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[[NASA Logo]] National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Space Shuttle Earth View
Nile Delta, Egypt

Nile Delta, Egypt

This is a picture of the Nile River Delta. Most of Egypt's population lives in the Nile Delta. Smoke from the Nile Delta is channeled by winds southward up the Nile valley. A close look at this image reveals that much of the delta is covered with a thin veil of smoke or smog. Recent changes like the building of the High Aswan Dam, and construction of a network of irrigation canals to support new agriculture have changed the Nile Delta system, creating problems of subsidence and salt water encroachment at the Mediterranean coast. East of the Nile Delta, the Gulf of Suez and Suez Canal reflect the sun. The sharp line between the light desert and darker land is the border between Egypt and Israel. The Dead Sea is at the far eastern edge of the photo.

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Possible Starting Points for Student Investigations:
-Your students might compare and contrast this image of the Nile Delta to those of other river deltas, such as the Mississippi.
-How do deltas relate to human history?--Where is Cairo? Why was the fertile Nile Delta the home of some of the earliest human civilizations?
-How has the delta changed over time?--Current images give hints about the past, but your students may want to refer to related references to the formation, development and changes of the Nile Delta.
-Your students might want to study a nearby river, investigating how much soil it is carrying, and whether it is depositing any of it further downstream on banks of the floor of the river.
[[/Box]]

Nile Delta, Egypt
June 233, 1993
Hasselblad Camera, 100 mm lens