Geography of Egypt and Kush

Why do humans settle where they do???

►Three important environmental factors that affect where humans settle are-▪Water▪Topography (shape of land)▪Vegetation (types of plants)

#1 Environmental FactorWATER► People need

fresh water to live.

► For bathing & wash to prevent disease.

► Food- fish & wildlife

► Irrigate crops► Transportation

The Nile River• The Nile

– Most important physical feature in Egypt– 4,000 miles long; flows through the Sahara

Desert • Without the Nile’s waters, no one could

live there.

• The Nile flooded every year– Predictable floodwaters with spring rains– Left rich, black silt

• Narrow band of fertile soil • Became home of Egyptian civilization

The Nile River (cont.)Delta• Egypt’s most fertile soil in Nile Delta• Silt deposits at mouth of river• Black Land of rich arable soil• Red Land unlivable but afforded protectionCataracts• Nile afforded protection itself• Flowed through cataracts to the south• Currents and waterfalls made sailing

impossible• Not an easy invasion route

#2 Environmental FactorTopography (shape of the land)

►It includes features like mountains, hills, plains, and deserts.

►There were wide flat areas of the land around deep bends in the river. This was food for farming. Wide plains were also watered by the Nile’s annual flooding.

Natural Barriers►The Nile River Valley is surrounded

by extremely hot & dry deserts.►Egypt is surrounded by three deserts

the Libyan, Nubian, and Arabian. ►They form a natural barrier that

protects them from invaders.

#3 Environmental Factor Vegetation

► There are many kinds of vegetation, such as trees, bushes, flowers, grass, and reeds.

► The crops people grow are also a type of vegetation.

► Papyrus was grown, which was used to make rope and paper.

► The rich farmland was used for growing crops like Wheat and Barley.