Geology -- Egypt; Nile River; Water-supply -- Egypt
5. =Catchment basins of the Nile and its tributaries.=--Table I, of
Appendix A gives the areas of the catchment basins of the Nile. The
total area according to the table is 3,007,000 square kilometres. The
limits of the basin are depicted on Plate I, and, with rare exceptions,
they are now fairly well known everywhere. North of the 20th parallel of
latitude the watershed on the west of the Nile is not far removed from
the edge of the plateau skirting the Nile valley. The plateau falls away
to the west, and occasional ravines find their way to the Nile down the
reverse slope. On the east of the Nile the crest of the hills skirting
the Red sea is the watershed. South of the 20th parallel of latitude the
eastern watershed follows the crest of the hills on the west of the Red
sea as far as Suakin. South of Suakin the watershed leaves the Red sea,
to allow the Khor Barraka to flow into this sea. From the south east of
Kassala, round by Addis Ababa, the watershed follows the crest of the
high hills forming the eastern backbone of Abyssinia, and dividing the
waters of the Nile from those flowing into the Indian Ocean. South west
of Abyssinia the watershed travels in a south-westerly direction to the
east of Gondokoro, and divides the Sobat from the rivers draining into
Lake Rudolf. The watershed then moves due south to the western
escarpment east of Lake Victoria. Mounts Kenia and Kilmanjaro are not
within the basin of the Nile. Sweeping in a rough curve round Lake
Victoria and nearly touching Lake Tangangyika in 4° south latitude, the
watershed keeps close to the western shores of Lakes Edward and Albert
to nearly opposite Wadelai. All the slopes of the Ruenzori mountains
drain into the Nile.
From near Wadelai the watershed moves in a north-westerly direction
along the hills dividing the waters of the tributaries of the Gazelle
river from the Welle. Due west of the Sudd region the watershed has
reached its most westerly position and from there turns northwards along
the Marrah hills in Darfur, dividing the scanty waters of the
Bahr-el-Arab and its tributaries from the rivers draining into Lake
Chad. From the Marrah hills the watershed travels in a north-easterly
direction to a point close to the Nile on the 20th parallel of latitude
near Hannek.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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