What are the causes of the Nile floods? The secret world of Anubis.

The history and culture of Ancient Egypt never ceases to attract with its mystery and diversity. Scientists study the world's oldest civilization on the basis of architectural monuments, culture, writing, features of religion and spiritual life, traditions and records of ancient historians. The fate of this state has always depended on the main source of water - the Nile. Therefore, first of all, scientists tried to understand what role the main water artery in the life of the Egyptians, how the Nile River arose in Ancient Egypt, the Nile flood and everything connected with it.

"Aygyuptos and Neilos"

Did you know that the word “Egypt” comes from the ancient Greek “Aigyuptos” - this is what the Greeks called the Nile. A little later, the Greeks began to use this word to designate not only the greatest river in the world, but also the human settlements in the valley that were located along its banks. And the Nile itself began to be called “Neilos”.

The great Herodotus pointed out that Egypt is the “Gift of the River.” Why? The ancient historian and philosopher explained that when the Nile overflowed, it formed a part of the land (Herodotus calls it the Delta), which was subsequently inhabited by people. Therefore, his definition of “Gift of the River” can be taken literally.

The words of Herodotus were confirmed by the commander of Alexander the Great, Nearchus, who identified the plains near the river as its “generation.” And Pausanias, a Spartan commander from the time of King Leonidas, also noted that the delta is formed by the Nile River, and not the sea, as historians and geographers mistakenly believed then.

However, the sources of the Nile are still unknown. Herodotus believed that it was “born” from the snows that melted in its upper reaches. The sailors of the Egyptian king Ptolemy II hinted that the Nile flooded during heavy rains in the Ethiopian Highlands. And the seafarers penetrated further than any other of the ancient travelers - into southern part countries. In any case, Ptolemy argued that the source of the Nile was located in the Lunar Mountains, and this was believed until modern times or New history which began during the Renaissance.

The ancient Egyptians considered the god Hapi to be the patron saint of the Nile. In classical painting and sculpture, the Nile was usually depicted as a deity with his head covered with cloth. The fabric was draped, which meant “unknown” origin.

The most famous statue of the deity, which was found at the beginning of the 16th century, had a wreath of lotus flowers and wheat ears on its head. In his hand, the reclining god held a cornucopia, thereby personifying the Nile as a source of goods and bread for the Egyptians. The sculpture was created by a master of the Flavian era - the dynasty of Roman emperors who ruled the Roman Empire in the 1st century AD.

"Akhet"

The Nile flooded in July, and this period lasted almost four months. The four-month flood of the river stood in the ancient Egyptian calendar as the first season of the year - “akhet”.

The life of the Egyptians, which primarily depended on the flood of the Nile and its water level, determined the then existing calendar, consisting of only three seasons.

When “Akhet” came, agricultural and agricultural work stopped. It was a time of religious holidays. The flooded Nile presented a colorful picture: festive ships and cargo ships sailed along its waters. During the “akhet”, construction work was carried out to restore and erect pyramids and tombs of rulers, as well as magnificent temples

. According to one theory, thousands of peasants, farmers and plowmen were driven to such work, who were forced to bend their backs so as not to fall under the whip of the overseers. This version has its place, but is not unambiguous: there are also versions about hired workers. And also about the Atlantean giants who built the pyramids much earlier than the birth of Egypt. And during the “akhet”, local residents only reconstructed buildings, using fragments and blocks from ancient buildings as building material.

"Peret and Shemu" The second season of the year was called “peret”, which meant “coming out” or “sowing season”

" Shoots appeared and sprouted in the fields. To water them, the Egyptians built canals and grooves in which the water accumulated during the “akhet” was “stored.” It took several months to water the future harvest, because in Egypt, as in our time, there was practically no rain then. Finally, the harvesting began - “shemu”. This season was accompanied by a “drought,” when a strong “khamsin” wind blew from the desert. It blew for fifty days in a row and brought with it sandstorms

. Khamsin began in May and ended just in time for the next “akhet”. The Egyptians attributed the appearance of Sirius (“Sopdet” in Egyptian) to the onset of the “new” year. The most bright Star

Improvement system

For many centuries, the Nile and its water regime have remained unchanged. Only in late XIX century, during the reign of the Viceroy of Egypt Mohammed Said Pasha, grandiose work was carried out to expand irrigation canals. In this regard, cotton plantings increased, which has now become one of the main exports to other countries.

