Nile Delta#History

The Nile Delta, Northern Egypt

From north to south, the delta is approximately {{cvt|160|km|mi|sigfig=1}} in length. From west to east, it covers some {{cvt|240|km|mi}} of coastline. The delta is sometimes divided into sections, with the Nile dividing into two main distributaries, the Damietta and the Rosetta,{{cite book|author=John Cooper|title=The Medieval Nile: Route, Navigation, and Landscape in Islamic Egypt|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hYWlBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA34|date=30 September 2014|publisher=The American University in Cairo Press|isbn=978-977-416-614-3|page=76}} flowing into the Mediterranean at port cities with the same names. In the past, the delta had several distributaries, but these have been lost due to flood control, silting and changing relief. One such defunct distributary is Wadi Tumilat.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

File:Nile River and delta from orbit.jpg

The Suez Canal is east of the delta and enters the coastal Lake Manzala in the north-east of the delta. To the north-west are three other coastal lakes or lagoons: Lake Burullus, Lake Idku and Lake Mariout.

The Nile is considered to be an "arcuate" delta (arc-shaped), as it resembles a triangle or flower when seen from above. Aristotle speculated that the delta was constructed for agricultural purposes due to the drying of the region of Egypt.{{cite book |last1=Holz |first1=Robert K |title=Man-made landforms in the Nile delta |date=1969 |publisher=American Geographical Society |oclc=38826202 |language=en}}

In modern day, the outer edges of the delta are eroding, and some coastal lagoons have seen increasing salinity levels as their connection to the Mediterranean Sea increases. Since the delta no longer receives an annual supply of nutrients and sediments from upstream due to the construction of the Aswan Dam, the soils of the floodplains have become poorer, and large amounts of fertilizers are now used. Topsoil in the delta can be as much as {{cvt|70|ft|m|order=flip}} in depth.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

File: Nile Delta Surrounding.jpg

People have lived in the Nile Delta region for thousands of years, and it has been intensively farmed for at least the last five thousand years. The delta was a major constituent of Lower Egypt, and there are many archaeological sites in and around the delta.[http://www.e-c-h-o.org/khd/location.html Location of the site], Kafr Hassan Dawood On-Line, with a map of early sites of the delta. Artifacts belonging to ancient sites have been found on the delta's coast. The Rosetta Stone was found in the delta in 1799 in the port city of Rosetta (an anglicized version of the name Rashid). In July 2019 a small Greek temple, ancient granite columns, treasure-carrying ships, and bronze coins from the reign of Ptolemy II, dating back to the third and fourth centuries BC, were found at the sunken city of Heracleion, colloquially known as Egypt's Atlantis. The investigations were conducted by Egyptian and European divers led by the underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio. They also uncovered a devastated historic temple (the city's main temple) underwater off Egypt's north coast.{{Cite web|url=https://www.9news.com.au/world/ancient-egypt-news-underwater-archaeologist-discovery-treasures--subaquatic-temple-city-of-heracleion/265ba5c2-d31d-4e80-9487-d4475f86b8a3|title=Mysterious temple discovered in the ruins of sunken ancient city|website=www.9news.com.au|date=26 July 2019 |access-date=2019-08-17}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.livescience.com/66045-underwater-ancient-egypt-city-temple.html|title=Divers Find Remains of Ancient Temple in Sunken Egyptian City|last=History|first=Laura Geggel 2019-07-29T10:37:58Z|website=livescience.com|date=29 July 2019|language=en|access-date=2019-08-17}}{{Cite web|url=https://nosymedia.info/archaeologists-discover-a-sunken-ancient-settlement-underwater/1410/|title=Archaeologists discover a sunken ancient settlement underwater|last=Santos|first=Edwin|date=2019-07-28|website=Nosy Media|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190817155916/https://nosymedia.info/archaeologists-discover-a-sunken-ancient-settlement-underwater/1410/|archive-date=17 August 2019|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/ancient-egypt-underwater-cities-sunken-cities-temple-coins-jewelry-archaeology-1450695|title=Ancient Egypt: Underwater archaeologists uncover destroyed temple in the sunken city of Heracleion|last=EDT|first=Katherine Hignett On 7/23/19 at 11:06 AM|date=2019-07-23|website=Newsweek|language=en|access-date=2019-08-17}}

In January 2019 archaeologists led by Mostafa Waziri working in the Kom Al-Khelgan area of the Nile Delta discovered tombs from the Second Intermediate Period and burials from the Naqada II era. The burial site contained the remains of animals, amulets and scarabs carved from faience, round and oval pots with handles, flint knives, broken and burned pottery. All burials included skulls and skeletons in the bending position and were not very well-preserved.{{Cite web|title=3,500-Year-Old Tombs Unearthed in Egypt's Nile Delta - Archaeology Magazine|url=https://www.archaeology.org/news/7326-190124-nile-delta-tombs|access-date=2020-09-11|website=www.archaeology.org|date=24 January 2019 }}{{Cite web|title=Ancient tombs and prehistoric burials found in Nile Delta - Ancient Egypt - Heritage|url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/322326/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Ancient-tombs-and-prehistoric-burials-found-in-Nil.aspx|access-date=2020-09-11|website=Ahram Online|language=en}}

