Satellite image of Egypt, generated from raster graphics data supplied by The Map Library

Geography of Egypt: coastlines, Nile & national borders.

The Geography of Egypt can be split into two general sections. Egypt is located in North Africa; however, it includes the Sinai Peninsula, which is considered part of Southwest Asia. Therefore, Egypt is located in both North Africa and Southwest Asia. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1334x1192, 2502 KB) ECW to TIFF to PNG (compression level 9). ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1334x1192, 2502 KB) ECW to TIFF to PNG (compression level 9). ... Suppose the smiley face in the top left corner is an RGB bitmap image. ... Satellite image of Congo, generated from raster graphics data supplied by The Map Library. ... Image File history File links Egypt-region-map-cities. ... Image File history File links Egypt-region-map-cities. ... The Nile (Arabic: ‎, translit: , Ancient Egyptian iteru, Coptic piaro or phiaro) is a major north-flowing river in Africa, generally regarded as the longest river, though not the most voluminous, in the world. ...  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent. ... Sinai Peninsula, Gulf of Suez (west), Gulf of Aqaba (east) from Space Shuttle STS-40 For other uses of the word Sinai, please see: Sinai (disambiguation). ...  Southwest Asia in most contexts. ...

Egypt has shorelines on the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. It borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt, covering 1,001,449 square kilometers of land, is about the same size as Texas and New Mexico combined, four times the size of the UK and double that of France. Its longest distance from north to south is 1,024 kilometers, and from east to west is 1,240 kilometers. Egypt's natural boundaries consist of more than 2,900 kilometers of coastline along the Mediterranean Sea, the Gulf of Suez, the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea. Composite satellite image of the Mediterranean Sea. ... Location of the Red Sea The Red Sea is an inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. ... Official language(s) English (de facto) See also languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 268,581 sq mi (695,622 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Area  Ranked 5th  - Total 121,665 sq mi (315,194 km²)  - Width 342 miles (550 km)  - Length 370 miles (595 km)  - % water 0. ... Composite satellite image of the Mediterranean Sea. ... Sinai Peninsula, Gulf of Suez(west), Gulf of Aqaba(east) from Space Shuttle STS-40. ... Sinai Peninsula, with the Gulf of Aqaba (east) and the Gulf of Suez (west), as viewed from the Space Shuttle STS-40. ... Location of the Red Sea The Red Sea is an inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. ...

Egypt's geographic coordinates are 27°00′N 30°00′E.

Boundaries

Egypt has land boundaries with Israel, Libya, Sudan, and the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip is a Palestinian area formerly administered by Egypt and, since 1967, occupied by Israel. The land boundaries are generally straight lines that do not conform to geographic features such as rivers. The term Palestinian has other usages, for which see definitions of Palestinian. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... River Gambia flowing through Niokolokoba National Park A river is a large natural waterway. ...

Egypt shares its longest boundary, which extends 1,273 km (791 miles), with Sudan. In accordance with the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium Agreement of 1899, this boundary runs westward from the Red Sea along the twenty-second parallel, includes the Sudanese Nile salient (Wadi Halfa salient), and continues along the twenty-second parallel until it meets the twenty-fifth meridian. The Sudanese Nile salient, a finger-shape area along the Nile River (Nahr an Nil) north of the twenty-second parallel, is nearly covered by Lake Nasser, which was created when the Aswan High Dam was constructed in the 1960s. An "administrative" boundary, which supplements the main Egyptian-Sudanese boundary permits nomadic tribes to gain access to water holes at the eastern end of Egypt's southern frontier. The administrative boundary departs from the international boundary in two places; Egypt administers the area south of the twenty-second parallel, and Sudan administers the area north of it. KM, Km, or km may stand for: Khmer language (ISO 639 alpha-2, km) Kilometre Kinemantra Meditation Knowledge management KM programming language KM Culture, Korean Movie Maker. ... Map of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Anglo-Egyptian Sudan was the name of Sudan between 1899 and 1956, when it was a condominium of the United Kingdom and Egypt (which was then under British influence). ... Year 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... Location of the Red Sea The Red Sea is an inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. ... In military terms, a salient is a battlefield feature that projects into enemy territory. ... Wadi Halfa is a town in Northern State, Sudan, on the shores of Lake Nuba (the Sudanese section of Lake Nasser). ... View of Lake Nasser from Abu Simbel Map showing the location of Lake Nasser Lake Nasser (Arabic: Buhayrat Nasir) is a vast artificial lake in southern Egypt and northern Sudan. ... Map of Egypt showing the location of Aswan and Lake Nasser. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ...

