Geography of Egypt  

Egypt on a map of Africa. [6]

 Egypt is located in the Northeast corner of Africa, directly touching nations of the Middle East. The country of Egypt is a fairly large nation, expanding 386,660 square miles with 92,866,186 people, making it the 15^th largest country in terms of population in the World [1].  The larger cities that house Egyptian citizens are the capital of Cairo (30.063 lat./31.25long.), Alexandria (31.216/29.955), Giza (30.008/31.211), and Port Said (29.974/32.526) [2]

Scene from the Nile River, a main source of water in Egypt. [7]

One of the main geographical features in Egypt is the Sahara Dessert. Apart from a small strip of land touching the Mediterranean Sea, this country is hot, dry and arid due to the fact that it is sitting in a dessert. This lack of water means that very little vegetation grows outside of the occasional oasis. Therefore no major crops are seen growing in this dessert to feed the people of Egypt [3]. S However, there is a geographical feature that has an abundance of water and vegetation, and that is the Nile River with its delta. This large river amounts to 3 percent of the total cultivated land, producing grains, sugar cane, cotton, legumes, fruits, and vegetables [4] These crops provide food to eat and trade among the countries surrounding, and can even be transported using the Nile River itself. 

The Sinai Peninsula offers many mineral resources to Egyptian people. [8]

The last major geographical feature of this nation is the Sinai Peninsula. The Peninsula is a piece of land that links Africa and Asia, located in the Northeast part of Egypt. Most of this region is characterized by igneous rock, deep canyons, and high mountains. Such extreme features make the south very hard to populate [5]. Rather, the northern land is where many people live due to rich mineral resources. Mining of petroleum, mineral ores, stones, sands, and gravels are all abundant and ready to be traded with other parts of the World [5].

Despite Egypt’s dry-arid climate, lack of water, and rugged cliffs, it continues to be a place where people have historically flocked to. The beauty of the land, transportation of the Nile, and variety of crops make this a popular place to both live and visit.


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[1] "Egypt Population (LIVE)." Egypt Population (2016). Accessed March 23, 2016. http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/egypt-population/.

[2]"Biggest Cities Egypt." Biggest Cities Egypt. Accessed March 25, 2016. http://www.geonames.org/EG/largest-cities-in-egypt.html.

[3] "Egypt." Weather. Accessed March 23, 2016. http://www.bbc.com/weather/features/17994597.

[4]  "Egypt." Egypt. Accessed March 25, 2016. http://www.fao.org/docrep/v9978e/v9978e0e.htm.

[5] The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Sinai Peninsula." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Accessed March 24, 2016. http://www.britannica.com/place/Sinai-Peninsula.

[6] WorldAtlas. 2015. Egypt Map. 

[7] Flight Center. 2013. The Majestic Nile River

[8] U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. 1992. Shaded Relief Map of Sinai Peninsula.