File:AncientEgyptJamesRennell01.jpg, according to James Rennell (1800)]]

Records from ancient times (such as by Ptolemy) reported that the delta had seven distributaries or branches, (from east to west):

• the Pelusiac
• the Tanitic
• the Mendesian
• the Phatnitic or Phatmetic (later the Damietta)
• the Sebennytic
• the Bolbitine (later the Rosetta)Hayes, W. 'Most Ancient Egypt', p. 87, Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 23 (1964), 73–114.
• the Canopic (also called the Herakleotic,e.g. at Callisthenes Alexander 1.31. Agathodaemon{{refn|e.g. in Ptolemy, Geography.}})

Source:{{Cite book |last=Cooper |first=John Peter |title=The Medieval Nile: Route, navigation and landscape in Islamic Egypt |year=2008 |pages=34}}

• Alexandrian (Schedia canal)
• Colynthin (Canopic)
• Agnu (Rosetta)
• Parollos (Burullus)
• Chasmatos (Baltim)
• Tamiathe (Damietta)
• Tenese (Tinnis)

Modern Egyptologists suggest that in the Pharaonic era there were at a time five main branches:{{cite book |last1=Shaw |first1=Ian |last2=Nicholson |first2=Paul |title=The Dictionary of Ancient Egypt |location=London |publisher=British Museum Press |date=1995 |page=83}}Margaret Bunson, Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Infobase Publishing, 2009, {{ISBN|1438109970}}, p. 98.

• the Pelusiac
• the Sebennytic
• the Canopic
• the Damietta
• the Rosetta

The first three have dried up over the centuries due to flood control, silting and changing relief, while the last two still exist today. The Delta used to flood annually, but this ended with the construction of the Aswan Dam.

File:Egypt 2010 population density1.png

About 39 million people live in the Delta region. Outside of major cities, population density in the delta averages {{cvt|1,000|PD/sqkm|abbr=off}} or more. Alexandria is the largest city in the delta with an estimated population of more than 4.5 million. Other large cities in the delta include Shubra El Kheima, Port Said, El Mahalla El Kubra, Mansura, Tanta, and Zagazig.[http://www.citypopulation.de/Egypt.html City Population website], citing Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics Egypt (web), accessed 11 April 1908.

File:Chlidonias hybrida 3 (Marek Szczepanek).jpg]]

During autumn, parts of the Nile River are red with lotus flowers. The Lower Nile (North) and the Upper Nile (South) have plants that grow in abundance. The Upper Nile plant is the Egyptian lotus, and the Lower Nile plant is the Papyrus Sedge (Cyperus papyrus), although it is not nearly as plentiful as it once was, and is becoming quite rare.{{cite iucn |author=Beentje, H.J. |author2=Lansdown, R.V. |date=2018 |title=Cyperus papyrus |volume=2018 |page=e.T164158A120152171 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T164158A120152171.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}

Several hundred thousand water birds spend their winter in the delta, including the world's largest concentrations of little gulls and whiskered terns. Other birds making their homes in the delta include grey herons, Kentish plovers, shovelers, cormorants, egrets and ibises.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

Other animals found in the delta include frogs, turtles, tortoises, mongooses, and the Nile monitor. Nile crocodiles and hippopotamus, two animals which were widespread in the delta during antiquity, are no longer found there. Fish found in the delta include the flathead grey mullet and soles.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

{{see also|Climate of Egypt|northern coast of Egypt}}

The Delta has a hot desert climate (Köppen: BWh) as the rest of Egypt, but its northernmost part, as is the case with the rest of the northern coast of Egypt which is the wettest region in the country, has relatively moderate temperatures, with highs usually not surpassing {{cvt|31|°C}} in the summer. Only {{cvt|100|-|200|mm|0}} of rain falls on the delta area during an average year, and most of this falls in the winter months. The delta experiences its hottest temperatures in July and August, with a maximum average of {{cvt|34|°C}}. Winter temperatures normally range from {{cvt|9|°C}} at nights to {{cvt|19|°C}} in the daytime. With cooler temperatures and some rain, the Nile Delta region becomes quite humid during the winter months.{{citation | title = Nile Delta Facts | date = 24 April 2017| url = https://sciencing.com/nile-delta-7289614.html}}

{{Further|Climate change in Egypt}}File:Egypt Population Density and Low Elevation Coastal Zones (5457306559).jpg. The Nile delta is especially vulnerable to sea level rise.]]

