The Cataracts of the Nile are shallow lengths (or whitewaterrapids) of the Nile river, between Khartoum and Aswan, where the surface of the water is broken by many small boulders and stones jutting out of the river bed, as well as many rocky islets. In some places, these stretches are punctuated by whitewater, while at others the water flow is smoother but still shallow.
Geologists indicate that the region of northern Sudan is tectonically active and this activity has caused the river to take on "youthful" characteristics.[1] The Nubian Swell has diverted the river's course to the west, while keeping its depth shallow and causing the formation of the cataracts. Even as the river bed is worn down by erosion, the landmass is lifted, keeping parts of the river bed exposed. These distinctive features of the river between Aswan and Khartoum have led to the stretch being often referred to as the Cataract Nile, while the downstream portion is occasionally referred to as the "Egyptian" Nile. The geological distinction between these two portions of the river is considerable. North of Aswan, the river bed is not rocky, but is instead composed of sediment, and far from being a shallow river. It is believed[2] that the bedrock was previously eroded to be several thousand feet deep. This created a vast canyon that is now filled with sediment.
Despite these characteristics, some of the cataracts which are normally impassable by boat because of the shallow water have become navigable during the flood season.
Historyedit
The word "cataract" comes from the Greek word καταρρέω ("to flow down"), although the original Greek term was the plural-onlyΚατάδουποι. However, contrary to this, none of the Nile's six primary cataracts could be accurately described as waterfalls, and given a broader definition, this is the same with many of the minor cataracts.
In ancient times, Upper Egypt extended from south of the Nile Delta to the first cataract, while further upstream, the land was controlled by the ancient Kingdom of Kush that would later take over Egypt from 760 to 656 BC.[3] Besides the Kushite invasion, for most of Egyptian history, the Nile's cataracts, particularly the First Cataract, primarily served as a natural border to prevent most crossings from the south, as those in said region would rely on river travel to venture north and south. This allowed Egypt's southern border to be relatively protected from invasions, and besides brief Kushite rule, it remained a natural border for most of Egyptian history.[4]
Eratosthenes gave a precise description of the Cataract-Nile:[5]
It has a similar shape to a backwards letter N. It flows northward from Meroë about 2700 stadia, then turns back to the south and the winter sunset for about 3700 stadia, and it almost reaches the same parallel as the Meroë region and makes its way far into Libya. Then it makes another turn, and flows northward 5300 stadia to the great cataract, curving slightly to the east; then 1200 stadia to the smaller cataract at Syene (i.e. Aswan), and then 5300 more to the sea.
^Thurmond, Allison K.; Stern, Robert J.; Abdelsalam, Mohamed G.; Nielsen, Kent C.; Abdeen, Mamdouh M.; Hinz, Emily (2004). (PDF). Journal of African Earth Sciences. 39 (3–5): 401–407. Bibcode:2004JAfES..39..401T. doi:10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2004.07.027. ISSN 1464-343X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2006.
^Warren, John (2006). Evaporites:Sediments, Resources and Hydrocarbons. Berlin: Springer. p. 352. ISBN3-540-26011-0.
^. Archived from the original on 17 February 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
^Strabo (1932). The Geography. Vol. VIII. Translated by Jones, H. L. Harvard University Press – via Bill Thayer.
