River Nile History

The River Nile is in Africa. It originates in Burundi, south of the equator, and flows northward through northeastern Africa, eventually flowing through Egypt and finally draining into the Mediterranean Sea.The Ruvyironza River of Burundi is regarded as the true and ultimate source of the Nile. The Ruvyironza is one of the upper branches of the Kagera River, which follows the Rwanda-Tanzania and Uganda-Tanzania borders into Lake Victoria.

The source of the Nile is sometimes considered to be Lake Victoria, but the lake itself has feeder rivers of considerable size like the Kagera River.

The River Nile is the longest river in the world. It measures 6,695 kilometres from its source in Burundi, along the White Nile, to its delta on the Mediterranean Sea. Officially, the shortesr river is the D River, Oregan, USA, which is just 37 metres long.

Ancient Egypt could not have existed without the river Nile. Since rainfall is almost non-existent in Egypt, the floods provided the only source of moisture to sustain crops.Every year, heavy summer rain in the Ethiopian highlands, sent a torrent of water that overflowed the banks of the Nile. When the floods went down it left thick rich mud (black silt) which was excellent soil to plant seeds in after it had been ploughed.The ancient Egyptians could grow crops only in the mud left behind when the Nile flooded. So they all had fields all along the River Nile.Reeds, called papyrus, grew along side the Nile. The Egyptians made paper and boats from the reeds. Find out about Egyptian WritingThe Nile also gave the ancient Egyptians food. They used spears and nets to catch fish. They would also use the nets to catch birds that flew close to the surface of the water.Hapi was the Nile god. Honouring a god was very important, so when a flood came the Egyptians would thank Hapi for bringing fertility to the land.