The River Nile Facts

y y y y The Nile is famous as the longest river in the world. The river got its name from the Greek word Neilos, which means valley. The Nile floods the lands in Egypt, leaving behind black sediment. That's why the ancient Egyptians named the river Ar, meaning black. How long is the Nile River? The Nile River is actually 6695 kilometers (4184 miles) long. With such a long length, the Nile River is speculated to be the longest river in the world. The Amazon River runs a very close second, although it has been difficult to determine which is actually longe

What countries does the river flow through? River Nile facts state it winds from Uganda to Ethiopia, flowing through a total of nine countries. While the Nile River is often associated with Egypt, it actually touches Ethiopia, Zaire, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Sudan, as well as Egypt. It's only recent that the first known navigation team successfully followed the river from beginning to its end. The Nile Delta in Northern Egypt is where the Nile River drains in to the Mediterranean Sea. It is around 160 kilometres (100 miles) in length and spreads out over 240 kilometres (149 miles) of coastline. It is rich in agriculture and has been farmed for thousands of years. Around 40 million people (half of Egypt s population) live in the Nile Delta region.

The organic stage of the ecological cycles (the reservoir of life) can be considered the "motor" of all the cycles. In the course of this stage the principal substances responsible for the maintenance of life are made and consumed. Here the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere is regulated and the billions of tons of materials are stored. All of this comes about through an organization that is a model of industry and economy, with production, stockpiling, distribution, consumption,

equitable sharing of energy, and complete recycling of materials. The three groups of organisms on which this industry and this economy rest are the producers, the consumers, and the decomposers. The producers are green plants, aquatic vegetation, and, more generally, all organisms capable of photosynthesis (the production of organic material solely from solar light and mineral carbon gas). Producers are also called autotrophs. The consumers are animals of all sizes, herbivores and carnivores, in terrestrial and aquatic milieus. They feed on living organisms and, through an internal oxidation called respiration, burn the organic materials that compose the tissues of their prey. Consumers are also called heterotrophs. The decomposers feed on dead organisms or chemical substances dispersed in the environment. Figure 6 sums up the relationship between these three groups whose activity makes possible the functioning of the ecosystem and the regulation of its equilibrium.

General Facts about animal life on the Nile There are many animals that live in or around the Nile River. Most of them are reptiles. The most common reptile is the Nile Crocodile. The Nile Crocodile is the largest crocodile in Africa, and also one of the largest in the world. It can be as long as 20 feet, and can weigh up to 1,500 pounds. It eats animals that come to the water to drink. Sometimes that even means other crocodiles. It usually hunts gazelle, buffalo, wild dogs and wildebeest. The crocodile uses its strong jaws and teeth to pull the animal under the water until it drowns. Then, it puts it under a rotten tree trunk. After the animal has rotted, the crocodile eats it. During the spring, the female crocodiles lay their eggs. They usually lay around 30 to 70 eggs. The eggs hatch after about 50 days, then the mother takes them to the water in her mouth. Newborn crocodiles are 12 inches long. DID YOU KNOW: Crocodiles are the closest living relatives to birds. The incubation temperature determines the sex of the crocodiles.

MISCELLANEOUS FACTS ABOUT THE NILE CROCODILE: weight: up to 1,650 pounds. breeding season: July diet: mammals, birds, fish, carrion and other reptiles lifespan: 70-100 years There are also soft-shelled turtles, lizards and 15 species of venomous snakes that live in the Nile River habitat. The hippopotamus also lives along the Nile River. The hippopotamus usually lives in a group of 10 to 20. They often walk on the bottom of lakes. The hippopotamus is an herbivore, which means it eats plants. DID YOU KNOW: The teeth of a hippopotamus can be as long as 20 inches. MISCELLANEOUS FACTS ABOUT THE HIPPOPOTAMUS: length: 10-11 feet height: 5 feet weight: females up to 3,300 lb.; males 3,300-7,000 lb. diet: grasses call: roars and bellows lifespan: 45-50 years There are also many different kinds of fish in the Nile River. The Nile Perch can weigh up to 175 pounds. The Nile Perch is one of the biggest fish in the

river. Other fish include the tiger fish, lungfish, catfish, mudfish and eel. Lake Nasser High Dam produces 25,000 tons of fish a year.

Riverine life

Crocodiles are among the top predators in the Nile River ecosystem.

River ecosystems support abundant life. The ready supply of water nourishes plants and microorganisms, as well as the insects, fish, birds, and mammals that feed on them.
Nile crocodiles only concern is big cats, hippos, elephants and humans. Big Cats have been known to kill and eat nile crocodiles. Adult Nile crocodiles use their bodies and tail to herd groups of fish toward a bank, and eat them with quick sideways jerks of their heads. They also cooperate, blocking migrating fish by forming a semicircle across the river. The most dominant crocodile eats first. Their ability to lie concealed with most of their body underwater, combined with their speed over short distances, makes them effective opportunistic hunters of larger prey. They grab such prey in their powerful jaws, drag it into the water, and hold it underneath until it drowns. They will also scavenge kills, although they avoid rotting meat. Groups of Nile crocodiles may travel hundreds of meters (yards) from a waterway to feast on a carcass. Once their prey is dead, they rip off and swallow chunks of flesh. When groups of Nile crocodiles are sharing a kill, they use each other for leverage, biting down hard and then twisting their body to tear off

large pieces of meat. This is called the death roll. They may also get the necessary leverage by lodging their prey under branches or stones, before rolling and ripping.

The Nile perch. <www2.dpi.qld.gov.au/fishweb/2374.html>

In recent history, and especially during the last one hundred years, the Nile River ecosystem has seen a radical decrease in the diversity of its fish populations (Getabu, Tumwebaze, & MacLennan, 2002). This oversimplification of the rivers and its various lakes fish populations has, of course, ramifications that threaten not only the stability of the ecosystem, but perhaps the human populations around the river as well. This section of our research delves into what the likely causes are for this decrease in biodiversity, as well as what effects this may have further on into the future.