02.02 Ancient Egypt River Civilizations
And the 5 most important contributions of Ancient Egypt.
The Cataracts
A cataract is a large waterfall or rapid on a river. These areas of the river were very difficult to cross or navigate. Like the deserts, the cataracts made the region very difficult to invade.
The Nile River
I hope you liked my Prezi!
Credit to the World History online course that I take.
The Nile River is the longest river in the world. The river flows more than 4,000 miles north from East America to the Mediterranean Sea. The river was the perfect highway. It is the few rivers in the world that flows from south to north! The river's current lets boats travel from south to north. The winds from the Mediterranean Sea lets boats sail from north to south. Life in Egypt began in the region around the Nile River.
Lower Egypt
The Nile Delta region is where Lower Egypt is found. It is kinda strange that Lower Egypt is actually above Upper Egypt when looking at a map. Remember that the Nile flows from south to north? Well, this region is called Lower Egypt because it is the part of the Nile that is downstream.
The Western and Eastern Deserts
The Nile Delta
The river was surrounded on both sides by harsh deserts. They were called the Western and Eastern Deserts. The deserts made Egypt very difficult to invade. As a result, the people did not have to spend their time fighting. All this meant was that one strong central government could rule Egypt. It also meant that the country had enough wealth and security to try new things.
The Nile flooded once per year. This flooding left rich silt behind. The area where the silt was left behind is called a delta. A delta is a fertile area of land where a river divides before draining into a larger body of water - in this case, the Mediterranean Sea. The silt left behind was excellent for growing crops, particularly grain crops such as wheat and barley. Because the people had good harvests year after year, they didn't have to struggle to survive.
By Natalie S.