Flooding The Nile PDF

## Flooding The Nile ### Annual flooding - Every year for thousands of years, the Nile River flooded. - An annual monsoon between May and August in the Ethiopian Highlands causes the rainfall to flow away in the Blue Nile and Atbarah River. - The water eventually reaches the Nile River. - These r...

## Flooding The Nile ### Annual flooding - Every year for thousands of years, the Nile River flooded. - An annual monsoon between May and August in the Ethiopian Highlands causes the rainfall to flow away in the Blue Nile and Atbarah River. - The water eventually reaches the Nile River. - These rivers are responsible for providing nearly 90% of the Nile's water during this time. - For the rest of the year, they are much smaller. ### Impacts of the flooding - Ancient Egyptians relied on the flooding to sustain their people. - Specially trained men would travel to Aswan and take readings of the river higher up in its course. - The readings would be taken down into the lower parts of the kingdom. - Experts could predict when the flood would hit but could not calculate how big each flood would be. - The flood brought significant amounts of silt and sediment which provided nourishment for the fields. - Farmers grew their crops along the river banks. - Without the silt and sediment, farmers were unable to grow enough crops to feed the villages and towns. - In some years, the flood was small, resulting in a famine, and many people died. - Early Ancient Egyptians would wait for the fields to flood and then work hard to remove the water and start planting. ### Basin irrigation method - 7,000 years ago, the Egyptians developed the basin irrigation method. - The land was divided into large fields, surrounded by dams and low walls called dykes. - When the river flooded, the walls were closed off to trap the water inside each field. - The fields were kept closed for 45 days to allow the water to saturate the soil, and the sediment and silt to sink into the ground. - The walls were opened again, allowing the water to flow into lower fields or back into the Nile. ### The Nile under control - Egypt continued to be flooded by the Nile in this way until the 1900s. - Various attempts were made to control the river before then. - The building of the Aswan Dam in 1970 finally brought the Nile River under control. - Nowadays, the Egyptians celebrate the flood with a two-week annual holiday beginning on the 15th of August. ### Image The image shows a colorful depiction of life along the Nile. It includes: - a seated man and woman - a dog - three children - a man with a hawk head - a boat - a man with a jackal head carrying a staff - multiple fish - rows of green reeds or plants - a background of gold and blue