What's the Blue Nile and the White Nile? - Times of India
Confluence of the Blue & White Niles at Khartoum مقرن النيلين،الخرطوم # السودان Nuba Mountains villages on road between Dilling and Kadugli قري جبال . Al Taka mountains and Al Gash river, Kassala, Sudan Egypt, Africa, River . Blue Nile and White Nile are two tributaries of the Nile that flow from the South into what is referred to as the Nile proper, the longest river in the. The Nile River is considered the longest river in the world, but its actual The Blue Nile meets up with the White Nile near Sudan's capital city, Khartoum. which covered the flooding period between June and September;.
The Nile River was central to the Ancient Egyptians rise to wealth and power. Since rainfall is almost non-existent in Egypt, the Nile River and its yearly floodwaters offered the people a fertile oasis for rich agriculture. The Nile is associated with many gods and goddesses, all of whom the Egyptians believed were deeply intertwined with the blessings and curses of the land, weather, culture and abundance of the people.
They believed the gods were intimately involved with the people and could help them in all facets of their lives.
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In some myths, the Nile was considered a manifestation of the god Hapi who blessed the land with abundance, according to the Ancient History Encyclopedia. Isis, the goddess of the Nile and the "Giver of Life," was believed to have taught the people how to farm and work the land.
The water god Khnum, who ruled over all forms of water, even the lakes and rivers in the underworld, was believed to be in charge of the amount of silt that flooded the river banks every year. In later dynasties, Khnum branched out to become the god of rebirth and creation as well.
Flooding Each year, heavy summer rains upstream and melting snow in the Ethiopian Mountains would fill the Blue Nile well over its capacity and send a torrent of water downstream. The extra water would then spill over the banks onto the dry desert land of Egypt.
White Nile - Wikipedia
Once the floods subsided, thick black silt, or mud, would be left behind on the ground. The silt created rich, fertile soil for planting crops — vital in this land of so little rain. Approximately 96 percent of the sediment carried by the Nile River originates in Ethiopia, according to the New World Encyclopedia. The silt area was known as the Black Land, while the desert lands further out were known as the Red Land. Each year, the Ancient Egyptian people eagerly awaited and thanked the gods for the life-giving floods.
If the floods were too small, there would be difficult times ahead with little food. If the floods were too large, it could cause flooding harm in the surrounding villages.
The Egyptian calendar was divided into three stages based on the yearly flood cycle: Akhet, the first season of the year, which covered the flooding period between June and September; Peret, the growing and sowing time from October to mid-February; and Shemu, the time of harvesting between mid-February and the end of May.
Although the floods were desperately needed in older times, they are less necessary and even a nuisance to modern civilization with its irrigation systems.
Even though the floods no longer occur along the Nile, the memory of this fertile blessing is still celebrated in Egypt today, mainly as an entertainment for tourists. The annual celebration, known as Wafaa El-Nil, begins on August 15th and lasts for two weeks.
Sharing the Nile Because 11 countries must share one precious resource, there are bound to be disputes. It offers a forum for discussion and coordination among the countries to help manage and share the river's resources. Joseph Awange is an associate professor in the department of spatial sciences at Curtin University in Australia.
Using satellites, he has been monitoring the volume of water in the Nile River and reporting the findings to the Basin countries so they can effectively plan for sustainable use of the river's resources.
Of course, getting all the countries to agree on what they believe is fair and equal use of the Nile's resources is no easy task.Khartoum blue nile and white nile intersection
Source The source of the Nile is sometimes considered to be Lake Victoria, but the lake has feeder rivers of considerable size. The Kagera River, which flows into Lake Victoria near the Tanzanian town of Bukoba, is the longest feeder, although sources do not agree on which is the longest tributary of the Kagera and hence the most distant source of the Nile itself.
Where two Niles meet: a view of life in Sudan – in pictures
The two feeder rivers meet near Rusumo Falls on the Rwanda-Tanzania border. A recent exploration party went to a place described as the source of the Rukarara tributary, and by hacking a path up steep jungle-choked mountain slopes in the Nyungwe forest found in the dry season an appreciable incoming surface flow for many miles upstream, and found a new source, giving the Nile a length of miles kilometers Lost headwaters Formerly Lake Tanganyika drained northwards along the African Rift Valley into the White Nile, making the Map showing the courses of the White and Blue Nile Nile about 1, kilometres mi longer, until it was blocked in Miocene times by the bulk of the Virunga Volcanoes.
It flows for approximately kilometres mi farther, through Lake Kyoga, until it reaches Lake Albert. After leaving Lake Albert, the river is known as the Albert Nile.
The Nile: Longest River in the World
The Bahr al Ghazal, itself kilometres mi long, joins the Bahr al Jabal at a small lagoon called Lake No, after which the Nile becomes known as the Bahr al Abyad, or the White Nile, from the whitish clay suspended in its waters. When the Nile floods it leaves a rich silty deposit which fertilizes the soil.
The Nile no longer floods in Egypt since the completion of the Aswan Dam in From here it soon meets with the Sobat River at Malakal. On an annual basis, the White Nile upstream of Malakal contributes about fifteen percent of the total outflow of the Nile River. During the dry season January to June the White Nile contributes between 70 percent and 90 percent of the total discharge from the Nile.
The course of the Nile in Sudan is distinctive. It flows over six groups of cataracts, from the first at Aswan to the sixth at Sabaloka just north of Khartoum and then turns to flow southward before again returning to flow north. This is called the Great Bend of the Nile. North of Cairo, the Nile splits into two branches or distributaries that feed the Mediterranean: The Atbara flows only while there is rain in Ethiopia and dries very rapidly.