— 34 
the Albert Nile seems to be deepening and widening itself, and he 
states in another place that the extent of overflow over the mayahs or 
side depressions is decreasing. 
With proper training works and dredging it should be possible to 
reduce the length of the main channel of the Albert Nile between 
Gondokoro and Bor from 175 kilometres to 160; between Bor and 
Ghaba Shambe from 206 kilometres to 145 ; and between Ghaba 
Shambe and Lake No from 380 kilometres to 305. Or the length of 
channel from Gondokoro to Lake No might he reduced from 761 
kilometres to 610. Some of the curves are nearly complete circles, 
needing but little work to cut off extensive lengths. 
Between Ghaba Shambe and Lake No there were 19 sudd blocks of 
which all but one were removed by Major Peake, R.A., and Lieut. 
Drury, R. N., in 1900 and 1901. Their positions are indicated on 
Plate VI. South of Hillet-el-Nuer is sudd block No. 15, the only one 
remaining to be removed. Owing to this block, the Albert Nile leaves 
its true channel, which is from 5 to 6 metres deep, and, on a length 
of 43 kilometres, follows a series of mayahs, pools and marshes with 
a depth of from 1J to 2 metres. The original channel was closed by 
a boat laden with ivory sinking in the true channel during the Dervish 
domination. The boat has been found, the ivory recovered and the 
work of sudd clearing commenced, but the work has not yet been 
completed. 
The maximum discharge of the Albert Nile at Hillet-el-Nuer may be 
taken as 450 cubic metres per second, and into Lake No as 320 cubic 
metres per second. The water of the river is dark-coloured and contains 
no sediment. Very little ambatch is met with north of Ghaba Shambe. 
Between Ghaba Shambe and Lake No on the left bank, in the first 
120 kilometres, three channels carrying very appreciable quantities of 
water flow into the Albert Nile. These are considered to be the tails 
of the river Yei. At Hillet-el-Nuer, about 170 kilometres north of 
Ghaba Shambe, a branch takes off from the west side of the Albert 
Nile, known as Gage’s channel, with 35 metres of clear waterway, 1 
metre depth and 0*60 metre per second velocity, discharging 20 cubic 
metres per second. This stream flows westwards and is lost in the 
swamps. On the right bank, downstream of Ghaba Shambe, are the 
two heads of the Bahr Zeraf, one natural and the other artificial 
made by Sir Samuel Baker. About 90 kilometres north of Ghaba 
Shambe a few spills take water towards the Zeraf river. 
