Why does nile river flood

Historical records showed on average that one in five years the flooding was too little or too much. In when the Aswan High Dam was completed, the annual Nile floods and sediment stopped for most of Egypt's civilisation which lived downstream.

In addition to creating electricity, the dam allowed Egyptians to control the flow of water and build upon the Nile's banks with certainty that it wouldn't be flooded. Unfortunately the massive Lake Nasser that formed behind the dam swallowed up much of the Nubian civilisation and stopped the silt that had naturally fertilised Nile Valley farmers' crops for many millennia. The silt is now building up behind the dam causing all sorts of headaches for the Egyptian Government. In addition, the White Nile's route in Southern Sudan is through the Sudd, the biggest swamp in the world.

Less than half of the White Nile's flow is lost in the Sudd. The timing of the Nile River floods was crucial to our attempt to become the first to paddle from the Blue Nile source to sea. To stake claim of a true first descent we had to paddle every section of the river, including the massive rapids of Ethiopia's Blue Nile. The whitewater has taken the lives of many rafters, kayakers and adventurers who have attempted to run it, and in the rainy season that whitewater swells 50 times in volume.

Ironically we had to leave during this season. The Blue Nile was at its wildest but many of the narrow sections, dangerous rocks and hazards that made the river impassable at any other time were submerged. In we achieved our dream becoming the first people to paddle the full length of either Nile River to the sea, including the first complete raft of the Blue Nile in flood.

For more information about our Nile adventure click here. It originates in equatorial regions, where rainfall occurs throughout the year, and as a result it runs at a nearly constant rate throughout the year. The Blue Nile, nearly dry this time of year, flows out of the Ethiopian highlands, where rainfall is more seasonal. It swells in the late summer and early fall with rains from the summer monsoons.

Image of the Day Land Human Presence. EO Explorer. Floods Along the White Nile. September 16, View more Images of the Day:. You might also be interested in view all. Subscribe to our newsletters. The principal crops cultivated during the Pharaonic era were barley, emmer a coarse wheat , lentils, beans, cucumbers, leeks, onions, dates, figs and grapes.

The abundance of flowers provided nectar for the bees to produce honey, which the Egyptians processed. Flax was grown for making linen, and papyrus was harvested to be converted into paper, ropes, mats, sandals and light skiffs. A variety of domesticated animals were raised, including cattle, oxen, sheep, goats, pigs, ducks and geese.

Donkeys and horses came from Asia around B. During the time of the early pharaohs, camels were unknown. T he Nile River was the highway that joined the country together. Up until the nineteenth century, travel by land was virtually unknown. Since there are no forests in Egypt, wood was brought from Lebanon. Acacia wood was used in Lower Nubia to build the boats that transported granite for the construction of pyramids.