Importance of the Nile to the Egyptians

The Egyptian civilization would not be possible without the Nile river. Egypt was surrounded by deserts that were useless to farming. But when the Nile river flooded, it spread silt around its banks. The silt allowed the Egypt to farm, and gave Egypt the nickname “the gift of the Nile”. The Nile also provided many other resources like fish, water, transportation, papyrus, clay, and protection from invaders.

Fish were plentiful in the Nile. When Egyptians fished, they got surpluses of food, which fed Egypt's growing population and allowed for some people to become artisans and specialize in other jobs

Water is necessary for life. Since Egypt is a desert country , there is little rainfall. The Egyptians needed to get water some other way. The Nile river was an easy source of water and its flooding was less severe and more regular than that of the Tigris and Euphrates river, which made it safer to live near.

One way to get around Egypt was the Nile river. Even though it had many cataracts, the Egyptians could use it to trade with other civilizations.
Papyrus is a reed plant found on the banks of the Nile. The Egyptians used it to make a paper like material, which they then wrote on. Without papyrus, they might have never developed such an advanced writing system.

Clay is pretty straight forward. The Egyptians used the clay to make large blocks for their pyramids. They also could have used it to make other structures.

The Nile river also provided protection from invaders for the Egyptians. The deadly cataracts made it virtually impossible for large ships, like the ones that would carry invaders, to get through. The desert surrounding Egypt protected it from land invaders, and obviously there were no planes for invaders to fly in on.

The Nile river was crucial to Egypt’s survival. It provided food, water, papyrus, clay, and protection to the Egyptians. Without the Nile river, Egypt would never have existed.