Nile Delta

thumb|The Nile Delta at night as seen from the International Space Station in October 2010.
The Nile Delta (Arabic: دلتا النيل Delta n-Nīl or simply الدلتا ed-Delta) is the delta formed in Northern Egypt (Lower Egypt) where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the east, it covers 240 km (150 miles) of Mediterranean coastline—and is a rich agricultural region. From north to south the delta is approximately 160 km (99 miles) in length. The Delta begins slightly down-river from Cairo.
Indeed, the Nile Delta is an area of the world that lacks the detailed ground truth data and monitoring stations. Despite the economic importance of the Nile Delta, it could be considered as one of the most data-poor regions regarding to the available information.
==Geography==
From north to south, the delta is approximately 160 km (99 miles) in length. From west-to-east, it covers some 240 km (150 miles) of coastline. The delta is sometimes divided into sections, with the Nile dividing into two main distributaries, the Damietta and the Rosetta, flowing into the Mediterranean at port cities with the same name. 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.
The Suez Canal runs to the east of the delta, entering 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 Maryut.
The Nile is considered to be an "arcuate" delta (arc-shaped), as it resembles a triangle or flower when seen from above. 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 High 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 21 m (70 feet) in depth.
==History==
People have lived in the Delta region for thousands of years, and it has been intensively farmed for at least the last five thousand years. The Delta River used to flood on an annual basis, but this ended with the construction of the Aswan Dam.
===Ancient branches of the Nile===
Records from ancient times (such as by Pliny the Elder) show that the delta had seven distributaries (from east to west):
*the Pelusiac,
*the Tanitic (or Saitic),
*the Mendesian,
*the Phatnitic (or Phatmetic),Wilson, Ian. The Exodus Enigma (1985), page 46. London: Wiedenfeld & Nicolson.
*the Sebennytic,
*the Bolbitine, and
*the Canopic (also called the Herakleotice.g. at Callisthenes Alexander 1.31. and the Agathodaemon)
There are now only two main branches, due to flood control, silting and changing relief: the Damietta (corresponding to the Phatnitic) to the east, and the Rosetta (corresponding to the Bolbitine)Hayes, W. 'Most Ancient Egypt', p. 87, JNES, 23 (1964), 73-114. in the western part of the Delta.
The Rosetta Stone was found in the Nile Delta in 1799 in the port city of Rosetta (anglicized name of Rashid). The delta was a major constituent of Lower Egypt. The Biblical Land of Goshen was located in a small area on the west bank of the Pelusiac distributary. There are many archaeological sites in and around the Nile Delta.Location of the site, Kafr Hassan Dawood On-Line, with map of early sites of the delta.
====Canal of the Pharaohs====
The Canal of the Pharaohs, also called the Ancient Suez Canal or Necho's Canal, is the forerunner of the Suez Canal, constructed in ancient times. It followed a different course than its modern counterpart, by linking the Nile to the Red Sea via the Wadi Tumilat. Work began under the Pharaohs. According to Suez Inscriptions and Herodotus, the first opening of the canal was under Persian king Darius the Great, but later ancient authors like Aristotle, Strabo, and Pliny the Elder claim that he failed to complete the work.Schörner 2000, p. 31, 40, fn. 33 Another possibility is that it was finished in the Ptolemaic period under Ptolemy II, when Greek engineers solved the problem of overcoming the difference in height through canal locks.Moore 1950, pp. 99–101Froriep 1986, p. 46Schörner 2000, pp. 33–35
==Population==
About 39 million people live in the Delta region. Outside of major cities, population density in the delta averages 1,000 km 2 (2,600 square miles) 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 al Khaymah, Port Said, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, El Mansura, Tanta, and Zagazig.City Population website, citing Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics Egypt (web), accessed 11 April 1908.
==Wildlife==
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.
Several hundred thousand water birds 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.
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 Striped mullet and soles.
==Climate==
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 31°C (88 degrees Fahrenheit) in the summer. Only 100-200 mm (4-8 inches) 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 maximum average of 34°C (99 degrees Fahrenheit). Winter temperatures are normally in the range of 9°C (48 degrees Fahrenheit) at nights to 19°C (48 degrees Fahrenheit) in the daytime. With cooler temperatures and some rain, the Nile Delta region becomes quite humid during the winter months.
==Sea level==
Furthermore, Egypt’s Mediterranean coastline is being swallowed up by the sea because of global warming and the rise of the sea level, and the lack of sediments being deposited since the construction of the Aswan Dam, in some places as much as 90 m (100 yards) a year. As the polar ice caps melt, much of the northern delta, including the ancient port city of Alexandria, will disappear under the Mediterranean. Even a 30 cm (12 inches) rise in sea level will affect about 6.6 % of the total land cover area in the Nile Delta region; At 1 m SLR, an estimated 887 thousand people will be at risk of inundation and displacement and about 100 km2 (40 square miles) of vegetation, 16 km2 (10 square miles) wetland, 402 km2 (160 square miles) cropland, and 47 km2 (20 square miles) of urban area land would be destroyed , flooding approximately 450 km2 (170 square miles). The Nile Delta is turning into a salty wasteland by rising sea waters, forcing some farmers off their lands and others to import sand in a desperate bid to turn back the tide. Experts warn that global warming will have a major impact in the delta on agriculture resources, tourism and human migration besides shaking the region's fragile ecosystems. Environmental damage to the Nile Delta is not yet one of Egypt's priorities, but experts say if the situation continues to deteriorate, it will trigger massive food shortages which could turn seven million people into "climate refugees" by the end of the century if climate change remains unmitigated.
In addition to the effect that the dams on the Nile have had on the delta, there has been a tremendous human effect internally with the rise of fisheries, the increased salt production, the building of roads, the heightened agricultural production, and the natural increase in human population in the region.
==Governorates==
*Alexandria
*Beheira
*Kafr el Sheikh
*Gharbiya
*Minufiya
*Qalyubiya
*Dakahlia
*Damietta
*Sharqiyah
*Port Said
Large cities located in the Nile Delta:
*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
==References==
==External links==
*Keyway.ca:
Category:Egypt