Page 22 - Key to Social Studies 4
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Major Physical Features of Egypt
The Nile River and Nile Delta The Western Desert
• The Nile River is about 6,650 km (4,130 The Western Desert covers around
miles) long. It is considered to be the 680,000 square km (262,800 square
world’s longest river. The Nile River runs miles), representing 66% of Egypt’s
through many countries: Kenya, Eritrea, territory, or an area of the land. It is
Congo, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, located to the west of the Nile and covers
Rwanda, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, the area from the Mediterranean Sea
and Egypt. south to the Sudanese border.
• The Nile River moves from the south of The Eastern Desert
Egypt, called Upper Egypt, to the north The topography, or arrangement of
of Egypt, called Lower Egypt, to drain physical features, of the Eastern Desert is
into the Mediterranean Sea. The place di erent from that to the west of the
where the Nile River meets the Nile. The Eastern Desert is moderately
Mediterranean Sea forms the Nile Delta, rocky and mountainous and includes the
which was formed by the deposits from Red Sea Hills.
the Nile River. The Sinai Peninsula
• The Aswan High Dam was built in 1970 A peninsula is an area of land that is
to control ooding, or water that is too surrounded by water on three sides.
high for the land. The High Dam on the The Sinai Peninsula, which has an area of
Nile prevents too much water from approximately 60,000 square km (23,000
damaging crops and lets water ow to square miles), serves as a bridge between
elds during dry times. the continent of Africa and the continent
• The Egyptian culture started along the of Asia.
Nile River because the river provided the
water needed for crops and community
life.
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