Egypt's
geography is about the River Nile, its banks, and the
Delta, moving further to deserts and mountains, sliding
on coasts and seas. Each part of Egypt has its own character.
The Nile and its valley is perhaps the most interesting
character of the country. The Nile valley, no more that
ten kilometers wide on average, is the narrow, fertile
ribbon that, along with the Delta hosts the vast majority
of Egypt's population. Its Delta is the great green fan
beginning just north of Cairo where the Nile splits into
two distributaries, the Rashid (Rosetta) and the Dumyat
(Damietta) branches.
The Eastern Desert is very stony sand highlighted by
the crags revealing the eons of striations to the bare
eye and low-lying dark purple mountains set back from
the Gulf of Suez. The Western Desert is a completely
different story and is by far the largest. Parts of
it are below sea level and it is here that the major
oases are found.
One such interesting feature is the world's deepest
depression, and among the largest outright. Known as
the Qattara depression it begins but a few kilometers
from the Mediterranean, with the top right corner beginning
at the famed World War II battlefield of el Alamein,
where both Britain and Egypt successfully defeated first
the Italians and then Romel and the Nazis, before extending
south west towards the Libyan border and ending at the
famous Siwa oasis.
The Sinai Peninsula is probably the most dramatic in
terms of color and topography, with valleys, streams,
mountains, massifs, and high majestic plateaus.
Aswan's High Dam, the countries larger blessing yet
partial curse, represents the world's largest artificial
lakes, yet drowning villages and archaeological sites
to complete it are certainly the claims that remain
against it. It allowed the controlled irrigation of
the Nile, once known for seasonal flooding on an immense
scale, it has now served to increase the growing season.
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