Download Physiographic Features of Egypt

EGYPT
Physiographic Features of Egypt
Map of Egypt’s Physiographic Features
NUBIAN DESERT
Nubian Desert
The Nubian Desert is located in northeast Africa,
between the Nile River and the Red Sea. It is an
approximately 97,000 square mile region of the Sahara
Desert. Primarily a sandstone plateau, this arid (dry)
region has numerous wadis, or dry watercourses, which
fill with water that flows to the Nile during periods of
heavy rainfall. The ancient Kushites mined copper and
gold from this desert, and traded these metals to Egypt
for linen and grain.
NILE DELTA
NILE DELTA
The delta of the Nile River is a triangle shaped region
located north of Cairo, in northeastern Egypt.
Originally, as many as seven branches of the Nile
wound through the delta. The delta contains sixty
percent of Egypt’s cultivated land (farmland), large
areas of marshy wetlands, and shallow lakes. During
ancient times, the Egyptians took advantage of the
region’s rich soil, gentle winds, and level landscape to
develop an extremely productive agricultural system.
ARABIAN DESERT
ARABIAN DESERT
The Arabian Desert is the eastern desert of Egypt. It
runs from the Nile River in the west to the Red Sea
and the Gulf of Suez in the east. The desert is
mountainous and rutted by deep, dry riverbeds. The
ancient Egyptians used its abundant quarries of
granite, feldspar, and other materials for many of their
building projects.
NILE RIVER
NILE RIVER
The Nile River is the longest river in the world,
stretching 4,160 miles. It flows northward from its
headstream in Central Africa to its delta on the
Mediterranean Sea. The Nile runs through parts of
Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda,
Burundi, and Zaire. At six different places along the
Nile, crystalline rocks form cataracts, or stretches of
rapids and waterfalls that are not navigable. According
to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, Egypt was
“the gift of the Nile” because its waters supported large
scale agriculture, made transportation easier, and
provided a variety of edible plants and animals.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA
MEDITERRANEAN SEA
The Mediterranean Sea is the world’s largest inland
sea. Surrounded by Europe, Africa, and Asia, it covers
an area approximately of nine hundred and sixty-five
thousand square miles. The Mediterranean Sea
connects with the Atlantic Ocean and the Black Sea by
way of the Aegean Sea. The shores of the sea are
mainly mountainous. Many species of fish, sponges,
and coral are abundant in the sea. The ancient
Egyptians were originally afraid to sail on the
Mediterranean, and so they relied on traders from other
lands to bring them goods from Anatolia (Turkey) and
Canaan. Eventually, the Egyptians got over their fear
and sailed the Mediterranean Sea doing their own
trading.
LIBYAN DESERT
LIBYAN DESERT
The Libyan Desert is the northeastern part of Africa’s
Sahara Desert, the largest desert in the world. The
Libyan Desert covers parts of southwestern Egypt,
eastern Libya, and northwestern Sudan. The region
consists primarily of sand dunes, course, stony
plains, and plateaus of bare rock. Although its hot,
dry climate is harsher and more forbidding than that
of Egypt’s eastern deserts, the oases of this region
were known in ancient times for their wines and
agricultural products.
Settling Egypt
Settling Ancient Egypt
1) Where did most people in Egypt settle?
Most Egyptians settled along the Nile River.
2) What are resources the Nile provided/gave to the Egyptians?
The Nile provides farmable soil from when it flooded, water for
bathing/drinking/etc., fish, ducks, geese, and papyrus.
3) What is a shaduf and why was it important to Egyptian farmers?
A shaduf is a device Egyptian farmers used to irrigate their cultivated fields. It
was important because they could water their plants with fresh water to keep
their fields fertile.
4) What are two reasons why the Egyptians did not have to worry about
fighting many enemies?
The Egyptians did not have to worry about fighting many enemies because they
were protected on 3 sides by deserts and they had plenty of farmland and did not
have to conquer others to get more.
5) What are the positive and negative aspects of settling in Egypt?
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river flooded predictably
relying on a river
rich soil near river
dry environment
protected by deserts
have to irrigate
plenty of resources
UNIFICATION OF EGYPT
PARTS of EGYPT
UPPER EGYPT
LOWER EGYPT
• southern Egypt
• northern Egypt
• over 500 miles long
• It is the Nile Delta
• first cataract northward • 100 miles long but very
to the Nile Delta
wide
Unification
1) Which Egyptian king united Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt and which part of
Egypt was he from?
Narmer united Upper and Lower Egypt and he was from Upper Egypt
2) What was the title given to the king/ruler of Egypt?
The king/ruler of Egypt was known as the “Pharaoh”
3) What did the Egyptians believe their ruler was?
The Egyptians believed their ruler was a god
4) What were the two responsibilities of the pharaoh?
keep Egyptian society in order
protect Egypt from its enemies
5) Ancient Egypt was ruled by over thirty different dynasties. What is a dynasty?
A dynasty is a series of rulers from the same family
KINGDOMS
Dates
Prehistoric
Egypt
Old
Kingdom
Middle
Kingdom
New
Kingdom
3700 – 2700
BCE
2686 – 2181
BCE
2055 – 1650
BCE
1570 – 1070
BCE
Age of
Pyramids
Period of
Reunification
Egypt’s
Golden Age
•Built the
Great
Pyramids
•Became strong •Became a
again
world power
•Achievements
by
in literature, art
conquering
and architecture others
Nickname
Important
Achievements
•Irrigation
•Formed
Government
•Hieroglyphs
PYRAMIDS
STEP PYRAMID
BENT PYRAMID
Great Pyramid of Khufu
GREAT SPHINX
Pyramid of Khafre
Other Buildings with the Pyramids
Pyramid Construction
More Construction
Stop Building
A mastaba is a bench shaped mound tomb built
for the burial of early Egyptian pharaohs
The Great Pyramid at Giza’s base covers 13 acres
and the pyramid rises 450 feet into the air. It is 30
times larger then the Empire State building
The Sphinx is a massive statue of a lion with the
head of a pharaoh
Temples, chapels, other tombs, massive walls,
and smaller pyramids can be found at the pyramid
site
The Pyramid Texts have been a source of great
information about Egyptian rulers and religion
Pyramids are considered earthquake proof
because their corner stones have ball and socket
joints that allowed them to expand and contract
with movement
A stone gets to the pyramid site by:
*being placed on a raft and floated down the
Nile to the site
*moved on rolling logs called sledges to the
pyramid
*brought up ramps to be positioned on the
pyramid
The pyramids were built by ordinary citizens as
part of their tax payment to the government
Pyramid building was stopped because it was
expensive, it took a lot of time, and the pyramids
did not keep the pharaoh safe in death