The Geographic Impact of Egypt
When one thinks of Egypt, one immediately thinks of the Sphinx or the ancient pyramids sitting in the desert lands. What people don't realize is that Egypt's geography is quite diverse. There is more to Egypt than the monumental tourist attractions.There are many geographic features that have impacted the development of Egypt. Some features that have dramatically affected Egypt are its bodies of water, deserts and valleys.
One geographic feature that has affected Egypt are its bodies of water. Egypts most famous body of water is the Nile River. The Nile River is known to be the longest river in the world at about 6650 kilometres ("Geography of Egypt"). The Nile River was a big part of the Egyptian people’s lives. The Nile River was the people of Egypt's main source of water. The river ensured that people had water to bathe, cook and to water crops. When the Nile River flooded, the people of Egypt called it a “gift of the Nile”. The flooding of the Nile River was a good thing because it would play a big part in keeping the soil fertile ("Gifts of the Nile - Ancient Egypt for Kids"). The Nile river is in the middle of Egypt and on each side of the river are desert lands. People can take a cruise down the Nile in present day and step back in time to see the lands that are fertile because of the “gift of the Nile” ("HowStuffWorks "Geography of Egypt - Physical Geography"). Overall, the Nile River dramatically
The Nile River was a great contributing factor in the development of early Egypt. It is the country’s longest running river, and runs right through Egypt.
How did the Nile shape Egypt? Did you know the Nile is the longest river in the world? The Nile helped Egypt by providing transportation, protection, and the flooding cycle. The Nile was essential for Egyptian survival. If the Nile didn’t exist Egyptians wouldn’t either.
The Nile provided fresh water to drink, clean, and bathe in (O.I). It also provided a fishing spot for fishers to keep a stable food supply (Doc. C). Egypt was in a perfect place; it had many natural and barriers as part of its geography, to the East, the Eastern Dessert (Doc. A). To the West, the Western Dessert (Doc. A).
The geography of the region shaped the lives of the people in the Ancient World by allowing permanent settlements to flourish, by allowing technology to adapt, and by isolating them from other cultures. The geography of a civilization can range from mountains, deserts, oceans, and forests. This can allow for many advancements and setbacks.
Without the ebb and flow of the great Nile River, Egyptian civilization might not have ever existed. The Nile, the longest river in the world, led to prosperity like no other waterway before. Flowing northward, the river was the foundation of Egypt’s economy and lifestyle. The Nile shaped Ancient Egypt through providing stability as a civilization, offering agricultural success, and influencing Egyptian culture. Egypt became a long-lasting civilization as a result of the Nile’s ability to support the needs of the people, including settlement and trade.
The Nile is essential to the people of Ancient Egypt because of its location, settlement, economy, and religious beliefs. The Nile River greatly impacted the lives of Ancient Egyptians, shaping their civilization on where they live. Most of Egypt was a barren desert, so the inhabitants clustered around water sources to survive. In Document B, the map of the Nile gave the Egyptians a sense of protection from outside invaders. The way the river flows, from south to north, creates two distinct areas:
The Nile River is approximately 4,260 miles long. It holds the record for being the longest river in the world. The Nile was a life source for Egyptians. The fertile land from the frequent flooding was very beneficial for Egyptians. They began to grow crops alongside the Nile. Beans, wheat, and cotton were among the crops being grown. However, the amount of crops grown was limited because the land did not extend very far. The land good enough to support farming was composed of two thin strips of land on either side of the river. Farming opened the door to a critical advancement in human life.
The Nile: The Heartbeat of Ancient Egypt Egypt was one of the most developed civilizations of its time. How was this possible? The Nile was an enormous part of Egypt’s success. It held Egypt together from the time of the first unification in 2920 B.C.E. to the time of Egypt’s downfall in 30 B.C.E. The Nile’s sources were Lake Tana in the Ethiopian highlands and Lake Victoria in Kenya. When Egypt began to develop into an empire, the Nile was needed more than ever.
