Egypt is the African country whose capital is Cairo and whose territory includes the Nile’s lower valley and delta.
The Nile runs northward through Egypt before entering the Mediterranean Sea. Most of Egypt’s population and farmland are concentrated along this narrow green corridor, because the surrounding Sahara is extremely arid. Cairo, founded near the Nile, is the country’s political and cultural center and one of Africa’s largest metropolitan areas.
Egypt also occupies the northeastern corner of Africa and includes the Sinai Peninsula, which lies in Asia. This transcontinental geography can cause confusion: Egypt is an African country, although part of its territory is separated from the rest of Africa by the Suez Canal. The famous pyramids at Giza stand on the western edge of Cairo.
The Nile’s major tributaries meet at Khartoum in Sudan, while Egypt contains the river’s final stretch, delta and Mediterranean outlet.