Egypt's Mediterranean coastline experiences significant loss of land to the sea, in some places amounting to {{cvt|100|yd|-1|order=flip}} a year. The low-lying Nile Delta area in particular is vulnerable to sea level rise associated with global warming.{{cite web|title=Global Warming Threatens Egypt's Coastlines and the Nile Delta|url=http://www.ecoworld.com/global-warming/global-warming-egypt.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929143417/http://www.ecoworld.com/global-warming/global-warming-egypt.html|archive-date=29 September 2011|date=25 September 2009|website=EcoWorld|access-date=22 August 2019}} This effect is exacerbated by the lack of sediments being deposited since the construction of the Aswan Dam. If the polar ice caps were to melt, much of the northern delta, including the ancient port city of Alexandria, could disappear under the Mediterranean. A {{cvt|30|cm|0}} rise in sea level could affect about 6.6% of the total land cover area in the Nile Delta region. At {{cvt|1|m|0}} sea level rise, an estimated 887 thousand people could be at risk of flooding and displacement and about {{cvt|100|km2|sqmi|-1}} of vegetation, {{cvt|16|km2|sqmi|-1}} wetland, {{cvt|402|km2|sqmi|-1}} cropland, and {{cvt|47|km2|sqmi|-1}} of urban area land could be destroyed,{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/s10661-015-4868-9 |pmid=26410824 |title=Investigation of potential sea level rise impact on the Nile Delta, Egypt using digital elevation models |journal=Environmental Monitoring and Assessment |volume=187 |issue=10 |pages=649 |year=2015 |last1=Hasan |first1=Emad |last2=Khan |first2=Sadiq Ibrahim |last3=Hong |first3=Yang |bibcode=2015EMnAs.187..649H |s2cid=207139887 }} flooding approximately {{cvt|450|km2|sqmi|-1}}.{{Cite web|url=http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2010/01/28/98672.html|title=Egypt's Nile Delta falls prey to climate change|date=28 January 2010}} Some areas of the Nile Delta's agricultural land have been rendered saline as a result of sea level rise; farming has been abandoned in some places, while in others sand has been brought in from elsewhere to reduce the effect. In addition to agriculture, the delta's ecosystems and tourist industry could be negatively affected by global warming. Food shortages resulting from climate change could lead to seven million "climate refugees" by the end of the 21st century. Nevertheless, environmental damage to the delta is not currently one of Egypt's priorities.{{cite news|title=Egypt fertile Nile Delta falls prey to climate change|url=http://news.egypt.com/en/201001288902/news/-egypt-news/egypt-fertile-nile-delta-falls-prey-to-climate-change.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209093815/http://news.egypt.com/en/201001288902/news/-egypt-news/egypt-fertile-nile-delta-falls-prey-to-climate-change.html|archive-date=9 February 2011|website=Egypt News|date=28 January 2010|access-date=22 August 2019}}

The delta's coastline has also undergone significant changes in geomorphology as a result of the reclamation of coastal dunes and lagoons to form new agricultural land and fish farms as well as the expansion of coastal urban areas.{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.geomorph.2007.06.025 |title=Human-induced changes in the geomorphology of the northeastern coast of the Nile delta, Egypt |journal=Geomorphology |volume=107 |issue=1 |pages=72–78 |year=2009 |last1=El Banna |first1=Mahmoud M. |last2=Frihy |first2=Omran E. |bibcode=2009Geomo.107...72E }}

The Nile Delta forms part of these 10 governorates:

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}

• Alexandria
• Beheira
• Kafr el Sheikh
• Gharbiya
• Minufiya
• Qalyubiya
• Dakahlia
• Damietta
• Sharqiyah
• Port Said

{{div col end}}

Large cities located in the Nile Delta:

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}

• Abusir
• Alexandria
• Avaris
• Bilbeis
• Bubastis
• Canopus
• Damanhur
• Desouk
• Damietta
• El Mahalla El Kubra
• Kafr El Sheikh
• Leontopolis
• Mendes
• Mit Abu El Kom
• Mansoura
• Naucratis
• Pelusium
• Port Said
• Rosetta
• Sais
• Tanis
• Tanta
• Zagazig

{{div col end}}

{{reflist}}

{{commons category|Nile Delta|
Nile Delta}}

{{Portal|Ancient Egypt}}

• {{WWF ecoregion|id=pa0904|name=Nile Delta flooded savanna}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120325182808/http://www.adaptationlearning.net/project/adaptation-climate-change-nile-delta-through-integrated-coastal-zone-management Adaptationlearning.net: UN project for managing sea level rise risks in the Nile Delta]
• {{cite web|url=http://www.keyway.ca/htm2000/20000911.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100802162531/http://www.keyway.ca/htm2000/20000911.htm|archive-date=2 August 2010|title=The Nile Delta|website=Keyway Bible Study|url-status=dead}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2019}}

{{Regions of Africa}}

{{Egypt topics}}

{{Authority control}}

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*Delta

Category:River deltas of Africa

Category:Landforms of Egypt

Category:Landforms of the Mediterranean

Category:Flooded grasslands and savannas

Category:Freshwater ecoregions of Africa

Category:Ecoregions of Egypt

Category:Eastern Mediterranean