Cataracts of the Nile facts for kids
The cataracts of the Nile are special parts of the Nile River where the water gets very shallow and flows super fast. Imagine lots of small rocks and stones sticking up from the riverbed, making the water choppy and bubbly. This is often called "rapids" or "white water."
These river cataracts are like natural roadblocks. They make it really hard and dangerous for boats to travel safely, especially if they are carrying cargo.
There are six main cataracts along the Nile River. In ancient times, these were the biggest challenges for boats sailing on the Nile. If you count them starting from the north and going south (upstream), the First Cataract is in modern-day Egypt. The other five are located in Sudan.
- The First Cataract is close to Aswan .
- The Second Cataract, also known as the Great Cataract, was in Nubia. Today, it's covered by the waters of Lake Nasser .
- The Third Cataract is found near Tombos / Hannek .
- The Fourth Cataract is in the Manasir Desert. Since 2006, it has been flooded by the Merowe Dam .
- The Fifth Cataract is located where the Nile meets the Atbara River .
- The Sixth Cataract is where the Nile cuts through a rocky area called the Sabaluka pluton, near Bagrawiyah .
The word "cataract" comes from the Greek word Katarakhtes, which means "waterfall".
In ancient times, the region known as Upper Egypt stretched from the Nile Delta all the way to the First Cataract. Further south, in what is now modern Sudan, the land was later controlled by the powerful Kingdom of Kush.
It might seem a bit strange, but the Nile River actually flows north! It starts from Lake Victoria in the south and flows towards the Mediterranean Sea in the north. So, when you travel upstream on the Nile, you are going south, and the cataracts are faced as you travel north.
In 1899, a book called "The River War" by Winston Churchill described each of these cataracts in detail.
Images for kids
-
The First Cataract
-
The Second Cataract in 1854, painted by John Beasley Greene
-
The Third Cataract
-
The Fourth Cataract
-
The Fifth Cataract
-
The Sixth Cataract in 1908, photographed by Sir Henry Rider Haggard
.jpg)
See also
In Spanish: Cataratas del Nilo para niños
