The Nile River in Egypt

Nile River in Egypt

The River Nile is the longest river around the world that covers 954,187 miles from the source of Burundi Mountains (Chapin, 1990). The Blue Nile, the White Nile, and the Atbara are the three tributaries that form the river Nile. All the three tributaries are significant to the River Nile in one way or the other. The source of the White Nile is found in Burundi that passes via Lake Victoria, and then flows back into southern Sudan. The Blue Nile on the other hand, has its source in the highlands of Ethiopia and meets with White Nile, near Lake Tana. Both the Blue Nile and White Nile flow together to the north of Khartoum joined by waters of Atbara that has its source in Ethiopians highlands (Lewis, 2013). This paper will summarize the Nile River in Egypt in regards to the characteristics of the River, Agriculture, Technology and Beliefs and values.

Characteristics of River Nile

The River Nile has various characteristics which includes;

It is the longest River in the world. The River stretches 954,187 miles in the mountains of Burundi that happens to be its source. The Nile River is significant to the people living in Egypt because it improves farming and Agriculture in the area. Because of the wider coverage of the River Nile in Egypt, Many people have moved to the area to start practicing Agriculture that will cause an increase in population from 280 million at present to about 500 million in the coming future.

The Nile River is the only river in Egypt that serves as the constant source of water. The River is formed by three tributaries namely; the White Nile, the Blue Nile, and the Atbara. The Atbara and the Blue Nile have their sources in Ethiopians highlands while the White Nile gets its source from Burundi. All these three tributaries join forming the Nile River that serves the whole population in Egypt. The constant source of water enabled farming that were practiced along the river Niles' banks even though there was a high temperature (Baines, 2011).

In the Ancient Egypt, the River Nile was being worshipped as gods known as Hapi. The god came in a shape that looks like the frog which was representing the Nile delta.

Agriculture

In Egypt, farming and Agriculture were the main source of income. Many people practiced both farming and Agriculture to improve their standards of living. The River Nile made the soil productive since it brought rich deposits of silt that were swept away from Monsoon tablelands in Ethiopia. The constant source of water was the most vital factor that improved agriculture in Egypt. The Nile River was significant in providing the silt each time there was a flood in Egypt. Despite the fact that few cases of floods of 45 feet were noted in some parts of Egypt, most crops were harvested during the spring. After floods, nearly all Egyptians would grow vegetables and fruits because at this time the Nile River would experience a fertile strip which was about 12 miles wide. The Egyptian farmers also had enough knowledge on sophisticating the irrigation schemes as well as using dikes as a result of maximizing the use of the River Nile. Farming Practices such as irrigation increased the food supply by making the economy grow stronger by helping the water dry lands through pipes, canals and streams. Research carried out showed that Agriculture performs best because of the availability of water for farmers and families from Nile River. Agriculture in Egypt brought many Egyptians together, for example the time for harvesting all the farmers were made to gather their crops together since the whole economy was mainly based on wheat and grains (Louis & Jennifer, 2003).

Technology

The advancement in technology in Egypt was not left behind. The Egyptians managed to invent different things within their lifetimes that enabled them to make life sufficient. One of the most advancement of technology in Egypt was the practice of the architectural pyramid designs that were built to the Pharohs' house who were ruling by the divine decree. The Egyptians also created dyes and links using different materials, this shows how they managed to move from the tradition way of living to the modern one through civilization (Agriculture in Egypt, 2000). The considerable time system that the Egyptians were using was also a form of advancement to them. There were two clocks that were invented which could be used even at night, and did not need to be refill with water every now and then.