- Title Pages
- Dedication
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Notes on the Text
- Epigraph
- 1 Introduction
- I: Geography
- 2 Imagining the Nile
- 3 The Pre-Islamic Nile Delta
- 4 The Western Delta in the Islamic Era
- 5 The Eastern Delta in the Islamic Era
- 6 The Bahr Yusuf
- II: Navigation
- 7 The Nile Flood Cycle
- 8 Propulsion
- 9 Local Hazards
- 10 Nile Journey Times
- 11 Onward Connections
- III: Ports and the Navigational Landscape
- 12 The Ports of Fustat and Cairo
- 13 Ports of the Western Delta
- 14 Ports of the Eastern Delta
- 15 Ports of the Red Sea
- 16 Conclusion
- Appendix 1: Historical Cartography
- Appendix 2: Geographic Reconstructions
- Appendix 3: Gazetteer of Delta place names mentioned by Ibn Hawqal and al-Idrisi
- References
- Index
The Nile Flood Cycle
The Nile Flood Cycle
- Chapter:
- (p.107) 7 The Nile Flood Cycle
- Source:
- The Medieval Nile
- Author(s):
John P. Cooper
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
This chapter considers the hydrological cycle of the Nile, and considers the impact of the annual Nile flood on the navigability of the river. It identifies Nile navigation as a strongly seasonal activity. High Nile was the peak season for navigation on the main waterways of the river. It was also when a number of major canals, such as those serving Alexandria and the Red Sea were opened to traffic. During low Nile, navigation anywhere was possible only for vessels with a very shallow draft. As water levels dwindled, navigators in cargo vessels faced a mounting danger of grounding and subsequent capsize or even robbery. Using historical accounts, supplemented by hydrological data, it seeks to establish the extent of the navigational season of the Egyptian Nile.
Keywords: Egypt, Nile, river, flood, canal, hydrology, grounding, seasonality
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- Title Pages
- Dedication
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Notes on the Text
- Epigraph
- 1 Introduction
- I: Geography
- 2 Imagining the Nile
- 3 The Pre-Islamic Nile Delta
- 4 The Western Delta in the Islamic Era
- 5 The Eastern Delta in the Islamic Era
- 6 The Bahr Yusuf
- II: Navigation
- 7 The Nile Flood Cycle
- 8 Propulsion
- 9 Local Hazards
- 10 Nile Journey Times
- 11 Onward Connections
- III: Ports and the Navigational Landscape
- 12 The Ports of Fustat and Cairo
- 13 Ports of the Western Delta
- 14 Ports of the Eastern Delta
- 15 Ports of the Red Sea
- 16 Conclusion
- Appendix 1: Historical Cartography
- Appendix 2: Geographic Reconstructions
- Appendix 3: Gazetteer of Delta place names mentioned by Ibn Hawqal and al-Idrisi
- References
- Index
