Egypt's Nile River Geography Puzzle

1. Egypt is located in northeast Africa

3. Puzzle Time! • With your group, use the puzzle to complete your map • The first group to finish with all correct answers gets a bonus point!

4. Geography of the Nile River • Flows North • Originates in the highlands of Central Africa • Ends in the Mediterranean Sea • The longest river in the world at 4,160 miles

5. Floods • Until recently, flooded annually in July • Floods were predictable • Deposited silt, replenishing the soil with nutrients • The silt built up at the mouth of the river, forming a delta

6. Influence of Geography on Civilization • Natural Barriers provide obstacles to potential invaders • Mediterranean Sea to the North • Libyan Desert to the West • Nubian Desert to the Southeast • Red Sea to the East • Susceptible to Invasion • Across the Sinai Peninsula • Across the Northern Sinai Desert • Also enabled Egypt to invade others

7. Effect of Barriers • Limited invasions • Limited farming to a narrow region on either side of the Nile River • Caused river villages to be crowded • As population grew, villages expanded • Forced Egyptians to develop irrigation systems to create more fertile land • Drained marshy swamps of the delta region in order to farm the land

8. Benefits • The river served as a highway • United the villages along the river • The river made travel between villages easy • Currents carried barges downstream • Sails used to catch winds and travel upstream • The river attracted wildlife and fish • Papyrus grew along the river- Used to make paper Nile River Delta from space

9. Exit Slip • List 5 facts about the Nile River and the physical features of Egypt