Table of Contents
What time of year did the Nile flood?
The flooding of the Nile is the result of the yearly monsoon between May and August causing enormous precipitations on the Ethiopian Highlands whose summits reach heights of up to 4550 m (14,928 ft).
Does the Nile flow all year?
The White Nile provides a regular supply of water throughout the year. During April and May, when the main stream is at its lowest level, more than 80 percent of its water comes from the White Nile.
What was in the Nile Valley every summer?
Every summer, the Nile flooded, carrying rich silt from volcanic uplands onto ancient Egyptian fields. The floodwaters also washed out salts that irrigation and evaporation left in the soil. The Egyptians called their land Kemet, or black land. The desert frontiers were Deshret, or red land.
What happens when the Nile was too high?
When the Nile flood is high enough to reach the desert, flowers bloom in the barren red land. In the story, Osiris and Nephthys have a drunken union, where Osiris leaves behind his garland of melilot flowers.
What was the first season of the Nile River?
The ancient Egyptians structured their calendar around the Nile’s flooding cycle, with three seasons: Akhet, Peret, and Shemu. The first, lasting from June to September, was the flood season.
Where does the Blue Nile begin and end?
While the Blue Nile, which originates at Lake Tana in Ethiopia, contains most of the sediment and water that will flow into the Nile, the White Nile is considered to be the Nile River’s prime stream and headwaters.
Where does the Nile River empty into the Mediterranean Sea?
The Nile River flows over 6,600 kilometers (4,100 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.
How is the flooding of the Nile celebrated in Egypt?
Today it is celebrated by Egyptians as an annual holiday for two weeks starting August 15, known as Wafaa El-Nil. It is also celebrated in the Coptic Church by ceremonially throwing a martyr’s relic into the river, hence the name, Esba’ al-shaid (‘The Martyr’s Finger’).