Nile

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For other uses, see Nile (disambiguation).

Nile

The river in Uganda

Location

Countries Egypt, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda,
Burundi

Major cities Jinja, Juba, Khartoum, Cairo

Physical characteristics

Source White Nile

• location Burundi[1] or Rwanda[2]

• coordinates 02°16′56″S 29°19′53″E

• elevation 2,400 m (7,900 ft)

2nd source Blue Nile

• location Lake Tana, Ethiopia

• coordinates 12°02′09″N 037°15′53″E

Mouth

Mediterranean Sea

• location Nile Delta, Egypt

• coordinates 30°10′N 31°09′ECoordinates: 30°10′N 31°09′E

• elevation Sea level

Length 6,650 km (4,130 mi)[n 1]

Basin size 3,400,000 km2 (1,300,000 sq mi)

Width

• maximum 2.8 km (1.7 mi)

Depth

• average 8–11 m (26–36 ft)

Discharge

• location Aswan
• average 2,830 m3/s (100,000 cu ft/s)

Discharge

• location Cairo

• average 1,400 m3/s (49,000 cu ft/s)[3]

The Nile (Arabic: ‫النيل‬, romanized: an-Nīl, Arabic pronunciation: [an'niːl], Bohairic Coptic: ⲫⲓⲁⲣⲟ
Pronounced [pʰjaˈro],[4] Luganda: Kiira Ganda pronunciation: [ki:ra], Nobiin: Áman Dawū[5])
is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. The longest river in Africa, it has
historically been considered the longest river in the world,[6][7] though this has been contested
by research suggesting that the Amazon River is slightly longer.[8][9] The Nile is about 6,650
km (4,130 mi)[n 1] long and its drainage basin covers eleven countries: Tanzania, Uganda,
Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South
Sudan, Republic of the Sudan, and Egypt.[11] In particular, the Nile is the primary water source
of Egypt and Sudan.[12]

The Nile has two major tributaries – the White Nile and the Blue Nile. The White Nile is
considered to be the headwaters and primary stream of the Nile itself. The Blue Nile, however, is
the source of most of the water, containing 80% of the water and silt. The White Nile is longer
and rises in the Great Lakes region of central Africa, with the most distant source still
undetermined but located in either Rwanda or Burundi. It flows north through Tanzania, Lake
Victoria, Uganda and South Sudan. The Blue Nile begins at Lake Tana in Ethiopia[13] and flows
into Sudan from the southeast. The two rivers meet just north of the Sudanese capital of
Khartoum.[14]

The northern section of the river flows north almost entirely through the Sudanese desert to
Egypt, then ends in a large delta and flows into the Mediterranean Sea. Egyptian civilization and
Sudanese kingdoms have depended on the river since ancient times. Most of the population and
cities of Egypt lie along those parts of the Nile valley north of Aswan, and nearly all the cultural
and historical sites of Ancient Egypt are found along river banks.

Contents

1Etymology and names

2Courses
2.1Sources

2.2In Uganda

2.3In South Sudan

2.4In Sudan

2.5In Egypt

2.5.1Sediment transport

3Tributaries of Nile

3.1Red Nile

3.2Blue Nile

3.3Bahr el Ghazal and Sobat River

3.4Yellow Nile

4History

4.1Eonile

4.2Integrated Nile

4.3Role in the founding of Egyptian civilization

4.4Search for the source of the Nile

4.5Since 1950

5Water sharing dispute

6Modern achievements and exploration

6.1White Nile

6.2Blue Nile

7Crossings

7.1Crossings from Khartoum to the Mediterranean Sea

7.2Crossings from Jinja, Uganda to Khartoum

8Gallery
9Annotated bibliography

10See also

11Notes and references

12Further reading

13External links

Etymology and names

The standard English names "White Nile" and "Blue Nile", to refer to the river's source, derive
from Arabic names formerly applied only to the Sudanese stretches which meet at Khartoum.
[15]

In the ancient Egyptian language, the Nile is called Ḥ'pī (Hapy) or Iteru, meaning "river". In
Coptic, the word ⲫⲓⲁⲣⲟ, pronounced piaro (Sahidic) or phiaro (Bohairic), means "the river" (lit.
p(h).iar-o "the.canal-great"), and comes from the same ancient name.[16]

In Nobiin the river is called Áman Dawū, meaning "the great water".[5]

In Luganda the river is called Kiira or Kiyira.

In Egyptian Arabic, the Nile is called en-Nīl while in Standard Arabic it is called an-Nīl. In
Biblical Hebrew: ‫הַ י ְאֹור‬, Ha-Ye'or or ‫הַ שִׁ יחֹור‬, Ha-Shiḥor.

The English name Nile and the Arabic names en-Nîl and an-Nîl both derive from the Latin Nilus
and the Ancient Greek Νεῖλος.[17][18] Beyond that, however, the etymology is disputed.[18]
[19] Homer called the river Αἴγυπτος, Aiguptos but in subsequent periods Greek authors referred
to its lower course as Neilos, until this term was generalised for the entire river system.[20]
Thus, the name may derive from Ancient Egyptian expression nꜣ rꜣw-ḥꜣw(t) (lit. 'the mouths of
the front parts'), which referred specifically to the branches of the Nile transversing the Delta,
and would have been prononced ni-lo-he in the area around Memphis in the 8th century BCE.
[20] Hesiod at his Theogony refers that Nilus (Νεῖλος) was one of the Potamoi (river gods), son
of Oceanus and Tethys.[21]

Another derivation of Nile might be related to the term Nil (Sanskrit: नील, romanized: nila;
Egyptian Arabic: ‫)نيلة‬,[16] which refers to Indigofera tinctoria, one of the original sources of
indigo dye;[22] or Nymphaea caerulea, known as "The Sacred Blue Lily of the Nile", which was
found scattered over Tutankhamen's corpse when it was located in 1922.[23]

Another possible etymology derives it from a Semitic Nahal, meaning "river".[24] Or perhaps
Old Libyan lilu meaning water (in modern Berber ilel ⵉⵍⴻⵍ means sea).[25]
Courses

See also: White Nile