Egypt shares all 1,150 km (714 miles) of the western border with Libya. This border was defined in 1925 under an agreement with Italy, which had colonized Libya. Before and after World War II, the northern border was adjusted, resulting in the return of the village of As Sallum to Egyptian sovereignty. Egypt shares 255 km (158 miles) of its eastern border in Sinai with Israel and 11 km (6.8 miles) with the Gaza Strip. KM, Km, or km may stand for: Khmer language (ISO 639 alpha-2, km) Kilometre Kinemantra Meditation Knowledge management KM programming language KM Culture, Korean Movie Maker. ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000,000 Total dead: 50,000,000 Military dead: 8,000,000 Civilian dead: 4,000,000 Total dead 12,000,000 World War II (abbreviated WWII), or the Second World War, was a worldwide conflict... KM, Km, or km may stand for: Khmer language (ISO 639 alpha-2, km) Kilometre Kinemantra Meditation Knowledge management KM programming language KM Culture, Korean Movie Maker. ... Sinai Peninsula, Gulf of Suez (west), Gulf of Aqaba (east) from Space Shuttle STS-40 For other uses of the word Sinai, please see: Sinai (disambiguation). ... KM, Km, or km may stand for: Khmer language (ISO 639 alpha-2, km) Kilometre Kinemantra Meditation Knowledge management KM programming language KM Culture, Korean Movie Maker. ...

Governorates

Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (sometimes called provinces), which include four city governorates: Alexandria (Al Iskandariyah), Cairo (Al Qahirah), Port Said (Bur Said) and Suez. Also included are the nine governorates of Lower Egypt in the Nile Delta region, the eight governorates of Upper Egypt along the Nile River south from Cairo to Aswan, and the five frontier governorates covering Sinai and the deserts that lie west and east of the Nile. A governorate is a country subdivision. ... A province is a territorial unit, almost always a country subdivision. ... This article is about the city in Egypt. ... Categories: Africa geography stubs | Governorates of Egypt ... Nickname: Al Qahirah (The Triumphant City) Cairos location in Egypt Coordinates: Governor Dr. Abdul Azim Wazir Area    - City 210 km²  - Metro 1,492 km² Population (2005)  - City 7,438,376  - Density 35,420/km²  - Urban 10,834,495  - Metro 15,200,000 Time zone EET (UTC+2)  - Summer (DST... For other uses, see Cairo (disambiguation). ... Port Said (postcard around 1915) Port Said (31. ... SUEZ (Euronext: SZE, NYSE: SZE) is a leading French-based multinational corporation, with operations primarily in water, electricity and natural gas supply, and waste management. ... Map of Upper and Lower Egypt Ancient Egypt was divided into two kingdoms, known as Upper and Lower Egypt. ... NASA satellite photograph of the Nile Delta (shown in false colour) The Nile Delta (Arabic:دلتا النيل) is the delta formed in Northern Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. ... Map of Upper and Lower Egypt Ancient Egypt was divided into two kingdoms, known as Upper and Lower Egypt. ... There is also Nile, a death metal band from South Carolina, USA. The Nile in Egypt Length 6 695 km Elevation of the source 1 134 m Average discharge 2 830 m³/s Area watershed 3 400 000 km² Origin Africa Mouth the Mediterranean Basin countries Uganda - Sudan - Egypt The... Aswan (Arabic: أسوان Aswān) (, population 200,000) is a city in the south of Egypt, the capital of the Aswan Governorate. ...

All governorates, except the frontier ones, are in the Nile Delta or along the Nile Valley and Suez Canal. NASA satellite photograph of the Nile Delta (shown in false colour) The Nile Delta (Arabic:دلتا النيل) is the delta formed in Northern Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. ... ... Ships moored at El Ballah during transit Egypt: Site of Suez Canal (top). ...

Natural regions

Egypt is predominantly desert. An area of only 35,000 square kilometers - 3.5 % of the total land area - is cultivated and permanently settled. Most of the country lies within the wide band of desert that stretches from Africa's Atlantic Coast across the continent and into southwest Asia. Erg Chebbi, Morocco In geography, a desert is a landscape form or region that receives very little precipitation. ... Farming, ploughing rice paddy, in Indonesia Agriculture is the process of producing food, feed, fiber and other desired products by cultivation of certain plants and the raising of domesticated animals (livestock). ... The Atlantic Ocean is Earths second-largest ocean, covering approximately one_fifth of its surface. ... Color-coded regions of the world based on the seven commonly-recognised continents Dymaxion map by Buckminster Fuller shows land masses with minimal distortion as nearly one continuous continent A continent is one of several large landmasses on Earth. ...

