Geography of Africa outer ranges. The main drainage of the continent is to the north and west, or towards the basin of the Atlantic Ocean. To the main African rivers belong: Nile (the longest river of Africa), Congo (river with the highest water discharge on the continent) and the Niger, which flows half of its length through the arid areas. The largest lakes are the following: Lake Victoria (Lake Ukerewe), Lake Chad, in the centre of the continent, Lake Tanganyika, lying between the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Tanzania and Zambia. There is also the considerably large Lake Malawi stretching along the eastern
Flooding of the Nile Flooding of the Nile The flooding of the Nile () has been an important natural cycle in Egypt since ancient times. It is celebrated by Egyptians as an annual holiday for two weeks starting August 15, known as "Wafaa El-Nil". It is also celebrated in the Coptic Church by ceremonially throwing a martyr's relic into the river, hence the name, The Martyr's Finger (, ). Ancient Egyptians believed that the Nile flooded every year because of Isis's tears of sorrow for her dead husband, Osiris. The flooding of the Nile is the result of the yearly monsoon between May and