The Nile is the traditional lifeline of ancient and modern Egypt.
The river flows northward through northeastern Africa and empties into the Mediterranean Sea. Its valley and delta form a narrow, fertile region surrounded by desert, allowing large communities to develop in an otherwise dry environment.
Ancient Egyptian agriculture depended on the Nile’s seasonal flooding, which deposited nutrient-rich silt on farmland. The river supported transportation, fishing, irrigation and trade, helping sustain one of the world’s earliest large civilizations.
The Nile system includes the White Nile and Blue Nile. The Blue Nile rises in the Ethiopian Highlands and contributes much of the river’s seasonal flow, while the White Nile begins in the Great Lakes region. The Aswan High Dam, completed in the 1970s, greatly changed flood control and water management in Egypt.