The Egyptians were very lucky to have the Nile River because without it they wouldn’t be able to survive. The Nile shaped Egypt by granting them with almost everything they needed. Where the Nileś source came from may have been a riddle to them but we know that came from Lake Tana which is the branch called the Blue Nile and from Lake Victoria which is the other branch called the White Nile. Egypt has been around for five thousand years and for all of those five thousand years the Nile River helped the Egyptians survive in Egypt. The Nile River shaped Ancient Egypt by setting a calendar, providing food and water,
Ancient Egypt was affected by its geography. The Nile flows through Egypt, making it easier for the Egyptians to trade. The Nile served as a trade route, Egyptians could use rafts and boats to float to carry their goods they want to trade. Historymuseum.com stated “The Nile was surrounded by deserts, some of the desserts it was surrounded by is the Arabian Desert and the Libyan Desert.” This caused problems for the people who lived in the desert. The wind could carry the sand and could cause health problems and decrease visibility, “Egyptian civilization developed along the Nile River in large part because the river’s annual flooding ensured reliable, rich soil for growing crops, “If they could grow enough crops they would end up having a stable
The book Gifts of the Nile Valley tells the history of, not only one of Africa's greatest and most important natural monuments, The Nile River, but also uses that history to link the earliest traces of mankind to Africa. The begging of the book explains the importance of the Nile River both for mankind and for the environment around it. The beginning chapters also explain how the Nile River actually works, which I personally found very interesting. According to the book the Nile River is the longest River in the world , stretching as long as 4,132 miles. It also functions much differently than normal rivers. Unlike other rivers, The Nile River flows south to north. Also, while normal rivers need to be fed rain and connected to other bodies of water, The Nile River runs through mostly desert and does not get any rain. The Nile is also not connected to any other body of water. As bizarre as that is, its not the most impressive thing that this legendary river can do. Throughout its entire length, The Nile river has somehow managed to fertilize the soil around it for up to ten miles. It's believed that through this river, Civilizations from thousands of years ago managed to sustain themselves.
The Nile River was the life force of ancient Egypt. People from all over the region immigrated to the area for its irrigation waters and rich silt deposits. The geography of the region played a huge role in the way the inhabitants and civilization in general was formed. The main core of Egypt covered 386, 560 square miles, of which only 11, 720 were cultivable (Tignor et al., Worlds Together, 62). The Nile differed itself specifically from the Tigris and Euphrates in that its waters did not irrigate or fertilize nearly as well but it did create green belts along the water. This created a society that flourished along the river. The Nile unlike Mesopotamia did not have a bountiful borderland but did have a desert rich in materials. The Niles predictability as the source of life and abundance shaped the character of the people and their culture. (Tignor et al., Worlds Together, 63). The Nile was peaceful and calm unlike the vicious Tigris And Euphrates Rivers. Egypt with its natural borders, which included the Mediterranean Sea, Deserts, and Large Waterfalls, was very isolated. This helped to achieve
The Nile shaped Egypt by influencing its geography, popular distribution, and settlements. The majority of settlements in Ancient Egypt were located around the Nile River Delta (Doc. A), where land was fertile, trade was good, and there were many natural resources. Because of geography in this civilization, Egyptians could easily protect and defend themselves, as well as settle down and have good lives.
The Nile River is arguably one of the most important water sources in the world and has an extremely rich history dating back thousands of years. Without the Nile, the ancient Egyptian civilization would have never existed. Egypt is basically a whole lot of sand and not much else, except they have the Nile River flowing through it, on it’s way to the Mediterranean sea. The ancient Egyptians lived along the Nile River and it provided them with abundant water, food (fish) and the opportunity to develop agriculture along it’s banks. The Nile River was also used for transportation and trade with other regions because land travel was more difficult than floating on the river. The Ancient Egyptians were at the mercy of the seasonal flooding and
Egypt is the most iconic of the river valley civilizations and it is also one of the most significant civilizations of all. The trade mark of Egypt is the Nile River. It was the most Important part of the geography. The predictable and cyclical flooding of the Nile was what helped agriculture thrive in Egypt. Agriculture emerged in Egypt by 5,000 BCE. The flooding of the river acted as a perfect irrigation system for plants and silt that cam from the river was nutrient rich and helped grow plants at a great scale. Egyptian agriculture was so successful that there was a great surplus of food.