The Suez Canal, built in 1869, increased the dependence of the Egyptian state on other powers. When the low waters of the Nile caused crop failure in 1878, leading to famine, popular uprisings occurred. Many Europeans living in Egypt were killed. As a result, a war broke out, which was started by Great Britain and Egypt actually turned into a British colony.

For British industry began new stage– expansion of cotton plantations. To do this, it was necessary to carry out a number of works to change water regime main Egyptian artery. Three dams were initially built:

• Aswan;
• Asiutskaya;
• Kaliubskaya.

However, in 1936, the Aswan Dam had to be built on to expand the canal network. True, sugar cane and palm trees began to be grown in the Nile Valley. But urbanization and rural settlements gradually began to push back the “green” strip.

In 1971, the new Aswan Dam was built, by the way, not without the participation of specialists from the USSR. Due to the innovation, the water level in the river has stabilized. A reservoir appeared in front of the dam, which holds the entire mass of Nile water during the period of its overflow.

Grace of the Nile

Sludge from the bottom great river contained many useful substances and minerals, making the soil fertile for sowing many crops. The soil, “saturated” with silt, was loose and amenable to cultivation. In this regard, agriculture and then agricultural production developed early in Egypt.

The inhabitants of Egypt kept livestock: sheep, goats, bulls. Cattle breeding was also carried out at the national level.

So, the Nile, both in ancient times and today, is of great importance for the country and its inhabitants. In addition to being a transport artery, the river is also the main source of fresh water.

Plus, Nile is extraordinarily handsome. Every year thousands of tourists come to see its splendor. A tour of the Nile is one of the most memorable and interesting. Traveling by boat sacred river

will leave a lot of unforgettable impressions from an ancient country full of mysteries, legends and myths. The country of eternal sands and eternal pyramids, whose name is Egypt!

Especially for Liliya-Travel.RU - Anna Lazareva Until now, our research has convincingly shown that the astronomical activities of the ancient Egyptians were mainly associated with observations of phenomena accompanying the onset of the new year. It is also quite clear that in the most distant antiquity the solar year of the Egyptians began at summer solstice

and that this solstice, then and now, coincided with the beginning of the Nile flood in Heliopolis and Memphis, the most important centers of Northern Egypt in the era of the first dynasties. At the dawn of civilization it was not at all obvious that the sun could be used to measure time as we do now; and in this regard, it is enough to note how differently the ancient peoples looked at this issue. For example, Egypt was very different in this respect from Chaldea and Babylonia, and then from the ideas that existed among the Jews. In Egyptian inscriptions we find references to the moon, but they only prove that it occupied a subordinate position in relation to the sun, at least in later times. The seven-day week was completely unfamiliar to the Egyptians. Everything connected with it belongs to more later periods . The passage from the Book of the Dead quoted by Lepsius does not prove anything, since, according to Krall, his translation is erroneous. In Babylonia, apparently, the moon was worshiped in the same way as the sun, and, naturally, they used it to measure time. I mean it's been quite a few months good way

. In addition, it is natural that in Babylonia, where people had to travel a lot through the desert at night, they very carefully watched the movements of the moon. One related to this interesting point : among these ancient peoples, which provided them with methods and units for measuring time, were considered almost in the same category. Thus, for example, in Egypt the sun was used, and the unit of time was the year; and in Babylonia the unit of time was the month, because the main measure of time was the moon. Therefore, when it came to time periods, one people could very easily decide that the period used by another people is a year, when in fact it is a month, and vice versa. There is an assumption that the life expectancy of Methuselah and other characters who allegedly lived very long life, in fact, you need to count not in solar years, but in lunar years - that is, more precisely, in lunar months. This is quite reasonable, because if you divide the number of years by twelve, it turns out that this is quite close to modern duration life, and there is no reason why this could not be so.

There seems to be little doubt that Egypt was a country where the sun was considered the most accurate measure of time.

Ra, the sun, was the main god of Ancient Egypt. He was worshiped in all nomes. Already ancient texts(see the Menkaure texts in the British Museum) tell of Ra's shining journey through the sky and his daily struggle with darkness.

“The Egyptians,” says Ranke in the first chapter of his “ General history", dedicated to Egypt, - determined the apparent movement of the sun and, in accordance with it, divided the year, in contrast to the Babylonians, in a scientific and practical manner, so that Julius Caesar adopted the calendar from the Egyptians and introduced it into the Roman Empire. Other nations followed, and from then on the Egyptian calendar was used everywhere for seventeen centuries. It can be considered the most remarkable heritage of ancient times, influencing the whole world.”

