Travel: The complete guide to Nile journeys
Picture a map of Africa, and divide it in four. The top right-hand bit – the north-eastern quadrant, for the geographically minded – is dominated by the Nile. It has two main tributaries: the White Nile, flowing out from Lake Victoria in Uganda; and the Blue Nile, originating in Ethiopia. These two rivers flow into Sudan, meeting at Khartoum to form the Nile, which then continues north through the eastern edge of the Sahara and into Egypt, finally reaching the Mediterranean near Alexandria.
The Nile's main features include some of the largest lakes in Africa. In Uganda, accompanying Lake Victoria is, inevitably, Lake Albert – as well as swampy Lake Kyoga. In Ethiopia, the Blue Nile flows out of Lake Tana, the Horn of Africa's largest body of water. Then there's Lake Nasser, backed up for 300 miles behind Egypt's gargantuan Aswan Dam, which creates one of the largest artificial lakes in the world.
For overland travellers, a boat along Lake Nasser is the usual way between Sudan and Egypt. But unlike on some of the world's other major rivers, ultra-long ferry journeys down the Nile are not possible, due mainly to rocky rapids, or cataracts, cutting across the river. Had the Nile been navigable from the Mediterranean to its Blue and White tributaries in the deep interior, the map and the history of Africa might have been very different.
See the above page for the full story.
- More On Mega-lake Discovered In Western Desert
Discovery News (Larry O'Hanlon) The hyper-arid deserts of western Egypt were once home to a lush mega-lake fed by the Nile River's earliest annual floods. Fossil fish and space shuttle radar images have defined the bed and drainage channels of...
- Radar Images Reveal Lost Lake
Thaindian The original article can be found in the December 2010 edition of the journal Geology but be warned that it costs $25.00 for a day's access to the article. Geologists have found that a huge lake waxed and waned deep in the sandy heart of...
- Travel: Egyptian Passage
canada.com (Peter Wilson) For those wanting a quieter stretch of Nile cruising, a three- or four-night cruise on Lake Nasser is the perfect way to discover the wonders of ancient Egypt. The world's largest man-made lake, Lake Nasser was formed by...
- Nasa Modis Image Of The Day: River Nile
SpaceRef Click on the small image, right, to go to the page where the full sized photograph can be seen. Most views of Egypt show the famous Nile River Delta, so it is interesting to see this view of the southern part of Egypt. At the top left of the...
- Travel: Lake Nasser
canada.com (Peter Wilson) For those wanting a quieter stretch of Nile cruising, a three- or four-night cruise on Lake Nasser is the perfect way to discover the wonders of ancient Egypt. The world's largest man-made lake, Lake Nasser was formed by...