Egypt's geological history has produced four major physical regions: the Nile Valley and Delta, the Western Desert (also known as the Libyan Desert), the Eastern Desert (also known as the Arabian Desert), and the Sinai Peninsula. Despite covering only about 5.5% of the total area of Egypt, the Nile Valley and Delta are the most important regions, being the country's only cultivable regions and supporting about 99% of the population. Geology (from Greek γη- (ge-, the earth) and λογος (logos, word, reason)) is the science and study of the Earth, its composition, structure, physical properties, history, and the processes that shape it. ... The Western Desert is a desert region West of the Nile in Egypt, extending to Libya. ... Desert landscape in Southern Libya The Libyan Desert (Arabic: الصحراء الليبية) is an African desert that is located in the northern and eastern part of the Sahara Desert and occupies southwestern Egypt, eastern Libya and northwestern Sudan. ... The template of this page is being worked at Wikipedia:WikiProject Ecoregions/Template. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Nile Valley and Delta

Nile delta, and the entire course of the Nile

The Nile Valley and Delta, the most extensive oasis on earth, was created by the world's second-longest river and its seemingly inexhaustible sources. Without the topographic channel that permits the Nile to flow across the Sahara, Egypt would be entirely desert. The Nile River traverses about 1,600 kilometers through Egypt and flows northward from the Egyptian-Sudanese border to the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is a combination of three long rivers whose sources are in central Africa: the White Nile, the Blue Nile, and the Atbarah. Download high resolution version (400x2325, 131 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (400x2325, 131 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Oasis in the Libyan part of the Sahara In geography, an oasis (plural: oases) is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source. ... Topography, a term in geography, has come to refer to the lay of the land, or the physiogeographic characteristics of land in terms of elevation, slope, and orientation. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Canal. ... The White Nile is a river of Africa, one of the two main tributaries of the Nile, the other being the Blue Nile. ... Map of the Blue Nile (in Spanish) The Blue Nile (Amharic: ዓባይ; transliterated: abay; Arabic: النيل الأزرق; transliterated: an-Nīl al-Āzraq) is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. ... Location of Atbarah within Sudan Atbarah (sometimes Atbara) (Arabic: عطبرة) is a town of 87,878 (1993) located in the state of River Nile in northeastern Sudan. ...

The White Nile, which begins at Lake Victoria in Uganda, supplies about 28% of the Nile's waters in Egypt. In its course from Lake Victoria to Juba in southern Sudan, the elevation of the White Nile's channel drops more than 600 meters. In its 1,600-kilometer course from Juba to Khartoum, Sudan's capital, the river descends only 75 meters. In southern and central Sudan, the White Nile passes through a wide, flat plain covered with swamp vegetation and slows almost to stagnation. Lake Victoria or Victoria Nyanza (also known as Ukerewe and Nalubaale) is one of the Great Lakes of Africa. ... Juba (or Iuba) was a Roman cognomen, originally used by kings of Numidia. ... For other uses, see Khartoum (disambiguation). ... A freshwater swamp This article is about the wetland type (a landform). ... Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants, and is, by far, the most abundant biotic element of the biosphere. ... Water stagnation occurs when water stops flowing. ...

The Blue Nile, which originates at Lake Tana in Ethiopia, provides an average of 58% of the Nile's waters in Egypt. It has a steeper gradient and flows more swiftly than the White Nile, which it joins at Khartoum. Unlike the White Nile, the Blue Nile carries a considerable amount of sediment. For several kilometers north of Khartoum, water closer to the eastern bank of the river is visibly muddy and comes from the Blue Nile, while the water closer to the western bank is clearer and comes from the White Nile. Lake Tana (also spelled Tana, Amharic: ጣና ሐይቅ Ṭānā Hāyḳ,Lake Tana, originally Tsana, Geez ጻና Ṣānā; sometimes called Dembiya after the region to the north of the lake) is the source of the Blue Nile and is the largest lake in Ethiopia. ... Sediment is any particulate matter that can be transported by fluid flow and which eventually is deposited as a layer of solid particles on the bed or bottom of a body of water or other liquid. ... In computer gaming, a MUD (Multi-User Dungeon or Domain or Dimension) is a multi-player computer game that combines elements of role-playing games, hack and slash style computer games and social chat rooms. ...

