The cataracts of the Nile are shallow stretches of the river between Aswan and Khartoum where the water's surface is broken by numerous small boulders and stones protruding from the river bed, as well as many small rocky islets. In some places, these stretches are punctuated by whitewater and are perhaps well characterized as rapids, while at others the water flow is smoother, but still shallow. The six primary cataracts of the Nile were the main obstacles for boats sailing on the Nile in antiquity. Counted upstream (from north to south), the First Cataract is in modern Egypt; the rest are in Sudan.

• The First Cataract is in Aswan (24°04′41″N 32°52′41″E / 24.078°N 32.878°E / 24.078; 32.878 (First Cataract))
• The Second Cataract (or Great Cataract) was in Nubia and is now submerged in Lake Nasser (21°29′N 30°58′E / 21.48°N 30.97°E / 21.48; 30.97 (Great Cataract)})
• The Third Cataract is around Tombos/Hannek (19°46′N 30°22′E / 19.76°N 30.37°E / 19.76; 30.37 (Third Cataract)})
• The Fourth Cataract is in the Manasir Desert and will be flooded by the Merowe Dam beginning in th 3rd quarter of 2008 (18°55′N 32°22′E / 18.91°N 32.36°E / 18.91; 32.36 (Fourth Cataract)})
• The Fifth Cataract is near the confluence with the Atbara River (17°40′37″N 33°58′12″E / 17.677°N 33.970°E / 17.677; 33.970 (Fifth Cataract)})
• The Sixth Cataract is where the Nile cuts through the Sabaluka pluton near Bagrawiyah (16°53′N 33°40′E / 16.88°N 33.66°E / 16.88; 33.66 (Sixth Cataract)})

The word cataract is, literally "down-rushing", meaning "waterfall" or "floodgate". Its a Greek word that means "waterfall".....However, none of the Nile's six primary cataracts would be accurately described as waterfalls, and given the broader definition, many minor cataracts should perhaps also be included in the count. Geologists indicate that the region of the northern Sudan is tectonically active and this activity has caused the river to take on "youthful" characteristics.^[1] The Nubian Swell has diverted the river's course to the west, while keeping its depth shallow and causing the formation of the cataracts. Even as the river bed is worn down by erosion, the land mass is lifted keeping parts of the river bed exposed. These distinctive features of the river between Aswan and Khartoum have led to the stretch being often referred to as the Cataract Nile, while the downstream portion is occasionally referred to as the "Egyptian" Nile.^[2]

Despite these characteristics, some of the cataracts which are normally impassable by boat, become navigable during the flood season.

The six primary cataracts of the Nile are described extensively by European colonials, notably by Winston Churchill in The River War (1899), where he recounts the exploits of the British trying to return to Sudan between 1896 and 1898, after they were forced to leave in 1885.

In ancient times, Upper Egypt extended from south of the Nile Delta to the first cataract, while further upstream, the land was controlled by the ancient Kush civilization, that would later take over Egypt.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• The Cataract Nile and the Great Bend (webpage) [2]
• The 1905-1907 Breasted Expeditions to Egypt and the Sudan: A Photographic Study [3] (See photos listed in the index under "Nile, Third Cataract" and "Nile, Fourth Cataract")

Photo links

• Second Cataract: [4] [5]
• Third Cataract: [6] [7] [8]
• Fourth Cataract: [9]
• Fifth Cataract: [10]
• Sixth Cataract: [11] [12]

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