The Nile River in Egypt is
the longest river in the world. It is the entire length of
Egypt and is also the home of the largest crocodiles. The
crocodile is as long as two Honda Accords and weighs as much
as one Honda. The Nile River flows north from the mountains
of East Africa to empty into the Mediterranean Sea. In
ancient times, as it is today, the Nile River was an
important part of life in Egypt. This river provides water
to irrigate the farms, transportation and also served as a
barrier which protected the land from invaders. Without the Nile River, all
of Egypt would be a desert. The Nile flood waters carries
silt, made up of clay and bits of black soil and rock. It
has minerals that make soil rich and good for farming. The
Nile River Valley was the richest farming land in the
ancient world. Egyptian farmers worked
together and planned their work around the seasonal
flooding. They planted their crops in October, after the
flood waters were gone. After much work and time, the crops
were harvested in the spring. Everyone worked together
before the next flood came. The farmers used irrigation
to help them grow more crops and build a stronger economy.
Irrigation was the watering of dry land by means of streams,
canals and pipes. Storage pools were also built to catch
some of the Nile's overflow so that water could be stored
for the farmer's crops. The farmer could also bring water to
land that wasn't reached by the Nile's overflow. To move the
water across the dry land, the farmers carried the water to
the fields in skin bags or by channeling it through the
canals. This all helped the Egyptians to increase their food
supply.
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