The River Nile flooded every year between June and September, in a season the Egyptians called akhet. This fact is supported in Document B which states “waters receded but Nile high enough to fill irrigation canals; crops planted and tended”. Melting snow and heavy rains In the Ethiopian Mountains sent water causing the banks to overflow. The fresh water, minerals, and silt turned the land black, which allowed the farmers to harvest crops.
One of the many gifts of the Nile was a weed called papyrus. This weed grew wildly along the shores of the Nile River. The ancient Egyptians used papyrus to make many things such as baskets, sandals, maps, rope, and paper. My facts about papyrus are supported in Document D.
Transportation is one of the gifts of the Nile. Egyptians needed it to transport goods to different cities. They traded goods, barley, and wheat. They used boats on the Nile. My transportation facts are spoken of in Document C.
The farmers used irrigation that is needed to grow crops. Egyptian farmers irrigated their crops to provide for their empire and build a stronger economy. They used streams, canals and pipes to bring the water to dry land. They also planned their work around the seasonal flooding to catch some of the overflow in order to store water to use during the drier months. My irrigation facts are supported in Document C.
How did the Nile shape ancient Egypt? The past four paragraphs have described how the Nile shaped ancient Egypt using four main words. Those words are irrigation, floods, transportation, and papyrus.