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The Geography of Ancient Egypt

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The Geography of Ancient Egypt Name ______________________________________________________ Date ____________________________ Block _________________ The Geography of Ancient Egypt The Nile River played an important role in shaping the lives and society of Ancient Egypt. The Nile provided the Ancient Egyptians with food, transportation, building materials, and more. About the Nile River The Nile River is the longest river in the world. It is over 4,100 miles long! The Nile is located in northwest Africa and flows through many different African countries including Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Burundi. There are two major tributaries that feed the Nile, the White Nile and the Blue Nile. Upper and Lower Egypt The Nile River flows north through Egypt and into the Mediterranean Sea. Ancient Egypt was divided into two regions, Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. This looks a bit confusing on a map because Upper Egypt is to the south and Lower Egypt is to the north. This is because the names come from the flow of the Nile River. Fertile Land The most important thing the Nile provided to the Ancient Egyptians was fertile land. Most of Egypt is desert, but along the Nile River the soil is rich and good for growing crops. The three most important crops were wheat, flax, and papyrus. Wheat - Wheat was the main staple food of the Egyptians. They used it to make bread. They also sold a lot of their wheat throughout the Middle East helping the Egyptians to become rich. Flax - Flax was used to make linen cloth for clothing. This was the main type of cloth used by the Egyptians. Papyrus - Papyrus was a plant that grew along the shores of the Nile. The Ancient Egyptians found many uses for this plant including paper, baskets, rope, and sandals. Flooding Around September of each year the Nile would overflow its banks and flood the surrounding area. This sounds bad at first, but it was one of the most important events in the life of the Ancient Egyptians. The flood brought rich black soil and renewed the farmlands. Building Material The Nile River also provided a lot of building materials for the Ancient Egyptians. They used the mud from the riverbanks to make sundried bricks. These bricks were used in building homes, walls, and other buildings. The Egyptians also quarried limestone and sandstone from the hills along the side of the Nile. Transportation Since most of the major cities of Ancient Egypt were built along the Nile River, the river could be used like a major highway throughout the Empire. Boats constantly traveled up and down the Nile carrying people and goods. Seasons of the Nile The Egyptians even built their calendar around the Nile River. They divided their calendar up into three seasons. Akhet, or inundation, was considered the first season and was the time of the flooding of the Nile. The other two seasons were Peret, the growing season, and Shemu, the harvest season. http://www.ducksters.com/history/ancient_egypt/geography_nile_river.php Using text book pg. 75, label the Using pg. 75 draw in Use the Terrain map to color the land in shades of yellow to bodies of water and trace or o The Old Kingdom brown. color them blue. Red outline. http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/geography/explore/ter.html o The Nile River Use the political map to name the countries that border Egypt o The Mediterranean Sea o The Middle today. o The Red Sea Kingdom Purple outline 1. Label: 2. o Upper Egypt o Lower Egypt o The New 3. o Africa Kingdom 4. Green outline 5. Name three natural resources of ancient Egypt and what they were used for. http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/geography/explore/res.html 1. What Geographical features did Egypt have? http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/geography/explore/fea.html 1. 2. 2. 3. 3. Name 1 archaeological site of Ancient Egypt and why it is significant. http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/geography/explore/arch.html ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Egypt is often called, “The gift of the Nile.” Use the text to explain why. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ The ancient Egyptians sang this song about the benefits of the Nile: “When the [Nile] arises earth rejoices and all men are glad…. That givest drink to the desert places which are far from water.” 1. According to the song, what were two effects of the Nile’s rising waters? Tell them in your own words. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Nile no longer overflows its banks because modern Egyptians built a huge dam in Aswan. Since 1970, the Aswan High Dam has held back the water that annually flooded the banks of the Nile River. The dam also provides a reliable flow of water for Egyptian farmers in the dry season. The people of Egypt are now able to convert the predictable flow of the Nile into electricity. The Aswan High Dam initially provided electricity to more than half of the villages along the Nile. The population of Egypt has grown since then, but the Aswan High Dam still contributes about fifteen percent of Egypt’s electricity. Unlike oil, the flowing water is renewable, which means that the river will not run out. Based on the passage, how is Egypt still the “Gift of the Nile?” .
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