Geography of Ancient Egypt
- Upper Egypt was located upriver of the Nile (Nile River is pictured above)
- Lower Egypt was located downriver of the Nile
- On both sides of the Nile lay 13 miles of fertile black desert sands
- Throughout the Nile River, rough rapids would cause cataracts to form which made it very difficult to sail in those areas
- In Lower Egypt, the Nile River divided up into separate streams making a marsh area called the Nile Delta
- Ancient Egyptians created an irrigation system that directed the Nile's water to their fields
- Natural barriers throughout Egypt protected them from invaders
- In the west, the harsh deserts were too hot to cross
- To the north, the Mediterranean Sea kept invaders from crossing into Egypt
- East of Egypt, much more deserts and the Red Sea kept invaders out
- To the south, cataracts in the NIle made it hard for invaders to enter Egypt by sailing on or over the Nile