 2nd and 6th Cataracts.

Had a good amount of rain fall each year.

Allowed them to:Plant in the Fall.Harvest in the Spring.

Farm land was small. (2 miles wide).

Checking for Understanding…What is a Cataract?

Rock filled Rapids.

The Nile Through Ancient Egypt…The Nile runs 700 miles

long through Egypt. It’s first cataract began

in Aswan, making its way to the Mediterranean Sea where it ends.

Along its journey passes through Upper and Lower Egypt.

Upper Egypt.Located in Southern

Egypt. Contained Fertile

Land on both sides of the river.

6 miles wide of farm land made up Upper Egypt.

Located “Upstream” of the Nile.

Cuts through stone cliffs and desert sands.

Built scattered farm villages along the banks of the Nile.

Lower EgyptLocated in the North.

Lies “lower” or downstream of the river.

Fertile marshy area. Has deserts on each side of the Rivers Green Banks.

End of the NileNile empties into the

Mediterranean Sea. There the river divides into

several branches (streams) forming a vast fan-shaped DELTA.

Delta:Is a plain at the mouth of a

river. Deltas are very rich fertile

land made of silt dropped by a river as it drains into a larger body of water.

The Gifts of The Nile.Desert sands are unsuitable for

agriculture. The silt-filled floodwaters were

rich in minerals needed by plants.

Silt: Is a fine soil found on the

river bottoms. Every Spring in the Highlands of

Africa water rushed downstream flowing over the banks in Egypt.

The Egyptians prayed to “Hapi” the God of the Nile in hopes of a good flood each year.

Nile farming…Flood land began to dry

in October. Farmers planted:

Wheat. Barley. Cucumbers. Lettuce.Onions.Beans. Flax: plant used to make

linen, a kind of cloth.

Nile Farming continued…. To water the plants:

Used Irrigation.Dug Canals for water flow.Used a device called a

Shadoof: to lift water onto their fields.

March:The crops were ready to be

harvested. Any surplus was taken to a

storehouse. This allowed for specialization

and community life possible.

Black Land…Known as “Kemet”

located in Egypt. Was given its name

the “Black land”, due to the Dark Soil that was left behind by the Niles Flood.

Red Land…Located in the Vast

Deserts of Egypt on both sides of the Nile.

To the West:75% is made up of the

Sahara desert.In the East:

Known as the Eastern Desert.

consisting of the remaining 25% of the Sahara desert.

Desert Protection:Hot sands shielded

Egypt and Nubia from foreign attacks.

The Nile Valley:Supplied the people

a path for Trade with Central Africa.

The Mediterranean and Red Sea:Provided access to

Southwest Asia.

Checking for UnderstandingWhat is a Shadoof?

Was a device used to lift water out of the Nile river and onto the fields or irrigation canals to keep constant water on the fields.

A Highway for Trade…Nile was used to

transport goods.Could travel North

on the Nile because it was moving downriver.

Could sail upward with the help of winds that blew to the South.

Routes Through Nubia…Cataracts did not

allow travel by river through Nubia.

Depended on Land Routes for Trade.

Famous Traders.Trade Routes:

Central Africa and Nubia into Egypt and South West Asia.

Routes Through Nubia continued…Brought Many

Goods back.Ebony wood.Ivory from Elephant

Tusks. Ostrich feathers

and eggs.Panther Skins.Throw Stick.

Type of boomerang used for hunting by Africans.

Checking for Understanding..What made it difficult to travel by water in Nubia? How did they trade?

The cataracts in the Nile made it impossible for the Nubians to trade by sea. Instead they had to trade by land, in which they are famous for the good they brought back from Africa and Asia.