Egypt - Nature

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I didn't get to see anything other than the land along the Nile. For the most part, the area away from the Nile is desert. Along the Nile is a fertile strip of land on both sides of the Nile. The soil there is deposited by the Nile during the annual flood. Without this, there would be no fertile land there at all.

The Nile itself has changed considerably after the Aswan High Dam was built. Before the dam, the Nile would flood the area along the river every year. These floods were essential for the ancient Egyptians, since it was their only source of fertile land along the Nile. Since there are no more floods, the fertility of the soil is decreasing continually. Another effect of the High Dam is the accumulation of salt in the irrigated areas, since there is no water to wash the salt away. Even the minute traces of salt in the freshwater accumulate with time to significant levels. This increasing salinity of the soil causes considerable problems.

The most common tree in Egypt is the Date Palm by far. You can see these palms everywhere along the Nile.

Pictures of birds in Egypt and other nature pages are separate:

Bird Page for Egypt

Other Nature Pages

All pictures are © Dr. Günther Eichhorn, unless otherwise noted.

The Nile

Reed grasses along the Nile. Some areas had large low lying parts that were growing reeds for quite a distance inland. (799k)

Reeds in the Nile. (1171k)

Date Palms along the Nile. The Date Palm is the most common tree in Egypt by far. (955k)

Going after his chores, a man on the bank of the Nile. (1082k)

A Date Palm grove with a village in the distance. (1113k)

You can see the thick layer of fertile soil. The soil is deposited by the annual flood of the Nile. Without these floods there would be no fertile land along the Nile. (950k)

A full moon over the bank of the Nile. You can see that the fertile area along the Nile is very narrow in some places. The desert starts immediately where the terrain rises and the Nile flood cannot deposit the fertile soil. (529k)

Another example of the narrow strip of vegetation along the Nile. (765k)

The First Cataracts. There were six cataract areas along the Nile in ancient times. Cataracts two through four are now flooded by Lake Nasser, the reservoir behind the Aswan High Dam. (682k)

The Aswan Low Dam and its reservoir. This is the one that flooded the Island where the Philae Temple of Isis used to be. (460k)

View from the Aswan High Dam towards the reservoir behind the Aswan Low dam. You can see the very shallow slope of the High Dam. (650k)

View from the Aswan High Dam over Lake Nasser, the reservoir behind the High Dam. (508k)

View of Lake Nasser from the air. Notice the narrow band of vegetation around the dam, beyond which is only desert. (508k)

Another view of Lake Nasser from the air. (385k)

The Desert

Aerial view of the desert next to Lake Nasser. (584k)

View over the the desert with Lake Nasser in the background. (472k)

Aerial view of the desert and Lake Nasser, with the small band of vegetation around the water. (536k)

Flowers and Trees

Reed grasses along the Nile. Some areas had large low lying parts that were growing reeds for quite a distance inland. (799k)

A tall reed grass towering over the low bushes, with a bird perched on the reed. (745k)

Date Palms (Phoenix dactylifera, german: Echte Dattelpalme, french: Palmier dattier) along the Nile. The Date Palm is the most common tree in Egypt by far. (955k)

Bank of the Nile with a faint full moon over the mountains. (839k)

A Date Palm grove with a village in the distance. (1113k)

A flowering vine climbing through the grasses and bushes. We didn't see many flowers that were not cultivated. (1424k)

Papyrus (Cyperus papyrus, german: Echter Papyrus, french: Papyrus), the plant of Lower Egypt for the ancient Egyptians. It was used to make paper in ancient times. (1395k)