What is nile river

In addition to being important to the Egyptians, the Nile River also has historically been important to the other nations it travels through. As it drains through the Eastern corner of Africa, it irrigates crops, provides water for animals to drink, shelters fish, and provides a trading route for people to navigate. Like many other heavily utilized rivers, the Nile is a cause for concern among some scientists, who worry that it may be damaged through over-exploitation.

The Nile is also at risk of pollution such as pesticide runoff from crops. Until , the seasonal rise and fall of the Nile was an important part of Egyptian culture. The annual flooding fertilized and deeply watered crops, and most Egyptians lived close to its banks to take advantage of the ample supply of water. Today Egyptologists, archaeologists who focus on this ancient civilization, have learned a great deal about the rulers, artifacts, and customs of ancient Egypt.

Use these resources to teach your students about the ancient Egyptians. Discover the source of the Nile with real-life visuals and animated maps. A river is a large, natural stream of flowing water. Rivers are found on every continent and on nearly every kind of land. Join our community of educators and receive the latest information on National Geographic's resources for you and your students. Skip to content. Image women and children on the banks of the nile The Nile River has been a central feature of life in northeast Africa for thousands of years.

Photograph by David Boyer. Twitter Facebook Pinterest Google Classroom. Encyclopedic Entry Vocabulary. The Nile River flows over 6, kilometers 4, miles until emptying into the Mediterranean Sea. For thousands of years, the river has provided a source of irrigation to transform the dry area around it into lush agricultural land.

Today, the river continues to serve as a source of irrigation, as well as an important transportation and trade route. Blue Nile. Also called linseed.

Nile River. White Nile. Media Credits The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. Media If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. Text Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service.

Interactives Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. Related Resources. Basin irrigation was developed thousands of years ago to capture a portion of the flood water. Later, a perennial irrigation system was developed to reduce dependence on the annual flood. Basin irrigation supports basic crops, such as barley and wheat, while perennial irrigation supports cash crops such as cotton and corn. The waters themselves provide several different types of fish including mullet, bolti, perch and catfish.

They also provide transport, and the ancient Egyptians are believed to have built cargo, passenger and naval boats for traversing them.