Wherever the ancient Egyptians came from - from a region where time was measured by the moon or not - once they settled in the Nile Valley, where then, as now, the annual flood of the river at the summer solstice, like a pendulum, steadily measures out the years, their the calendar was firmly established on a solar basis. Consequently, it was nature, the Nile - on which the well-being of the country depended - that contributed to the establishment of the Egyptian year. The solstice and the flood of the Nile became the starting point of the ancient Egyptian year.

In saying that Egypt is a gift of the Nile, we owe it to the father of history, who meant not only the fertilizing effect of the river, but also the fact that conditions depend entirely on the Nile and the processes associated with it. human life in Egypt. It is also true that the Egyptian year, and this part of Egyptian archeology, and the myth that mainly interests astronomers, are also gifts of the Nile.

The heliacal rising of Sirius and other stars at the beginning of the annual flood, all the myths that arose from the symbols of these stars are numerous proofs that the river with its at different levels water in different time years played a big role in the life of the people. Essentially, this was the true and unique basis of the life of the people.

In this, Neil has an analogue or even analogues. What the Nile was to Egypt, the Tigris and Euphrates were to the vast region of Western Asia, where we also see that the annual flood was a source of fertility, a spectacle that inspired poets, and an event that caused great attention astronomers.

It is quite natural that the Euphrates, the Tigris and the Nile were looked upon as deities, that the gods of the Nile valley, on the one hand, and the region watered by the Tigris and Euphrates, on the other, were gods in whose names oaths were sworn, and worshiped in order to secure their favor. , and who had local temples and their own cults.

The god of the Tigris and Euphrates was Ea. The god of the Nile was Hapi. This is the same name as the Apis bull, whose cult is attributed to Menes. Of course, Menes, Men or Meni, as he is called, had every reason to found the cult of the river god, since he seems to have been the first of men to come up with the ideas of irrigation, and I have heard the honored officials responsible for Lately for modern irrigation systems, they spoke with admiration about the ideas and work of Menes. Whether the Tiger had the same Menes in the same antiquity, history is silent; but, according to the stories of travelers, the flood of the Tigris is even more majestic than that of the Nile, although the Nile during its flood makes a strong impression: the entire fertile valley turns, so to speak, into a sea bay with islands here and there, which, on closer examination, turn out to be a village, and its mud huts are too often destroyed by the lashing of the waves driven by the strong north wind.

Of course, the time when these rivers flooded influenced not only the lives of the people, but even the entire country located on their banks. The Tigris and Euphrates flood into the vernal equinox- the main thing in the country was the equinox, the temples are directed to the east. The Nile floods at the solstice - the religion was based on the solstice, and the solar temples no longer faced the east. For the Egyptians, the flood of a river onto agricultural land was like the dawn driving away the darkness of the night; solar god of the day he defeated the star gods of the night; the victorious ruler of the earth again defeated his enemies.

Egypt, according to Amr ibn al-As, first opens up as a dusty plain, then fresh sea and finally a meadow full of flowers.

At first glance it seems that if the year was determined, so to speak, by local natural conditions, then its division into seasons should be the same as for us. This is not true. Land and river provide completely different conditions.

No one, perhaps, described what was actually happening more truthfully and poetically than Osborne, who writes about the time when the water level in the Nile is low: “The Nile shrank in its banks until it became twice the usual width, and its muddy, slimy, stagnant water seemed to barely flow in an unknown direction. Wide shallows and steep drifts of black, sun-baked Nile mud form both banks of the river. Everywhere behind them there is sand and barrenness; for the khamsin, or sand wind of fifty days' duration, had just ceased. Here and there, in the dusty, unclear, scorching air, trunks and branches of trees are visible, but their leaves are so thickly covered with dust that from a distance they cannot be distinguished from the sand of the surrounding desert. During this season, only the most onerous and labor-intensive watering can preserve any hint of green even in the Pasha's pleasure gardens. The first sign that this most terrible season is drawing to a close is the rising North wind(aethesia among the Greeks), which blows sharply, often with fierce gusts, throughout the day. Soon the wind clears the dust from the crowns of the groves covering Lower Egypt, which continue to turn green. The fierce heat of the sun, standing at its very zenith, is also, as a rule, softened by this powerful influence, which prevails in this and the next three months throughout the Egyptian land.”