The much shorter Atbarah River, which also originates in Ethiopia, joins the main Nile north of Khartoum between the fifth and sixth cataracts (areas of steep rapids) and provides about 14% of the Nile's waters in Egypt. During the low-water season, which runs from January to June, the Atbarah shrinks to a number of pools. But, in late-summer, when torrential rains fall on the Ethiopian plateau, the Atbarah provides 22% of the Nile's flow. Hopetoun Falls near Otway National Park, Victoria, Australia A waterfall is usually a geological formation resulting from water, often in the form of a stream, flowing over an erosion-resistant rock formation that forms a sudden break in elevation. ... Ethiopia is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered on the north and northeast by Eritrea, on the east by Djibouti and Somalia, on the south by Kenya, and on the west and southwest by Sudan. ...

The Blue Nile has a similar pattern. It contributes 17% of the Nile's waters in the low-water season and 68% during the high-water season. In contrast, the White Nile provides only 10% of the Nile's waters during the high-water season but contributes more than 80% during the low-water period. Thus, before the Aswan High Dam was completed in 1971, the White Nile watered the Egyptian stretch of the river throughout the year, whereas the Blue Nile, carrying seasonal rain from Ethiopia, caused the Nile to overflow its banks and deposit a layer of fertile mud over adjacent fields. The great flood of the main Nile usually occurred in Egypt during August, September, and October, but it sometimes began as early as June at Aswan and often did not completely wane until January. Map of Egypt showing the location of Aswan and Lake Nasser. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... Aswan (Arabic: أسوان Aswān) (, population 200,000) is a city in the south of Egypt, the capital of the Aswan Governorate. ...

The Nile enters Egypt a few kilometers north of Wadi Halfa, a Sudanese town that was completely rebuilt on high ground when its original site was submerged in the reservoir created by the Aswan High Dam. As a result of the dam's construction, the Nile actually begins its flow into Egypt as Lake Nasser, which extends south from the dam 320 kilometers to the border and an additional 158 kilometers into Sudan. Lake Nasser's waters fill the area through Lower Nubia (Upper Egypt and northern Sudan) within the narrow gorge between the cliffs of sandstone and granite created by the flow of the river over many centuries. Below Aswan the cultivated floodplain strip widens to as much as twenty kilometers. North of Isna (160 kilometers north of Aswan), the plateau on both sides of the valley rises as high as 550 meters above sea level; at Qina (about 90 kilometers north of Isna) the 300-meter limestone cliffs force the Nile to change course to the southwest for about 60 kilometers before turning northwest for about 160 kilometers to Asyut. Northward from Asyut, the escarpments on both sides diminish, and the valley widens to a maximum of twenty-two kilometers. The Nile reaches the Delta at Cairo. Wadi Halfa is a town in Northern State, Sudan, on the shores of Lake Nuba (the Sudanese section of Lake Nasser). ... ... View of Lake Nasser from Abu Simbel Map showing the location of Lake Nasser Lake Nasser (Arabic: Buhayrat Nasir) is a vast artificial lake in southern Egypt and northern Sudan. ... Lower Nubia is the northern portion of Nubia, downstream on the Nile from Upper Nubia. ... A gorge is a narrow passage between steep mountains or hills. ... geography, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. ... Red sandstone interior of Lower Antelope Canyon, Arizona, worn smooth due to erosion by flash flooding over millions of years Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-size mineral or rock grains. ... Quarrying granite for the Mormon Temple, Utah Territory. ... Gravel floodplain of a glacial river near the Snow Mountains in Alaska, 1902. ... In geology, an escarpment is a transition zone between different physiogeographic provinces that involves an elevation differential, often involving high cliffs. ...

At Cairo, the Nile spreads out over what was once a broad estuary that has been filled by silt deposits to form a fertile, fan-shape delta about 250 kilometers wide at the seaward base and about 160 kilometers from north to south. The Nile Delta extends over approximately 22,000 square kilometers (roughly equivalent in area to Massachusetts). According to historical accounts from the first century A.D., seven branches of the Nile once ran through the Delta. According to later accounts, the Nile had only six branches by around the twelfth century. Since then, nature and man have closed all but two main outlets: the east branch, Damietta (also seen as Dumyat; 240 kilometers long), and the west branch, Rosetta (235 kilometers long). Both outlets are named after the ports located at their mouths. A network of drainage and irrigation canals supplements these remaining outlets. In the north near the coast, the Delta embraces a series of salt marshes and lakes. The most notable among them are Idku, Al Burullus, and Manzilah. Estuaries and coastal waters are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth, providing ecological, economic, cultural, and aesthetic benefits. ... Nile River delta, as seen from Earth orbit. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... Damietta is a port in Dumyat, Egypt on the Mediterranean Sea at the Nile delta, about 200 kilometres north of Cairo. ... Rosetta Rosetta is the anglicised name of the city of Rashid, a harbor on the Mediterranean coast in Egypt. ... Categories: Stub | Commercial item transport and distribution | Transportation ... Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from a given area. ... High-altitude aerial view of irrigation in the Heart of the Sahara ( ) Irrigation is the replacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops or plants. ... Categories: Water-transport stubs | Canals | Water transport ... This article is about marsh, a type of wetland. ... Lake Clearwater, Ontario, Canada A lake is a large body of water, usually fresh water, surrounded by land. ... Idku, also spelt Edkou is a town in al-Buhayrah, Egypt. ...

