Lesson 5: The Nile River - Finding the Source

Assignment: Flows and Floods

Flooding of many rivers around the world is considered disastrous. Rivers may flood with little or no warning, and with large variations in flood height from year to year. Flood damage costs billions of dollars annually, both in the US and around the world.

The Nile River, on the other hand, is one of the most predictable rivers in the world. Flooding occurs every year at regular times and (all things considered) with remarkably little variation in intensity. For 7,000 years prior to construction of the Aswan High Dam, people lived and farmed along the Nile. Flooding was an integral and essential part of their lives, as they relied on the annual floodwaters to renew their land for cultivation, and to saturate the soil to assure successful growth of crops.

In this assignment we will first look at the annual flow volumes along different sections of the Nile. We will then examine the variability of the floodwaters on a year-to-year basis. While neither of these activities appears meaningful following construction of the Aswan High Dam, they are in fact critical to understanding the political and hydrological motivations for damming the Nile. It is important to remember that the Aswan High Dam does not prevent flooding along the Nile--the dam merely prevents the flood crest from reaching beyond Lake Nasser.

Keep in mind... I am going to assume that everyone knows nothing about floods and flows of the Nile! So your job in this course is to prove to me that you are learning something! I will look for details and evidence that you have thought about the material. And trust me, I can see through "fluff" that is copied directly from the Internet!

Deadline

All responses must be uploaded in to ANGEL no later than 11:00 PM on the due date (see Calendar tab in ANGEL). Note that is 11:00 PM by ANGEL's clock, not by the clock on your computer! The submission form will disappear at 11:00 PM, and this assignment will not be accepted late under any circumstances. I have no problems giving students a zero for an assignment if they do not take the responsibility to submit by the deadline, so don't even think about trying to submit this late!

Data Tables

The four data tables described below are linked in a MS Excel file. You will need to refer to these in order to answer the assignment questions.

  1. Data table #1 shows monthly average flows in millions of cubic meters for the Atbara as it joins the Nile north of Khartoum.
  2. Data table #2 shows monthly average flows in millions of cubic meters for the Blue Nile at Sennar, upstream from where it joins the White Nile at Khartoum.
  3. Data table #3 shows monthly average flows in millions of cubic meters for the White Nile at Malakal, also upstream from the confluence at Khartoum.
  4. Data table #4 shows average monthly flow values at three different stations within Egypt.

First consult a map to make sure you know the relative positions of the three sites for which data are reported. Since data are not available for each station on each date, you will have to interpolate some of your answers.

Note that "Rise" refers to the height of the river above its baseline level. That is, a rise of zero indicates no floodwaters have reached the station.

Assignment Questions

Examine data tables 1, 2, and 3. Compare the average monthly flow rates for each of the rivers.

  1. How do you recognize a flood event by looking at the data?
  2. Is there any evidence of a significant annual flood at the mouth of the Atbara? If so, in what month does it occur?
  3. Is there any evidence of a significant annual flood in the Blue Nile at Sennar? If so, in what month does it occur?
  4. Is there any evidence of a significant annual flood in the White Nile at Malakal? If so, in what month does it occur?

Think about where the headwaters of the Blue Nile, White Nile and Atbara are located. Use your maps of Africa and the Nile Basin to help you answer this question.

  1. Is the annual Nile flood observed in the delta governed by the timing and volume of seasonal rains in the Ethiopian Highlands, or in the Lake Victoria region, or both?

Use data table 4 and your maps of the Nile region to answer the following questions.

  1. When does the flood crest peak at Aswan?
  2. When does the flood crest peak at Cairo?
  3. When does the flood crest reach the Delta?
  4. How long does it take for the flood crest to progress from Aswan downstream to Cairo?

You will need to use data tables 1, 2, and 3 in your answer to this last question.

  1. How long does it take for the earliest sustained rain in the headwaters region to reach Cairo?

Resources to help get you started

A couple of places to get started:

  1. Don't forget that you'll need to access the MS Excel data tables to view the Nile flows and floods information.
  2. Are you having problems seeing all four data tables in the MS Excel file? Check out the instructional video on how find each table.

Grading criteria

Here is how the assignment will be graded.

  • Question #1-10 will be graded as 2, 1, or 0. Two points will be given for a complete and accurate answer. One point will be given for a response that is partially correct or incomplete. Zero points will be awarded if the answer is completely incorrect or left blank.
  • Question #11 - As for your references, I am looking for correct format in APA style. If you do not have the correct style, then I reserve the right to deduct 15 points off of your final assignment grade (once it is scaled to 100%) for inaccurate documentation. If there is an academic integrity violation, I will pursue the procedures outlined in Lesson 0. If you do not use any references for this assignment besides the data tables provided, please write "no additional sources used" in the space provided.

The entire assignment is worth 20 points and will be scaled to a percentage out of 100%.

How do you find out your assignment grade?

One week after the assignment is due, the submission form will become "active" again. You need to go back into the form and click on your responses to see your score and my comments. Again, I will be recording in my gradebook your score based out of 100%.

If you have any questions...

...on this assignment, on Africa, on anything! Don't hesitate to get in touch with me via phone or email ASAP. I would not recommend waiting until the last minute to contact me, as I cannot guarantee a response before the assignment deadline.