Then the flood begins: “Perhaps there is no more joyful picture in nature, a spectacle that more strongly awakens confidence in God’s mercy than the rise of the Nile. Day after day and night after night, the muddy tide majestically drives the waves across the scorched sands of the earth, the dull wastelands. Almost every hour, as we slowly climbed it in front of the Etesian wind, we heard the deafening fall of the muddy shore and saw from the fussiness of all living things rushing towards this place that the Nile had overcome another obstacle and that its oncoming waves were spreading life and joy across another desert . There are few experiences I remember with greater pleasure than the time I saw the Nile burst into one of the great canals of its annual flood. All nature screams for joy. Men, children, buffalo jump in its refreshing waters, the wide waves glisten with schools of fish, and all kinds of game fly in clouds above. But this celebration of nature is not limited to creatures of a high order. The moment the arrival of fertile waters moistens the sandy soil, it literally comes to life due to countless insects. It is impossible to stand on the bank of one of these majestic streams, see how every second it sweeps away some obstacle on its sublime path, becoming ever wider, and not feel how the heart is filled with love, joy and confidence in the great Creator of this annual miracle mercy."

After the spill, it's time to sow. The effects of the spill, Osborne says, “are revealed in a picture of fertility and beauty such as is rarely seen in any other country at any season of the year. The bright green of germinating cereals, groves of pomegranate trees ablaze with bright scarlet flowers, fresh breezes filled with the fragrance of rose gardens and orange thickets, every tree and bush covered with fragrant flowers. A stranger in the land of Ham encounters few natural beauties. It is true that they are quite similar, and he will notice little difference between the trees and plants whether he first comes to the gardens of Alexandria or the plain of Aswan. However, all this is the same only because it is impossible to add anything to the sweetness of the smells, the brightness of the flowers, or the exquisite beauty of the variety of plants among which he wanders. It’s monotony, but the monotony of heaven.”

The flood reaches Cairo on a day very close to the summer solstice. The river reaches its maximum rise and begins to decline around the autumn equinox. TO winter solstice The Nile calms down again on its banks, and the blue color returns to it. This period is sowing time.

Since the flood (summer solstice) we have:

1) season, or tetraman, floods, from July to October;
2) sowing season, from November to February;
3) harvest season, from March to June.

Since ancient times, the year has been divided into twelve months, and the first month was dedicated to the god of wisdom Thoth (Djehuti):

The names of seasons and months can be found even on building material most great pyramid in Dahshur, and already in the most ancient inscriptions we see references to the calendar. On the steles in the mastabas where the dead pray to Anubis for a good burial, there is a list holidays, in which sacrifices should be made to the dead.

The modern calendar (as described by Brugsch and de Rouget) has undoubtedly been preserved from ancient Egyptian times. It is well suited to the terrain in the Cairo area. The ratio of the main moments of the flood to the solstice in this part of the river is as follows:

In order to show that ancient Egyptian astronomy - if we take it specifically - was mainly concerned with the annual flood and all the consequences of this flood and how, as far as we know, the first tropical year on the planet was established, it is necessary to carefully consider the actual facts of the flood not only for Egypt as a whole, but also for different points along a line several thousand kilometers long, along which cities and temples have been scattered here and there since ancient times.

IN time immemorial Fluctuations in the water level in the river were carefully recorded at different points in the river. In the French Description of Egypt we find Full description the so-called nilomere in Aswan (at the first threshold), which dates back perhaps to the beginning of the V dynasty.

In Ebers's wonderful book on Egypt there is a description of a much more modern nilometer on the island of Roda.

The Nilomer or "mikyas" which we now see in Rhodes is said to have succeeded that which was brought there from Memphis at some unknown time. According to Ebers, Macrizi saw the remains of an old nilomere in 1417.

The modern nilometer is located inside a structure whose roof is supported by simple wooden columns. In a quadrangular container, which communicates with the river via a canal, there is an octagonal pillar with measuring divisions inscribed on Arabic. The unit of measurement is pica (sometimes called cubit) = 0.54 meters, which is divided into 24 qirat. Due to the fact that in relatively late times the river bed rose, the Nilometer during the high Nile is flooded to a depth of 2 cubits.

The rise of the Nile can now be carefully studied, as water gauges are placed along the river. These are the Aswan water meter of 1869, the Armant water meter of 1887, the Sohag water meter of 1889 and the Asiut water meter of 1892. These water meters are located at the following distances from Aswan.

