The Nile River Quiz

The Nile is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa, flowing into the Mediterranean Sea, and is historically considered the longest river in the world. The Nile is 6,650 km long, and its drainage basin covers eleven countries. The Nile is the primary water source of Egypt, Sudan, and South Sudan, supporting agriculture and fishing. The Nile has two major tributaries, the White Nile and the Blue Nile, with the Blue Nile being the source of most of the water downstream. The Nile flows through the Nubian Desert to Cairo and its large delta before flowing into the Mediterranean Sea. The English name Nile and the Arabic names en-Nîl and an-Nîl both derive from the Latin Nilus and the Ancient Greek Νεῖλος. The source of the Blue Nile is Lake Tana in the Gish Abay region in the Ethiopian Highlands, and the source of the White Nile is disputed. The Nile splits into two branches, the Rosetta Branch to the west and the Damietta to the east, forming the Nile Delta in Egypt. The annual sediment transport by the Nile in Egypt has been quantified, with the Atbarah River and the Blue Nile being the only major tributaries. The Blue Nile springs from Lake Tana in the Ethiopian Highlands and contributes 90% of the water and 96% of the transported sediment carried by the Nile. The Bahr al Ghazal and the Sobat River are the two most important tributaries of the White Nile in terms of discharge.The Nile River: History, Geography, and Importance

• The Nile River is the longest river in the world, running through 11 countries in Africa.

• The Nile has two main tributaries, the White Nile and the Blue Nile, which meet in Khartoum, Sudan.

• The White Nile is longer and originates from Lake Victoria, while the Blue Nile originates from Ethiopia.

• The Nile has five earlier phases, with the current Nile being the Neo-Nile that first flowed during the Würm glaciation period.

• The Nile played a crucial role in the development of Egyptian civilization, with the river's annual floods depositing new layers of silt to create fertile land.

• The Nile was an important part of ancient Egyptian spiritual life, with the god Hapi being the god of the annual floods.

• The Nile was also used for transportation of people and goods, and for irrigation and agriculture.

• The Nile has been explored by Europeans since the 14th century, with the discovery of Lake Tana in Ethiopia and the source of the Blue Nile in the 15th and 16th centuries.

• The Aswan Dam, completed in 1970, ended the summer floods of the Nile and fundamentally changed farming practices.

• The Nile supports much of the population living along its banks, enabling Egyptians to live in otherwise inhospitable regions of the Sahara.

• Nile cities include Khartoum, Aswan, Luxor (Thebes), and the Giza-Cairo conurbation.

• A computer simulation study was conducted in the 1950s to plan the economic development of the Nile, considering irrigation, navigation, and other needs.Exploring the Nile: from its history to modern achievements

• Over 600 models were run on an IBM 650 computer to design water resources and make recommendations to Sudanese authorities.

• Drought during the 1980s led to widespread starvation in Ethiopia and Sudan, but Egypt was nourished by water impounded in Lake Nasser.

• 170 million people have been affected by droughts in the last century with half a million lives lost.

• The dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over the $4.5 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam has become a national preoccupation in both countries.

• Countries including Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya have complained about Egyptian domination of its water resources.

• In 2010, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Tanzania signed a new agreement on sharing the Nile's water, raising strong opposition from Egypt and Sudan.

• In 1951, American John Goddard together with two French explorers became the first to successfully navigate the entire Nile from its source in Burundi to its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea.

• The White Nile Expedition, led by South African national Hendrik Coetzee, navigated the White Nile's entire length of approximately 3,700 km.

• The Blue Nile Expedition, led by geologist Pasquale Scaturro and kayaker and documentary filmmaker Gordon Brown, became the first known people to descend the entire Blue Nile, from Lake Tana in Ethiopia to the beaches of Alexandria on the Mediterranean.

• Canadian Les Jickling and New Zealander Mark Tanner completed the first human-powered transit of Ethiopia's Blue Nile in 2005.

• The following bridges connect Khartoum to Khartoum North: Blue Nile Road Bridge, Unity Bridge, and the Shambat Bridge.

• The following bridges connect Khartoum to Omdurman: Mogran Bridge, Blue Nile Bridge, and the Mac Nimir Bridge.