The fertility and productivity of the land adjacent to the Nile depends largely on the silt deposited by floodwaters. Archaeological research indicates that people once lived at a much higher elevation along the river than they do today, probably because the river was higher or the floods more severe. The timing and the amount of annual flow were always unpredictable. Measurements of annual flows as low as 1.2 billion cubic meters and as high as 4.25 billion cubic meters have been recorded. For centuries Egyptians attempted to predict and take advantage of the flows and moderate the severity of floods. Silt is soil or rock derived granular material of a specific grain size. ... Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ...

The construction of dams on the Nile, particularly the Aswan High Dam, transformed the mighty river into a large and predictable irrigation ditch. Lake Nasser, the world's largest artificial lake, has enabled planned use of the Nile regardless of the amount of rainfall in Central Africa and East Africa. The dams have also affected the Nile Valley's fertility, which was dependent for centuries not only on the water brought to the arable land but also on the materials left by the water. Researchers have estimated that beneficial silt deposits in the valley began about 10,000 years ago. The average annual deposit of arable soil through the course of the river valley was about nine meters. Analysis of the flow revealed that 10.7 million tons of solid matter passed Cairo each year. Today the Aswan High Dam obstructs most of this sediment, which is now retained in Lake Nasser. The reduction in annual silt deposits has contributed to rising water tables and increasing soil salinity in the Delta, the erosion of the river's banks in Upper Egypt, and the erosion of the alluvial fan along the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. DAMS is a racing team from France, involved in many areas of motorsports. ... High-altitude aerial view of irrigation in the Heart of the Sahara ( ) Irrigation is the replacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops or plants. ... Ditches at the Ouse Washes nature reserve. ...  Eastern Africa (UN subregion)  East African Community  Central African Federation (defunct)  geographic, including above East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easternmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. ... Fertility is the ability of people or animals to produce healthy offspring in abundance, and of the earth to bear fruit. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Map of Upper and Lower Egypt Ancient Egypt was divided into two kingdoms, known as Upper and Lower Egypt. ... Alluvial Fan in Death Valley An alluvial fan is a fan-shaped deposit formed where a fast flowing stream flattens, slows, and spreads typically at the exit of a canyon onto a flatter plain. ...

Western Desert

The Western Desert covers about 700,000 square kilometers (equivalent in size to Texas) and accounts for about two-thirds of Egypt's land area. This immense desert to the west of the Nile spans the area from the Mediterranean Sea south to the Sudanese border. The desert's Jilf al Kabir Plateau has an altitude of about 1,000 meters, an exception to the uninterrupted territory of basement rocks covered by layers of horizontally bedded sediments forming a massive plain or low plateau. The Great Sand Sea lies within the desert's plain and extends from the Siwa Oasis to Jilf al Kabir. Scarps (ridges) and deep depressions (basins) exist in several parts of the Western Desert, and no rivers or streams drain into or out of the area. Official language(s) English (de facto) See also languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 268,581 sq mi (695,622 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... Desert landscape in Southern Libya The Libyan Desert (Arabic: الصحراء الليبية) is an African desert that is located in the northern and eastern part of the Sahara Desert and occupies southwestern Egypt, eastern Libya and northwestern Sudan. ... The Siwa Oasis is an oasis in Egypt, located between the Qattara Depression and the Egyptian Sand Sea in the Libyan Desert. ... In geology, a scarp is a type of cliff. ...

The government has considered the Western Desert a frontier region and has divided it into two governorates at about the twenty-eighth parallel: Matruh to the north and New Valley (Al Wadi al Jadid) to the south. There are seven important depressions in the Western Desert, and all are considered oases except the largest, Qattara, the water of which is salty. The Qattara Depression is approximately 15,000 square kilometers (about the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island) and is largely below sea level (its lowest point is 133 meters below sea level). Badlands, salt marshes, and salt lakes cover the sparsely inhabited Qattara Depression. Categories: Africa geography stubs | Governorates of Egypt ... The Qattara Depression (Arabic: ‎ Munkhafad al-Qattarah) is a desert basin within the Libyan Desert of north-western Egypt. ... The Qattara Depression (local: Munkhafad al-Qattarah) is a desert basin within the Libyan Desert of north-western Egypt. ... The Chinle Badlands at Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. ...

