TheNileRiverTheNileistheworld'slongestriverat4,135miles.Ithastwosources,oneatLakeVictoria,inUganda(theWhiteNile)andoneatLakeTana,inEthiopia(theBlueNile).TheentireNileRiverDeltaisestimatedtodrainanareaof1,293,000squaremiles.Thisareaissovastthatishasanumberofdifferentclimateareas.North,inEgyptandSudan,rainfallissparse.Moretothesouth,inandaroundEthiopia,rainfallisheavy,contributingtothefloodwatersthatrushdownstreamandeventuallycreatethewonderfullyfertilesoilthatsupportssomuchoflifeinEgyptandSudan.Dams,themostnotablebeingtheAswanHighDam,havebeenbuiltalongtheroutetopreventmassivefloodingofpopulatedareas.TheNileRiverDeltaishometomanyspeciesofanimals,includingcrocodiles,turtles,baboons,wildebeest,andmorethan300speciesofbirds,includingfishingeagles,ibis,andtheNileValleySunbird.TheancientEgyptianscalledtheriverArorAur,meaning"black,"becauseoftheblacksedimentleftbehindafterthefrequentriverfloods.TheancientGreekscalledtheriverKem,whichtranslatesinto"black"aswell.ButitisasNilethatweknowthisrivertoday.NilecomesfromtheGreekNeilos,whichmeans"rivervalley."ThepeoplewholivedalongtheNileinancienttimesusedtheriverforagricultureandtransportation.Thathasn'tchanged,althoughthemethodsofagricultureandtransportationhave.SteamshipsarestillusedinEgyptandSudan,totransportgoods.FactsAbouttheNileRiverLength4,135milesSource(s)LakeVictoria,Uganda;LakeTana,EthiopiaMouthMediterraneanSea,offEgyptCountriesFlowsThroughEgypt,Sudan,Uganda,Ethiopia,Zaire,Kenya,Tanzania,Rwanda,BurundiMajorCitiesFlowsCairo,Karhtoum,Aswan,Luxor,Alexandria,EgyptBy/ThroughWhereNameComesFromGreekwordNelios,whichmeans"RiverValley"
