Egypt is located in the north-eastern part of Africa, with an area of about 1 million sq km. It can be divided into four geographical areas: Nile Valley and Delta, Western Desert, Eastern Desert and Sinai Peninsula.
River Nile, which runs from the south to the north, follows the contour of the land, which has a higher elevation in the south and slopes gradually down towards the plains and delta near the Mediterranean Sea. Some mountains reaching the height of over 2600 m are also located in the southern part of Sinai Peninsula.
The regions to the west, south and east of the Nile are deserts (Libyan, Nubian and Eastern deserts). As a result, nearly the entire population lives along the Nile River valley.
At least in ancient times, the Nile valley was flooded for several months of the year from snow on the mountains in the south which melted in the spring, bringing down sediments and nutrients, making the land fertile ground for agriculture.
