20 



Ten tliousand workmen were engaged on the construction of the dam 

 during the winter of 1901-2. These men were poorly paid compared 

 with the wages of those employed on similar work in the United States. 

 They furnished their own subsistence and no shelter had been provided 

 for them. 



The best view of the dam is obtained from a position on the left bank 

 of the river, just downstream of the structure. From this point its 

 entire length is visible. Over it can be seen the neighboring islands 

 in the river, beyond which is Philae and its ruined temples. In the 

 foreground are numerous islets which l)reak the river into many small 

 waterways. 



THE NILE. 



The Nile is among the longest rivers in the world, ))eing in this 

 respect in the same class with the Amazon, the Kongo, and the Missis- 

 sippi, V)ut in discharge it is much lielow man}' rivers having shorter 

 courses. The following comparison of the discharges of large rivers 

 shows the relative position occupied by the Nile: 



Compnrhon of dii^Hiaiy/es of the Nile, Ganges, Jrr(nraddij, Br'ihmnpvtrd, and Missis.ilppi 



rirers. 



River. 



Nile (at Assuan) 



Gangen (British India) 



Irra vvaddy ( Burma) 



Bralimaputra (Britisli India i. 

 Mississippi (at St. Louis) '< 



Length. 



Miles. 

 3,300 

 1,557 

 2, 532 

 1,700 

 4, 200 



Discharge. 



Maximum. Minimum. Mean. 



I ■ 



Cubic ft. 



per sec. 

 459, 000 

 494, 000 

 0.1,000,000 



1,800,000 

 994.000 



Cubicft. 



pcv sec. 



10, 000 



36,000 



o 84. 000 



14t;, 000 



35.000 



Cubicft. 



per sec. 

 128, 000 

 141,000 

 350, 000 

 520, 000 

 126,000 



Drainage 

 area. 



Square miles. 



1,300,000 

 391,000 

 150, 800 

 361,300 



1,226,400 



a Estimated. 



''Head of Missouri to mouth of Mississippi 



The White Nile rises in Lake Mctoria, in central Africa, and flows 

 northerly, emptying into the Mediterranean, 3,300 miles from its 

 source. From Lake Victoria to Khartum, where it unites with the 

 Blue Nile, is a distance of 2.100 miles. The onl}' tributary flowing 

 into the Nile below the junction of the two main feeders is the Atbara 

 River, about 190 miles farther north. Both the Atbara and Blue Nile 

 rise in the Abyssinian ^lountains and flow northwesterly. From the 

 point where the Saubat River joins the White Nile, 2,370 miles from 

 the Mediterranean, only two triliutaries add to its discharge, and for 

 more than 1,600 miles the river pa.sses through an absolutely barren 

 country. Even after it enters Egypt the width of the cultivated land 

 can almost be disregarded in comparison with the broad expanse of 

 desert on either side. 



High water of the "White Nile appears during June, and the flood 

 does not recede until October. It furnishes a more uniform flow to 

 the irrigators of Nubia and Egypt than any other tributary. It derives 



