ABSTRACT
River flows into it from the east or right bank. From the latter river to Khartilm, a distance of about 560 miles, the White Nile flows slowly in a stream about 6~ feet deep, and considerably more than a mile wide. At Khartfim, where the Blue Nile from Abyssinia joins the White Nile, the river is about 1,270 f(!et above sea-level. The Blue Nile, which is about 840 miles long, is almost clear in summer, but from June to October its water is of a reddish-brown colour, and is highly charged with alluvium. The greenish colour which is sometimes observed in the Nile far to the north is due to the decaying vegetation which is brought down by the White Nile. About 56 miles below KhartClm is the Sixth Cataract, and 145 miles lower down the river Atbara flows into the Nile on the east or right b:l11k. The Atbara rises in the Abyssinian mountains, and its waters bring down with them a large quantity of volcanic dust, which is an excellent fertilizing element; after the Atbara the Nile on its journey north receives no other tributary. About 32 mile,> below the Atbara is the Fifth Cataract, which is over 100 miles in length; between the southern and the northern end the Nile drops about 205 feet. About 60 miles lower down begins the Fourth Cataract, which is 66 miles long; between the southern and the northern end the Nile drops 160 feet. About I9S milcs lower down begins the Third Cataract, which is 4S miles long; between the southern and the northern end the river drops 36 feet. The Second Cataract begins about 70 miles lower down; it is 12 S miles long,
.and between its two ends the river drops about 2 r 3 feet. At Semneh, which is rather more than 35 miles south of Wadi I:Jalfa, are the rocks where the late Dr. Lepsius discovered the gauges which were cut by order of the kings of the XIIth dynasty, about B.C. 2300, and these show that the Nile flood recorded there was 26 feet higher than any flood of to-day. The eminent irrigation authority,
Mr. Willcocks, thinks that the Nile could very easily he barred by a dam at Semneh, and it is possible that 51 t h 1 . th h . h f h N'1 Amen-em-hat III. tried to (e c 5 lowing e elg tot e Ie. '.
