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Geography and History Activity
Ancient Egypt and Kush Lesson 1 The Nile River
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Understanding Location: Ancient Egypt
Geography helped the ancient Egyptian civilization succeed. Egypt is located in a desert region with a hot and dry climate. Ancient Egyptians settled in a narrow strip of fertile land called the Nile River Valley. The valley was surrounded on both sides by large deserts. Life in the Nile River Valley had its challenges. Flooding of the Nile River was followed by periods of drought, or lack of rain. Yet the Nile River and nearby deserts also provided protection that helped the Egyptians survive. The river and deserts provided natural defenses for the Egyptians. The Nile River has a marshy delta. As a result, Egyptians could not build a port at the mouth of the Nile. This made it difficult for invaders to reach Egyptian settlements along the river. In addition, the rough waters, or cataracts, in the southern part of the river made travel and invasion difficult. The deserts that surrounded the Nile River Valley were hot, dry, and sandy. They made invasion over land nearly impossible. With these natural defenses, the ancient Egyptians did not have to build fortifications for their settlements. In addition, ancient Egyptians could travel and trade along the Nile River. Friendly relations among the villages helped create a sense of unity. Protected from enemies, the Egyptians could focus on developing trade and culture instead of defending themselves.
Copyright by The McGraw-Hill Companies.
N W S E
0 0 200 km
200 miles
Lambert Conformal Conic projection
DOPW (Discovering our Past - World) RESG
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Geography and History Activity Cont.
Ancient Egypt and Kush
netw rks
Directions: Answer the following questions.
Understanding the Concept
1. Labeling Label the following geographical features on the outline map: Nile River, Western Desert, Eastern Desert, Arabian Desert, Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Nile Delta.
2. Locating Use geographical terms to describe the locations of the deserts surrounding the Nile River valley.
3. Explaining Look at the map of the Nile River Valley. What geographical features made it a good location for early Egyptian settlers? Explain.
4. Identifying What defenses did Egypts geography provide the ancient Egyptians? Fill in the boxes.
Copyright by The McGraw-Hill Companies.
Egypts Geographical Defenses
NAME
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Geography and History Activity Cont.
Ancient Egypt and Kush Applying the Concept
5. Analyzing Why was the location of the Nile River Valley important to the development of ancient Egyptian civilization?
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6. Speculating How might Egyptian civilization have developed differently if Egypt had not been surrounded by deserts or had a marshy delta?
7. Making Connections Geographical location is important to the survival of a people or place. What geographical features make your community a good place to live?
Copyright by The McGraw-Hill Companies.
