Egypt+Geography

=Geography =

__**Landforms and Water**__
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 Egypt is well known for having the Nile River flow throughout the country. The Nile River is 4,000 feet long and without the river, all of Egypt would be desert. During each summer, the river rises because of rainfall. Floods cover the river’s valleys, which leave sediments for trees, plants, and crops to grow. =====

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 Egypt is divided into two sections: Upper Egypt, which is located in the south, and Lower Egypt located in the north. The sections are named this way because the Nile flows from south to north. The Nile River connects to the Mediterranean Sea. =====

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 Southern Egypt contains low mountains and desert. The Sahara Desert is located in Egypt and is a large part of the country's history. Since it is so dry, most people do not live in the desert. Northern Egypt has wide valleys close to the Nile and desert to the east and west. North of Cairo, the capital of Egypt, is the triangular Nile River Delta. This is fertile land and is consumed with farms ([|National Geographic Egypt, 2011]). =====

  The Sinai Peninsula is a landform located in Egypt that is a triangular piece of land that extends between the Mediterranean and the Red Seas. This is part of the Asian section of Egypt and it is the land bridge between African and East Asia ([|Travel Tips USA Today Egypt, 2011]). 

In 3000-2500 BC in Egypt, spent a lot of their time and energy building large buildings. The Pyramids are one of the most interesting buildings crafted by the ancient Egyptians, and can still be visited today. The Pharaohs built pyramids as tombs for themselves. The first pointed pyramids were built at Giza. Khufu's Great Pyramid was the largest building for almost 5,000 years before the Eiffel Tower was built in 1889 ([|History for Kids, 2011]).



**__Climate__**

The weather in Egypt varies from season to season. It is very hot and dry in the summer, and the winters are quite moderate. As for natural disasters, Egypt has episodic droughts, frequent earthquakes, flash flooding, landslides, windstorms, sandstorms, and dust storms ( ( [|CIA Egypt Fact book, 2011] ).

The link below shows Egypt's climate zone and the average amount of precipitation/rain the country receives each year.

http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/mapping/interactive-map/?ls=803007&f=133&t=1&b=1&bbox=20.38259,23.06317,41.21266,32.34620

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">__Animal Species__
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<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The //Egyptian Weasel// is considered the smallest carnivore in the world. <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This animal is slim, long, and nocturnal.It is a vocal animal and produces <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">noises such as snorts, whelps, and whines ([|Egyptian Weasel Arkive, 2011]). <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The //Pale Gerbil// has pale orange fur, white underparts, white <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">forelimbs and white feet. The ears do not have a pigment to them <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">and the bottom of the feet have hair, which is a characteristic of sand-  <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">dwelling gerbils ([|Pale Gerbil Arkive, 2011]). <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The //Bufo kassasii,// a Nile River toad, is a new species found <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">in the Delta wetlands. It is quite small and has a maximum <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">length of 4 cm. The males make a rattle-like call that is  <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">very distinct.This toad lives in flooded swamps and rice fields ([|Bio Map, Egypt, 2011]). <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">//***The remainding species below, both animals and plants are from the Bio Map Egypt.**// <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The //Egyptian Grasshoppers// are one of the largest grass- <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">hopper species in Egypt. Their forewings are thickened <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">for protection purposes. These grasshoppers can jump <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">well with their strong hind legs. <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**__Plant Species__** <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">//Acacia raddiana// is a common species in Egypt. However, it <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">is less common than it used to be as it is cut down more often  <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">for charcoal and firewood. It can be identified by its white <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">flowers and twisted pods. <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The //Colocynth// is a very common plant in the deserts of <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Egypt. It grows flat on the ground and the leaves are lobed <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">and the flowers are small with 5 green/yellow petals. The <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">fruits are yellow when ripe and contain stripes of green when  <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">immature. The fruits are used to treat rheumatism, jaundice, <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">and scabies in camels. The fruits also serve as a strong lax- <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">ative. <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The //Giant// //Milkweed// is commonly found around the <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">banks of the Nile River in Upper Egypt. This is <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">a very poisionous plant. Insects, such as grass- <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">hoppers have fed on the Milkweed to use the plant  <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">poison for defense. <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The //Lindenbergia indica// is a plant that grows in <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">rocky areas in Egypt. It some areas of the world, it is <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">used in the world as a fodder plant for animals. It also <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">may contain medicinal properties. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center;"> References <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> BioMAP | Biodiversity Monitoring & Assessment Project. (n.d.). //BioMAP | Biodiversity Monitoring & Assessment Project//. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from http://www.biomapegypt.org <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Crawford, B., & Media, D. (n.d.). What Are the Landforms of Egypt? | Travel Tips - USAToday.com. //Travel Tips - USAToday.com//. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from http://traveltips.usatoday.com/landforms-egypt-57460.html <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Egypt. (n.d.). //Egypt//. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from https://www.cia.gov <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Egypt Facts and Pictures -- National Geographic Kids. (n.d.). //Kids' Games, Animals, Photos, Stories, and More -- National Geographic Kids//. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/places/find/egypt/ <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Kidipede - History for Kids - Homework Help for Middle School Social Studies. (n.d.). //Kidipede - History for Kids - Homework Help for Middle School Social Studies//. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from http://historyforkids.org <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> habitat. (n.d.). ARKive - Egyptian weasel videos, photos and facts - Mustela subpalmata. //ARKive - Discover the world's most endangered species//. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from http://www.arkive.org/egyptian-weasel/mustela-subpalmata/