The Nile: Lifeblood Of East Africa

When we think of the Nile River, most of us immediately conjure up images of a slow flowing river running northward through the vast desert sands of Egypt, between banks lined with exotic palms, moving past temples and pyramids, finally emptying into the Mediterranean Sea.

- Todd Tuell

Although we think first of Egypt, throughout history the Nile has also been a very important water source to many other countries in East Africa including Ethiopia, Zaire, Kenya, Uganda, Eritrea, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, Sudan, and South Sudan.

As the Nile flows through Egypt, we picture it as a single long river. In fact, it is made up of source waters from two tributaries — other rivers that feed a larger river. The White Nile, which begins at Lake Victoria (Africa’s largest lake), merges with the Blue Nile at Khartoum, Sudan, before flowing into Egypt. Although the Blue Nile provides more water, the White Nile is longer and therefore is considered the primary stream.

The Nile has been the lifeblood of East Africa since the earliest Egyptian civilization developed along the river’s banks around 5,000 B.C. In a desert that sees almost no rainfall, the Nile is the only source of water for humans, animals, and crops. With so little rain and the poor nutrients in the sandy terrain of the Sahara Desert, without the Nile it would be almost impossible to grow crops.