Limited agricultural production, the presence of some natural resources, and permanent settlements are found in the other six depressions, all of which have fresh water provided by the Nile or by local groundwater. The Siwah Oasis, close to the Libyan border and west of Qattara, is isolated from the rest of Egypt but has sustained life since ancient times. The Siwa's cliff-hung Temple of Amun was renowned for its oracles for more than 1,000 years. Herodotus and Alexander the Great were among the many illustrious people who visited the temple in the pre-Christian era. A community usually refers to a group of people who interact and share certain things as a group, but it can refer to various collections of organisms sharing an environment, plant or animal. ... Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of geologic formations. ... Precinct of Amun-Re, located near Luxor, Egypt, is one of the four main enclosed areas that make up the immense Karnak Temple Complex. ... Bust of Herodotus Herodotus of Halicarnassus (in Greek, , Herodotos Halikarnasseus) was a Dorian Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BC (484 BC–ca. ... Alexander the Great (Greek: ,[1] Megas Alexandros; July 356 BC–June 11, 323 BC), also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon (336–323 BC), was one of the most successful military commanders in history. ...

The other major oases form a topographic chain of basins extending from the Al Fayyum Oasis (sometimes called the Fayyum Depression) which lies sixty kilometers southwest of Cairo, south to the Bahariya, Farafirah, and Dakhilah oases before reaching the country's largest oasis, Kharijah. A brackish lake, Birket Qarun, at the northern reaches of Al Fayyum Oasis, drained into the Nile in ancient times. For centuries sweetwater artesian wells in the Fayyum Oasis have permitted extensive cultivation in an irrigated area that extends over 1,800 square kilometers (694 square miles). Oasis in the Libyan part of the Sahara In geography, an oasis is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source. ... Topography, a term in geography, has come to refer to the lay of the land, or the physiogeographic characteristics of land in terms of elevation, slope, and orientation. ... Basin has several meanings: Look up basin in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Al Fayyum or El Faiyûm (Arabic: الفيوم ) is the capital of Al Fayyum Governorate, Egypt. ... Nickname: Al Qahirah (The Triumphant City) Cairos location in Egypt Coordinates: Governor Dr. Abdul Azim Wazir Area    - City 210 km²  - Metro 1,492 km² Population (2005)  - City 7,438,376  - Density 35,420/km²  - Urban 10,834,495  - Metro 15,200,000 Time zone EET (UTC+2)  - Summer (DST... El Waha el Bahariya (Arabic: الواحة البحرية), (meaning the sea-oasis) is an oasis in Egypt. ... Al Farafra Egypt: Site of Farafra Oasis (left). ... ... Kharga Oasis (Arabic الخارجة, Standard Arabic pronunciation al-Khārija, Egyptian spoken Arabic al-Khārga) is the southernmost of Egypts five Western oases. ... Survey of the Moeris Basin from the late 19th century Lake Karun is in the Al Fayyum oasis (upper center). ... Geological strata giving rise to an Artesian well An artesian aquifer is an aquifer whose water is overpressurized. ... Tillage (American English), or cultivation (UK) is the agricultural preparation of the soil to receive seeds. ...

Eastern Desert

A large plume of Saharan Desert dust (light brownish pixels) were blowing over Libya and Egypt northward over the Mediterranean Sea toward the Middle East, on February 2, 2003.

The topographic features of the region east of the Nile are very different from those of the Western Desert. The relatively mountainous Eastern Desert rises abruptly from the Nile and extends over an area of approximately 220,000 square kilometers (roughly equivalent in size to Utah). The upward-sloping plateau of sand gives way within 100 kilometers to arid, defoliated, rocky hills running north and south between the Sudan border and the Delta. The hills reach elevations of more than 1,900 meters. The region's most prominent feature is the easterly chain of rugged mountains, the Red Sea Hills, which extend from the Nile Valley eastward to the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea. This elevated region has a natural drainage pattern that rarely functions because of insufficient rainfall. It also has a complex of irregular, sharply cut wadis that extend westward toward the Nile. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2000x1771, 1250 KB) Dust storms off Egypt A large plume of Saharan Desert dust (light brownish pixels) were blowing over Libya and Egypt northward over the Mediterranean Sea toward the Middle East, on February 2, 2003. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2000x1771, 1250 KB) Dust storms off Egypt A large plume of Saharan Desert dust (light brownish pixels) were blowing over Libya and Egypt northward over the Mediterranean Sea toward the Middle East, on February 2, 2003. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, the lead section of this article may need to be expanded. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Patterns in the sand Sand is a granular material made up of fine rock particles. ... Sinai Peninsula, Gulf of Suez(west), Gulf of Aqaba(east) from Space Shuttle STS-40. ... A wadi is a dry riverbed that only contains water during times of heavy rain. ...