December 15, 2023
cataracts, nile, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, december, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Cataracts of the Nile news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Cataracts of the Nile are shallow lengths or whitewater rapids of the Nile river between Khartoum and Aswan where the surface of the water is broken by many small boulders and stones jutting out of the river bed as well as many rocky islets In some places these stretches are punctuated by whitewater while at others the water flow is smoother but still shallow The six cataracts of the Nile Contents 1 The Six Cataracts 2 Geology 3 History 4 Gallery 5 ReferencesThe Six Cataracts editCounted going upstream from north to south In Egypt The First Cataract cuts through Aswan 24 05 N 32 53 E 24 08 N 32 88 E 24 08 32 88 First Cataract Its former location was selected for the construction of Aswan Low Dam the first dam built across the Nile In Sudan The Second Cataract or Great Cataract was in Nubia and is now submerged under Lake Nasser 21 29 N 30 58 E 21 48 N 30 97 E 21 48 30 97 Great Cataract The Third Cataract is at Tombos Hannek 19 46 N 30 22 E 19 76 N 30 37 E 19 76 30 37 Third Cataract The Fourth Cataract is in the Manasir Desert and since 2008 is submerged under the reservoir of Merowe Dam 18 55 N 32 22 E 18 91 N 32 36 E 18 91 32 36 Fourth Cataract The Fifth Cataract is near the confluence of the Nile and Atbarah Rivers 17 41 N 33 58 E 17 68 N 33 97 E 17 68 33 97 Fifth Cataract The Sixth Cataract is where the Nile cuts through the Sabaluka pluton close to Bagrawiyah 16 17 N 32 40 E 16 29 N 32 67 E 16 29 32 67 Sixth Cataract Geology editSee also Nile Ancient Niles and Messinian salinity crisis Geologists indicate that the region of northern Sudan is tectonically active and this activity has caused the river to take on youthful characteristics 1 The Nubian Swell has diverted the river s course to the west while keeping its depth shallow and causing the formation of the cataracts Even as the river bed is worn down by erosion the landmass is lifted keeping parts of the river bed exposed These distinctive features of the river between Aswan and Khartoum have led to the stretch being often referred to as the Cataract Nile while the downstream portion is occasionally referred to as the Egyptian Nile The geological distinction between these two portions of the river is considerable North of Aswan the river bed is not rocky but is instead composed of sediment and far from being a shallow river It is believed 2 that the bedrock was previously eroded to be several thousand feet deep This created a vast canyon that is now filled with sediment Despite these characteristics some of the cataracts which are normally impassable by boat because of the shallow water have become navigable during the flood season History editThe word cataract comes from the Greek word katarrew to flow down although the original Greek term was the plural only Katadoypoi However contrary to this none of the Nile s six primary cataracts could be accurately described as waterfalls and given a broader definition this is the same with many of the minor cataracts In ancient times Upper Egypt extended from south of the Nile Delta to the first cataract while further upstream the land was controlled by the ancient Kingdom of Kush that would later take over Egypt from 760 to 656 BC 3 Besides the Kushite invasion for most of Egyptian history the Nile s cataracts particularly the First Cataract primarily served as a natural border to prevent most crossings from the south as those in said region would rely on river travel to venture north and south This allowed Egypt s southern border to be relatively protected from invasions and besides brief Kushite rule it remained a natural border for most of Egyptian history 4 Eratosthenes gave a precise description of the Cataract Nile 5 It has a similar shape to a backwards letter N It flows northward from Meroe about 2700 stadia then turns back to the south and the winter sunset for about 3700 stadia and it almost reaches the same parallel as the Meroe region and makes its way far into Libya Then it makes another turn and flows northward 5300 stadia to the great cataract curving slightly to the east then 1200 stadia to the smaller cataract at Syene i e Aswan and then 5300 more to the sea The six cataracts of the Nile are depicted extensively by European visitors notably by Winston Churchill in The River War 1899 where he recounts the exploits of the British trying to return to the Sudan between 1896 and 1898 after they were forced to leave in 1885 Today Lake Nasser has filled most of the area between the first and second cataracts known as Lower Nubia and its monuments moved as part of the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia nbsp Boat travelling to the Second Cataract of the Nile carrying photographer Francis Frith period 1850 98 Gallery edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to wbr Cataracts of the Nile nbsp First Cataract nbsp Second cataract in 1854 by John Beasley Greene nbsp Third Cataract nbsp Fourth Cataract nbsp Fifth Cataract nbsp Sixth Cataract in 1908 by Sir Henry Rider HaggardReferences edit Thurmond Allison K Stern Robert J Abdelsalam Mohamed G Nielsen Kent C Abdeen Mamdouh M Hinz Emily 2004 The Nubian Swell PDF Journal of African Earth Sciences 39 3 5 401 407 Bibcode 2004JAfES 39 401T doi 10 1016 j jafrearsci 2004 07 027 ISSN 1464 343X Archived from the original PDF on 25 May 2011 Retrieved 21 October 2006 Warren John 2006 Evaporites Sediments Resources and Hydrocarbons Berlin Springer p 352 ISBN 3 540 26011 0 Cataracts of the Nile Archived from the original on 17 February 2010 Retrieved 17 February 2014 Geography Ancient Egypt 101 Strabo 1932 The Geography Vol VIII Translated by Jones H L Harvard University Press via Bill Thayer Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cataracts of the Nile amp oldid 1168559159, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