The Roda Island water meter should not be relied upon as the dam has destroyed its value as a measuring device. The height of these water meters above sea level is:

	Meters
Aswan	84,158
Armant	69,535
Sohag	56,00
Asiut	53,10
Rhoda	13,14

Much uncertainty arises from the fact that there are no clear differences between water gauge readings in summer and during periods when the rise is continuous. Apparently, at the end of spring there are enough heavy rains, so that the Nile rises noticeably, just as in winter there are noticeable rises throughout the valley, when mud marks are left on the rocks at Aswan and Manfalut. Regardless of the readings of the water gauge during the rise of the Nile, there are some facts that amaze any observer. At the beginning of the ascent appears green water . This occurs in June, but the dates vary, as do the dates of maximum rise.

Modern observations show that the days of the beginning of the rise, the first flood, the second flood and the final decline vary, and from this it seems clear that the ancient Egyptians could not have had a water gauge with a fixed zero level and a fixed point for the beginning of the physical rise of water, but they one had to guess from a series of observations the average time of onset, the average time of appearance of red water, or the average rise to a certain level.

First, let's deal with green water. Typically, a nilometer on the island of Roda notes a rise in the river by 2-5 centimeters; the water slightly loses its transparency and freshness, which it still retains. Green color is the matte finish of slimy, brackish water from the tropics, and no filter has yet been found that can purify such water. Green it owes to algae.

Fortunately, this phase rarely lasts longer than three to four days. Those who have to drink water in this condition even so a short time, suffer greatly from bladder disorders. City residents usually prepare for this in advance by stocking up on water in reservoirs and tanks.

As the colonel noted engineering troops Ross in 1887 and 1890, when, due to the slow withdrawal of the Nile, irrigation workers had to hold many reservoirs in the province of Giza, and also in 1888, when the water remained stagnant for a long time, the water in the reservoirs turned green - algae and a swampy smell appeared - also like June green water.

Because of this, it was decided that since the Nile water in the riverbed - even in the most stagnant dams - does not turn green, then, apparently, greenness appears only when the water is absolutely still. Above Gondokoro there are extensive wetlands, and it is therefore believed that the summer green water that appears unexpectedly comes from these marshes when it is pushed from behind new water, that's why it precedes the spill. Until now, no one has yet made careful observations of the gradual arrival of green water.

The river rises quickly and the water gradually becomes cloudier. However, ten to twelve days pass before Neil last time and most in an unusual way changes appearance. Mr. Osborne describes it thus: “It was at the end of what seemed to me a long and very stuffy night, when I rose from the sofa on which I had been trying to sleep, onto the deck of a ship lying quietly near Beni Suef, a city in Middle Egypt. The upper halo of the sun's disk had just appeared over the eastern hills. When its rays hit the water, I was surprised to see dark red reflections. The color of the water gradually became more saturated, as it became more and more illuminated by the sun, and even before it completely emerged from behind the tops of the hills, a veritable river of blood appeared before me. Suspecting some kind of trouble, I hastily stood up and, leaning over the side, saw that my eyes were not deceiving me. The whole mass of water was opaque, dark red in color, very reminiscent of blood, more than any other a natural phenomenon, with which it could be compared. Then I noticed that the river had risen noticeably several inches overnight. While I was looking at this amazing picture, the Arabs came up to me and explained that this was the Red Nile. The red color and opacity of the water in this extraordinary state of the river are constantly changing. On some days, when the rise of the river does not exceed a few inches, the water returns to a state of translucency, although when the Nile is high it never seems to lose its dark red hue, which cannot be filtered. However, this is not the same as green impurity, which is completely harmful; Nile water is never healthier, tastier or more refreshing than when it is in full flow. On other days the river rises much faster, and then the amount of silt suspended in the water in Upper Egypt exceeds anything I have seen in any other river. More than once I saw that silt interfered with the flow of the stream. Once a glass of water was left standing in this state for some time. Top part The water was completely opaque, the color of blood. The sediment of black mud took up about a quarter of a glass. A significant part of it settles before the river reaches Middle and Lower Egypt. There I have never seen the Nile water in such a state, and, moreover, there are no observations of the river turning red. It is clear that the redness cannot come from the White Nile, but it must be the first floods of the Blue Nile and Bahr el-Azral that are coming down.”