The Eastern Desert is generally isolated from the rest of the country. There is no oasis cultivation in the region because of the difficulty in sustaining any form of agriculture. Except for a few villages on the Red Sea coast, there are no permanent settlements. The importance of the Eastern Desert lies in its natural resources, especially oil. A single governorate, the capital of which is at Al Ghardaqah, administers the entire region. Location of the Red Sea The Red Sea is an inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. ... Natural olive oil Synthetic motor oil Oil, in a general sense, is a chemical compound that is not miscible with water, and is in a liquid state at ambient temperatures. ...

Sinai Peninsula

This triangular area covers about 61,100 square kilometers (slightly smaller than West Virginia, USA). Similar to the desert, the peninsula contains mountains in its southern sector that are a geological extension of the Red Sea Hills, the low range along the Red Sea coast that includes Mount Catherine (Jabal Katrinah), the country's highest point--2,642 meters. The Red Sea is named after these mountains, which are red. Official language(s) English Capital Charleston Largest city Charleston Area  Ranked 41st  - Total 24,244 sq mi (62,809 km²)  - Width 130 miles (210 km)  - Length 240 miles (385 km)  - % water 0. ...

The southern side of the peninsula has a sharp escarpment that subsides after a narrow coastal shelf that slopes into the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. The elevation of Sinai's southern rim is about 1,000 meters. Moving northward, the elevation of this limestone plateau decreases. The northern third of Sinai is a flat, sandy coastal plain, which extends from the Suez Canal into the Gaza Strip and Israel. Limey shale overlaid by limestone. ...

Before the Israeli military occupied Sinai during the June 1967 War (Arab-Israeli war, also known as the Six-Day War), a single Egyptian governorate administered the whole peninsula. By 1982 after all of Sinai was returned to Egypt, the central government divided the peninsula into two governorates. North Sinai has its capital at Al Arish and the South Sinai has its capital in At Tur. 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Area and boundaries

Area:
total: 1,001,450 km²
land: 995,450 km²
water: 6,000 km²

Area - comparative: slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico (US) Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Area  Ranked 5th  - Total 121,665 sq mi (315,194 km²)  - Width 342 miles (550 km)  - Length 370 miles (595 km)  - % water 0. ...

Land boundaries:
total: 2,689 km
border countries: Gaza Strip 11 km, Israel 255 km, Libya 1,150 km, Sudan 1,273 km

Coastline: 2,450 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nautical miles (44 km)
continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles (370 km)
territorial sea: 12 nautical miles (22 km)

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Qattara Depression -133 m
highest point: Mount Catherine 2,629 m The Qattara Depression (local: Munkhafad al-Qattarah) is a desert basin within the Libyan Desert of north-western Egypt. ... Mount Catherine is the highest mountain in Egypt. ...

Resources and land use

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc Pracsamp 07:34, 16 February 2007 (UTC)— Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario Ignacy Łukasiewicz - inventor of the refining of kerosene from crude oil. ... Natural gas is a gaseous fossil fuel consisting primarily of methane. ... This heap of iron ore pellets will be used in steel production. ... In chemistry, a phosphate is a polyatomic ion or radical consisting of one phosphorus atom and four oxygen. ... General Name, Symbol, Number manganese, Mn, 25 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 7, 4, d Appearance silvery metallic Atomic mass 54. ... Limey shale overlaid by limestone. ... Gypsum is a very soft mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. // Heating gypsum to between 100°C and 150°C (302°F) partially dehydrates the mineral by driving off exactly 75% of the water contained in its chemical structure. ... Talc block Talcum Powder Talc is a mineral composed of hydrated magnesium silicate with the chemical formula H2Mg3(SiO3)4 or Mg3Si4O10(OH)2. ... Fibrous asbestos on muscovite Asbestos Asbestos Asbestos (a misapplication of Latin: asbestos quicklime from Greek : a, not and sbestos, extinguishable) describes any of a group of minerals that can be fibrous, many of which are metamorphic and are hydrous magnesium silicates. ... For PB or pb as an abbreviation, see PB. General Name, Symbol, Number lead, Pb, 82 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 14, 6, p Appearance bluish gray Atomic mass 207. ... General Name, Symbol, Number zinc, Zn, 30 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 12, 4, d Appearance bluish pale gray Atomic mass 65. ...

