9781422283394

CHAPTER 1

LIFE ALONG THE RIVER T he Egyptians did amazing things—such as building the pyramids at Giza, inventing a calendar, and creating papyrus (paper). But perhaps the most amazing thing they did was adapting to live in Egypt! Egypt is a dry, hot country with very little rainfall. Most of the land is desert . How is it that such an amazing civilization was able to grow there so long ago? Then, like today, the people depended on the Nile

River, which runs through Egypt. Each year, between July and October, the Nile River flooded. It covered the land beside the river. When the water went down, it left a thick layer of mud behind. This mud was the only soil in Egypt that could grow crops. The ancient Egyptians called the desert “the red land” and the mud from the Nile “the black land.”

Watch this video for an overview of Egypt.

Chapter 1: LIFE ALONG THE RIVER 7