Day: September 5, 2019

These pictures are from the Mississippi River as it runs through my hometown. The first picture is in late summer, as evidence by the very low water level of the river. In the spring when all the melt runoff from the snow flows into the river, the river is much higher, and causes flooding along the banks, which in bad years can cause flooded homes and closed roads along the riverbank. The second picture was taken in the winter (evidence by the snow). Due to the nuclear plant about a mile away from where this picture was taken,  the river remains mostly open and unfrozen  for the winter.  It’s not uncommon to see large chunks of ice go floating down the river, but the river itself is unfrozen.

When I think of rivers, one of the first rivers that comes to mind besides the Delaware and the Hudson is the Nile. I remember learning about the Nile River during ancient civilizations class in middle school. The Egyptians and their neighbors utilized the river for food, water, resources, energy, and transportation. An entire civilization’s survival depended on this one giant river. Since there was barely any rainfall in the deserts of Egypt, the innovative Egyptians used the Nile to help create fertile land for growing crops with silt deposits, or irrigation canals that led the river water to the soil. The Nile alone is responsible for ancient Egypt’s rise as a thriving civilization with successful agriculture and a surplus of trade. It is remarkable how the Nile, the longest river on earth, seems timeless. It has always been a reliable geographic feature for Egypt since ancient times; and, the river continues its huge impact on Egypt as humanity and innovation keep evolving.