Land use:
arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 98% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 32,460 km² (1993 est.)

Environmental concerns

Natural hazards: periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides, volcanic activity; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; dust storms, sandstorms

Environment - current issues: agricultural land being lost to urbanization and windblown sands; increasing soil salination below Aswan High Dam; desertification; oil pollution threatening coral reefs, beaches, and marine habitats; other water pollution from agricultural pesticides, raw sewage, and industrial effluents; very limited natural fresh water resources away from the Nile which is the only perennial water source; rapid growth in population overstraining natural resources Patterns in the sand Sand is a granular material made up of fine rock particles. ... [[also greatly increased by poor drainage and use of saline water for watering agricultural crops. ... Map of Egypt showing the location of Aswan and Lake Nasser. ... Ship stranded by the retreat of the Aral Sea Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors including climatic variations, but primarily human activities. ... Some of the biodiversity of a coral reef. ... For other uses, see Beach (disambiguation). ... Water pollution Water pollution is a large set of adverse effects upon water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater caused by human activities. ... A cropduster spreading pesticide. ... Sewage is the liquid water produced by human society which typically contains washing water, laundry waste, faeces, urine and other liquid or semi-liquid wastes. ... Water resources are sources of water that are useful to human beings for drinking, recreation, irrigation, livestock production, industry, etc. ... The Nile (Arabic: ‎, translit: , Ancient Egyptian iteru, Coptic piaro or phiaro) is a major north-flowing river in Africa, generally regarded as the longest river, though not the most voluminous, in the world. ...

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution (MARPOL 73/78), Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Rainforests are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variation of taxonomic life forms within a given ecosystem, biome or for the entire Earth. ... UNFCCC logo. ... Ship stranded by the retreat of the Aral Sea Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors including climatic variations, but primarily human activities. ... The critically endangered Amur Tiger, a rare subspecies of tiger. ... note - abbreviated as Environmental Modification opened for signature - December 10, 1976 entered into force - October 5, 1978 objective - to prohibit the military or other hostile use of environmental modification techniques in order to further world peace and trust among nations parties - (66) Afghanistan, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria... Hazardous waste is waste that poses substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment and generally exhibits one or more of these characteristics: ignitability corrosivity reactivity (explosive) toxicity Many types of businesses generate hazardous waste. ... Admiralty law (usually referred to as simply admiralty and also referred to as maritime law) is a distinct body of law which governs maritime questions and offenses. ... Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping Wastes and Other Matter (London Convention) note - abbreviated as Marine Dumping opened for signature - 29 December 1972 entered into force - 30 August 1975 objective - to control pollution of the sea by dumping and to encourage regional agreements supplementary to the Convention... The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) bans all nuclear explosions in all environments, for military or civilian purposes and was opened for signature in New York on 24 September 1996, when it was signed by 71 States, including the five nuclear weapon states at the time (which did not... Ship Pollution is an abbreviated form of the Protocol of 1978 Relating to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships, 1973. ... note - abbreviated as Tropical Timber 83 opened for signature - November 18, 1983 entered into force - April 1, 1985; this agreement expired when the International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1994, went into force. ... note - abbreviated as Tropical Timber 94 opened for signature - January 26, 1994 entered into force - January 1, 1997 objective - to ensure that by the year 2000 exports of tropical timber originate from sustainably managed sources; to establish a fund to assist tropical timber producers in obtaining the resources necessary to... A subtropical wetland in Florida, USA, with an endangered American Crocodile. ... The crew of the oceanographic research vessel Princesse Alice, of Albert Grimaldi (later Prince Albert I of Monaco) pose while flensing a catch. ... Kyoto Protocol Opened for signature December 11, 1997 in Kyoto, Japan Entered into force February 16, 2005. ...

Geography - note: controls Sinai Peninsula, only land bridge between Africa and remainder of Eastern Hemisphere; controls Suez Canal, shortest sea link between Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea; size, and juxtaposition to Israel, establish its major role in Middle Eastern geopolitics Sinai Peninsula, Gulf of Suez (west), Gulf of Aqaba (east) from Space Shuttle STS-40 For other uses of the word Sinai, please see: Sinai (disambiguation). ... Ships moored at El Ballah during transit Egypt: Site of Suez Canal (top). ... Composite satellite image of the Mediterranean Sea. ...

References

• This article contains material from the Library of Congress Country Studies, which are United States government publications in the public domain.
• This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.

The Country Studies are works published by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress ( USA), freely available for use by researchers. ... The U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1789 by a constitutional convention, sets down the basic framework of American government in its seven articles. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The World Factbook 2006 (government edtion) cover. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

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