location of the nile river on a map
Nile The Nile (Arabic: النيل‎) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa, and is commonly regarded as the longest river in the world,[1] though some sources cite the Amazon River as the longest.[2] The Nile, which is 6,853 km (4,258 miles) long, is an "international" river as its drainage basin covers eleven countries, namely, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Republic of the Sudan and Egypt.[3] In particular, the Nile is the primary water source of Egypt and Sudan.[4]
Ancient Egypt The Nile has been the lifeline of its region for much of human history.[9] The fertile floodplain of the Nile gave humans the opportunity to develop a settled agricultural economy and a more sophisticated, centralized society that became a cornerstone in the history of human civilization.[10] Nomadic modern human hunter-gatherers began living in the Nile valley through the end of the Middle Pleistocene some 120,000 years ago. By the late Paleolithic period, the arid climate of Northern Africa became increasingly hot and dry, forcing the populations of the area to concentrate along the river region.
Jordan River The Jordan River (also River Jordan; Hebrew: נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן‎ Nahar ha-Yarden; Arabic: نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ‎‎ Nahr al-Urdun, Ancient Greek: Ιορδάνης, Iordànes) is a 251-kilometre (156 mi)-long river in the Middle East that flows roughly north to south through the Sea of Galilee and on to the Dead Sea. Israel and the West Bank border the river to the west, while the Golan Heights and Jordan lie to its east. Both Jordan and the West Bank take their names from the river.
Tigris The Tigris (/ËˆtaÉªÉ¡rÉªs/; Sumerian: