Herodotus
described Egypt as ‘the gift of the Nile’
and for millennia the Nile Valley and the Delta was
Egypt. The harsh deserts that form most of modern
Egypt were not considered.
Together the river and its delta form a typical river
oasis. From Lake Nasser in the south to the apex of
the Delta roughly at Cairo in the north, the Nile
Valley averages 10km in width. The Delta is 166km
from its apex to the Mediterranean coast and is 250km
wide.
Today, after at least 7,000 years of human activity,
this river oasis is essentially a man-made ecosystem
and the area is extensively cultivated.
The fertile soil of the Nile Valley and the Delta
nurtures an enormous variety of fruits and vegetables
that originated far from Egypt. Plants that do well
in cooler weather are grown during the winter months
while others thrive in the warm summer temperatures.
Native plants also thrive in this habitat, which is
home to six species that are endemic to this zone
and three endemics that are found in other eco-zones
of Egypt as well.
Lake Nasser is the name of the northern portion of
the reservoir that formed after the Aswan High Dam
was built. Although Lake Nasser covers an area of
5248km2 its surface area fluctuates according to the
volume of the annual Nile flood. Numerous dendritic
extensions of the lake are the flooded lower portions
of wadis that drain into the Nile Valley. These extensions
are known as khors and some of them extend for many
kilometers into the desert. The shores and islands
of this lake often support dense vegetation.