One of important issues within the framework of our research, it is related to how the local calendars of different regions of the Nile Valley are affected by variants of the phenomena with which the Egyptians counted the new year.

If you take only solstice, its date will be the same for all parts of the valley; but, of course, the Egyptians did not regard the solstice in isolation for the obvious reason that they needed some sign to warn of the rising of the Nile, and in the lower reaches of the river the rising precedes the solstice. They also did not take the heliacal rising of Sirius in isolation, which will be discussed in more detail below.

But the question was mainly about the date of the beginning of the flood, and the date of the beginning of the flood was completely different in different parts Egypt.

So, according to modern water meters, it can be understood that the river takes some time to cover the 900 kilometers between Elephantine and Cairo.

At the beginning of the flood, when the river rises from, say, 1 cubit to 6 cubits in Aswan, where there are many dry sandbanks and the width of the river is large and there are no waves rolling in from behind, the time of propagation increases to fifteen days, and the earliest the sign of rise may appear even later, but it is very difficult to notice.

The flood takes 1¾ days from Wadi Halfa to Aswan and six days from Aswan to Roda Island (941 kilometers). When the Nile is very high, the time is probably reduced to five days.

Consequently, the Green and Red Nile are spreading at different rates.

The rise is 13.7 meters in Aswan, 11.6 in Thebes and 7.6 in Cairo.

Mr. Garstin, Under-Secretary of the Public Works Department of Egypt, has kindly furnished me with the data of the above-described water gauges, and from them I have found that the average time at which the first signs of a flood appear in its passage between Thebes and Memphis is at the present time about nine days.

However, we must remember that the river bed is now higher than before; in the Thebes region, Budge believes the ground level has risen by 2.7 meters over the past 1,700 years.

This means that if in all major cities, such as Thebes and Heliopolis, the beginning of the new year depended entirely on the beginning of the flood, then not only the day was not known exactly, but also the difference in the time of the beginning of the flood in different areas would lead to a difference in the time of the beginning of the new year in these areas, compared with which our time zones fade, because in them we're talking about only about a few hours.

The inconsistency in claims about the Nile flood occurs because the maximum rise is usually recorded in Cairo 40 or more days after the maximum rise in Aswan.

The following account of how this happens was kindly provided to me by Colonel Ross:

“The overflow of the river at the Aswan water gauge occurs as follows: between August 20 and 30 the rise often reaches an average level of 16 cubits, and between August 27 and September 3 there is often a decline of about 30 centimeters. It is believed that the August rise is due to the Blue Nile and the Atbara River. Between September 1st and 8th, irrigation workers typically report peak temperatures near Aswan. It was probably caused by the first wave of flooding from the White Nile. In mid-September there are usually two small rises, but in the last twenty days of September, as a rule, the water is noticeably lower than in the first week. The last rise of the Nile rarely occurs later than September 21 or 25.

All this water doesn't just flow down the Nile; it floods various bodies of water. The opening of these reservoirs begins from south to north. This usually occurs between September 29 and October 22. The large reservoirs of Central Egypt are not connected to the Nile for the purpose of discharge into the river between Asiut and Vasta, that is, on a length of 395 − 90 = 305 km.

The area located in the middle, or Central Egypt, is wide, and therefore a huge amount of water pours out of these reservoirs into the lower reaches of the river around October 20, due to which the Nile in Cairo rises significantly, and on average the Cairo water gauge (on the island of Roda) registers the annual the maximum is around October 22, so guidebooks say the Nile is highest at the end of October.

With the water gauge at 16½ cubits in Aswan, while the reservoirs are filling, the level at Roda (Cairo) does not rise above 21 cubits, but since the pools at 16½ cubits are filled by September 10, the level from 16½ to 16 cubits in Aswan does not guarantee a constant level at the Cairo water gauge, since a large mass of water passes through reservoirs and reaches Cairo. Therefore, we often see a paradox when the water level at the Aswan water meter stands still or decreases, while in Cairo there is a steady rise.

If the level in Aswan remains above 16 cubits almost until the end of September, then the emptying of the reservoirs is greatly delayed, since the emptying of each subsequent reservoir fills the Nile above 16 cubits; therefore the lower halves of the reservoirs do not overflow, and thus, when the great reservoirs of Middle Egypt discharge their water, they do not raise the Nile as much as if in the second half of September the Nile is below 16 cubits at Aswan.

