Land and People: Five - El Nil - Life-blood of Egypt

whole: the six images occupy the majority. The title is separate and positioned across the top edge, in black, held within a blue inset. The text is separate and placed in the upper left, lower centre, and as captions, in black. All set against a white background. image: four photographs of the River Nile, including depictions of the Assuan Dam, of a boat passing through a lock, and of workers strengthening the river bank. The other images are a map of the river, and a depiction of a sail boat. text: LAND AND PEOPLE: 5 EL NIL LIFE-BLOOD OF EGYPT THE NILE Far away in the distant regions of the south, in the deep heart of Africa, are the head waters of the Nile. Fed by the equatorial rains and by the monsoons of the Abyssinian Highlands, this great river flows thousands of miles from regions of tropical forest, through swamps, steppe and desert, finally entering the Mediterranean Sea through the numerous distributaries of the fertile arable delta. The river Nile has been the life-blood of countless generations of dwellers in the valley of the Nile; the mainstay of life, a vital artery of trade and commerce. Towards the end of its chequered course, conquered, harnessed and adapted for the benefit of the fellahin swarming on its banks, the Nile is an outstanding example of the benefits achieved by man in controlling nature's elements. Photo By 'PARADE' Above: In flood or calm, the Nile presents many aspects of beauty and serenity. Below: A laden felucca passes through a lock in the Assuan Dam. Photo By 'PARADE' Above: In Egypt native fellahin work to strengthen the river bank against the coming June flood when the Nile will become turbid, and brown in colour. Below: At the Assuan Dam, a rise of 26 ft. is required of the river before the whole of Egypt can be watered. An engineer measures the depth for survey purposes. [map has various place names] The Nile is the longest and most important river in Africa flowing over 4,000 miles to the Mediterranean from its source in Uganda. In the world it is second only in length to the Mississippi which reaches 4,500 miles The Blue Nile and the Atbora, or Black Nile both come from the Highlands of Abyssinia. They alone bring down the black mud to which Egypt owes its inexhaustible fertility. Today the approximate rate of increase in thickness of Nile mud is 10.3 centimetres a century. It flows straight from South to North and over a length of 2,750 miles varies only 250 miles in longitude. The Nile flows through the desert, receives no tributaries or rain for half its length, yet it does not dry up and at the end of its course produces a most fertile delta. Pictorial Review No. 84 Crown Copyright Reserved Army Education, M.E.L.F. Printed by The Printing and Stationery Services, M.E.L.F.-1-47

Pictorial Review No. 84. Produced as part of the 'Land and People' series of posters (see PST 16931, PST 16940, PST 16943, PST 16949 and PST 16952).