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Río Nilo
Longest river in the world, c.4,160 mi (6,695 km) long
from its remotest headstream(corriente
principal), the Luvironza River in Burundi, central Africa, to
its delta on the Mediterranean Sea, NE Egypt. |
The Nile flows northward(hacia
el norte) and drains(desagua)
c.1,100,000 sq mi (2,850,000 sq km), about one tenth(un
décimo) of Africa, including parts of Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia,
Eritrea, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, and Congo (Kinshasa).
Its waters support practically all agriculture in the most densely populated
parts of Egypt, furnish water for more than 20% of Sudan's total crop
area(área de
cultivo), and are widely(ampliamente)
used throughout(por
todo) the basin(cuenca)
for navigation and hydroelectric power.
Course and Navigability
The trunk stream(corriente
principal) of the the Nile is formed at Khartoum, Sudan, 1,857
mi (2,988 km) from the sea, by the junction(unión,
enlace) of the Blue Nile (c.1,000 mi/1,610 km long) and the
White Nile (c.2,300 mi/3,700 km long).
The Blue Nile rises(se
levanta) in the headwaters of Lake Tana, NW Ethiopia, a region
of heavy summer rains(lluvias
torrenciales), and is the source(fuente)
of floodwaters(aguas
que inundan, que se desbordan) that reach(alcanzan)
Egypt in September; the Blue Nile contributes more than half of all Nile
waters throughout the year. During floodtime(período
de inundaciones) it also carries great quantities of silt(cieno)
from the highlands(regiones
montañosas) of Ethiopia; these now collect(se
acumulan) in Lake Nasser behind the Aswan High Dam, but for
centuries they were left on the floodplain after the floods(inundaciones)
and helped replenish(reponer,
reabastecer) the fertility of Egypt's soils(suelos).
The White Nile (known in various sections as the Bahr-el-Abiad, Bahr-el-Jebel,
Albert Nile, and Victoria Nile) rises in the headwaters of Lake Victoria in
a region of heavy, year-round rainfall(copiosas
precipitaciones, lluvias torrenciales durante todo el año);
unlike(a diferencia
de) the Blue Nile, it has a constant flow, owing in part to its
source area and in part to the regulating effects of its passage through
lakes Victoria and Albert and the Sudd swamps(pantanos).
Other important tributaries of the Nile are the Atbara and Sobat rivers. The
Gezira, or “island,” formed between the Blue Nile and the White Nile as they
come together at Khartoum is Sudan's principal agricultural area and the
only large tract(extensiones)
of land outside Egypt irrigated with Nile waters.
From Khartoum to the Egyptian border at Wadi Halfa (now submerged(sumergida))
and on to(continuando
hacia) Aswan in Egypt, the Nile occupies a narrow entrenched(afianzado)
valley with little floodplain for cultivation; in this stretch(trecho,
extensión) it is interrupted by six cataracts (rapids)(cataratas(rápidos)).
From Aswan the river flows(fluye)
north 550 mi (885 km) to Cairo, bordered(bordeado)
by a floodplain that gradually widens(se
ensancha) to c.12 mi (20 km); irrigated by the river, this
intensively(con
intensidad) cultivated valley contrasts with the barren(árido,
desértico) desert on either(cada)
side. North of Cairo is the great Nile delta (c.100 mi/160 km long and up
to(hasta)
115 mi/185 km wide), which contains 60% of Egypt's cultivated land and
extensive areas of swamps(pantanos)
and shallow lakes(lagos
poco profundos).
Two distributaries(distribuciones),
the Dumyat (Damietta) on the east and the Rashid (Rosetta) on the west, each
c.150 mi (240 km) long, carry the river's remaining water(lleva
el agua restante del río) (after irrigation) to the
Mediterranean Sea. Regular steamship service(servicio
de buques de vapor) is maintained on the Nile between
Alexandria (reached by canal) and Aswan; the Blue Nile is navigable June
through December from Suki (above Sennar Dam) to Roseires Dam; the White
Nile is navigable all year between Khartoum and Juba in Sudan and between
Nimule and Kabalega (formerly Murchison) Falls(cataratas)
on the Victoria Nile.
The Search for the Nile's Source
The source of the Nile and its life-giving(vivificante)
floods(torrentes,
crecidas) was a mystery for centuries. Ptolemy held(mantuvo)
that the source(fuente)
was the “Mountains of the Moon,” and the search(búsqueda)
for these and for the origin of the Nile attracted much attention in the
18th and 19th cent. James Bruce , the Scottish explorer, identified (1770)
Lake Tana as the source of the Blue Nile, and John Speke , the British
explorer, is credited(acreditado)
with the identification (1861-62) of Lake Victoria and Ripon Falls as the
source of the White Nile.
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