In years such as 1887 and 1892, which differ from each other only in the date of the maximum rise at Aswan, the river, having filled its reservoirs in a period of 15 to 20 days instead of a period of 25 to 30 days, reaches Cairo, so increased in volume that in Cairo, a truly dangerous water level of 25 cubits has remained for more than two weeks ( average level October in Cairo is about 23 cubits), and from September 10 to October 25 the river remains at a level of from 24 to 25½ cubits, and the reservoirs of Middle Egypt discharge water so slowly that the day of the beginning is practically unnoticeable at the Cairo water gauge.

Neil is one of the most large rivers Earth. It is also surprising because with its waters the river managed to pave a route through the driest areas of the Earth. Some areas that are now desert were once savannah. Scientists have discovered many sites here primitive people. Therefore, since then, people have become interested in which direction the Nile River flows.

Where does the Nile begin?

First you need to consider how long this river is. The Nile originates at Lake Victoria. Several rivers, in turn, flow into it. And the most remote of these rivers is Rukarara. If you include its source in the total length of the Nile, then it will be 6852 km. But if we take the length of the river from Lake Victoria, it will be 5600 km.

Which of the world's longest rivers?

Until recently, the Nile was considered the longest river system all over the planet. This was the case until the discovery of the Amazon River. Its length was 6992 km. The difference between these two largest river arteries is only 140 km. This information was published by the Brazilian National Institute space research in 2008.

Blue and White Nile

To understand in which direction the Nile River flows, it is necessary to carefully consider its sources. The Nile flows through northeastern Africa. The river begins in Uganda (here it is called the White Nile) and also on the (Blue Nile). The length of the White Nile is 957 km. The Sobat River flows into this part of the Nile. The waters of this tributary contain a large number of clay suspensions, which is why the Nile in this area acquires a whitish tint. The Blue Nile is much longer than the White Nile. It begins on the Abyssinian Highlands.

IN summer time During the year, a large amount of rain falls in the Abyssinian Highlands. The river becomes stormy and full of water, and the waters rush into the Nile Delta. During this period, the river changes dramatically - its waters acquire a blood-red hue and remain that way until the beginning, that is, almost until November. But in fact, this enrichment of water with new elements plays a very important role in soil fertilization, since with its help the fertile layer in the delta is saturated. In many areas of the delta, as in the times of the pharaohs, the harvest is harvested three times a year.

Nile area

In which direction does the Nile flow? Long-long and rough River flows from south to north. Leaving Cairo, the river forms a delta with the help of a huge number of branches. There are a large number of cities here, and total number The population is 38 million people.

Both rivers - the White and Blue Nile - connect on the territory of Sudan, in its capital Khartoum. They then flow into the Mediterranean Sea. Ten countries are located along the river's path. These are Egypt, Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya and others. Arabian and are separated by the Nile Valley.

Extent along with origins

In which direction does the Nile flow? is its source. It is located on the East African plateau. This section of the Nile is called Victoria Nile. So, the total length of the Nile from its sources is 6,700 km, and the length from the border with Sudan to Mediterranean Sea- 1500 km. At the very end of the river there are fertile soils that have not lost their importance for the economy of the Egyptian state to this day thanks to the Nile River. The sources and upper reaches of the Nile are located at a distance of 4120 m from each other. The Nile flows in the direction from south to north.

Animals of the Nile

Some interesting information must necessarily include a description of the Nile River according to the plan: geographical position, cities on its banks, history of the river. No less important is the nature of the inhabitants. A large number of fish, birds, and various animals found shelter in its waters.

One of the most amazing fish are Bishir fish. They live in the Nile only during droughts, and during other periods the Bishira moves to swampy areas. In addition to them, beaked fish and electric catfish are also known. Buffaloes and antelopes graze along the banks, hippopotamuses rest and

The first irrigation systems are known to have appeared around 2134-2040 BC. Even then, primitive tribes knew in which direction the Nile River flowed, and tried to build irrigation structures to irrigate local lands. Every year throughout the history of the Egyptian state, the Nile flooded. The soils in the vicinity of the river were the most fertile.

For the ancestors of the Egyptians who once settled here, it did not matter in which direction the Nile River flowed - throughout history it has always been a source of fish, reed for making papyrus, various fruits and vegetables were grown here. Ancient Egypt was a prosperous state until its conquest by the Romans.

This whole strip is alive only from annual floods Nila.

By the time our summer begins in Egypt, everything freezes in the dry and hot air; the foliage is covered with gray dust blown by the desert wind. The Nile flows lazily between dried mounds of black mud. From June the water begins to rise.

No matter how great the benefits of the river are, it takes complex and persistent work of people to take advantage of them. If water is left free to flow, it will form lakes and swamps in low places, stagnate and prevent the soil from being sown in time; it will not reach higher places at all. Gradually, the Egyptians learned to evenly direct and spend the precious moisture from the flood of their only great river. At right angles to the river they drew wide canals, to which others adjoined, extending along the river; In this way, new channels were created throughout the valley. When the Nile rose, its waters quickly poured into the transverse wide roads; To prevent water from overflowing over the edges, the banks were reinforced and raised with dams at bends and along canals. First, the water was released into the strip of land closest to the Nile, blocked its further path with dams and allowed to spill over the fields of this first strip; then, when the Nile arrived, they cut through the dams and let the water flow further to the next strip. Water was transferred to the distant high strips by scoops, which were lowered and raised on several rows of long rockers.

To the west of the Nile, not far from its entry into the plain, lies, cutting into the desert, the large oasis of Fayum. It is below the level of the Nile and is separated from the river by a rocky wall. The Egyptians widened the narrow gorge in this wall and brought the water of the Nile branch there: after this, the oaz became the richest and most grain-producing region in all of Egypt. In order to clean up the spills in it, one corner of it was blocked with high dams and turned into a huge reservoir; When there was a strong spill, the water was diverted there; when there was a weak spill, water from the pool was used as a reserve.

The fertility of the rich plains of the Nile Valley, on which crops ripen three times a year, is associated with the deposition of silt by the river during floods. The consistency and regularity with which the Nile has distributed its bounty for many centuries has been for a long time a subject of human surprise and were explained by the intervention of divine power or the rational will of the river itself.

The regular rise and fall of water in the Egyptian Nile is truly remarkable. The floods of our Russian rivers are associated with the melting of snow in their immediate vicinity, while the Nile in its lower reaches overflows without connection with any changes in the nature of the surrounding area. From March to June the river has its lowest water level. Then the water begins to rise, in September the flood reaches its maximum, after which a gradual decline begins. In Aswan in April and May, water consumption is 530 cubic meters. m per second, in September - 7620 cubic meters. m per second.

The regime of the Nile depends on the climatic conditions of its basin. The Nile current extends from the equator to 32° N. sh., capturing three completely different climatic regions. Equatorial rains feed the upper section of the White Nile, which flows from Lake Victoria, and Ethiopia's summer rains feed the Blue Nile. Below the mouth of the latter, the Nile flows through a rainless desert, where evaporation and withdrawal of water for irrigation deplete its water reserves.

The upper section of the White Nile has a very uniform water flow (about 600 cubic meters per second).

In the vast alluvial basin in front of the mouth of the Sobat River, the Nile branches into branches among low marshy spaces; during high water, a huge area is flooded with water, and most of the water is lost through evaporation. The lower section of the White Nile owes its water mainly to Sobat, which at its mouth has a water flow of 380 cubic meters in April. m per second, and in November - 1040 cubic meters. m per second.

The Blue Nile, which serves as the main source of Nile water in Egypt, has a water flow of only 190 - 170 cubic meters from March to May. m per second. But then it swells thanks to the summer rains on the Abyssinian Highlands and in September it already carries 7580 cubic meters. m of water per second. The Atbara River also greatly increases its level in September (1950 cubic meters per second). From Atbara to the very mouth, that is, for about 2,700 km, the Nile no longer receives a single influx. Consequently, the Nile in Egypt floods from the rains on the Abyssinian Highlands, when the rivers flowing from it carry a lot of water and, eroding rocks, get a lot of sludge. This silt is deposited in the lower reaches of the Nile in the form of fertile alluvial soil.

Most of the water and silt during the Abyssinian rains is brought by the Blue Nile,

The upper stretch of the White Nile (above the mouth of Sobat) serves as the source of water for the Nile in Egypt from February to June.

During periods of low water, the Nile between Khartoum and Wadi Halfa is largely fed by groundwater your valley. These waters penetrate into the alluvial sediments of the floodplain during high water, and during low water they flow back into the river bed.

The height of the Nile flood in different years not the same. For the inhabitants of Egypt, the height of the rise of the Nile is of enormous importance: why more water, the richer the harvest.