The Nile Delta Flashcards
Give some background?
It is a low energy coastal environment.
Rates of fluvial deposition have exceeded marine erosion for over 3000 years.
The situation is changing due to the influence of human and physical factors.
How long is the River Nile?
6650km
What is the River Niles catchment area?
3million km^3
What is the mean rain fall in the catchment?
600mm average a year
What is the average discharge?
3000m^3 per second, one of the lowest of the great rivers.
What is the annual sediment yield?
- 26t/ha/year
91. 3 million for whole Blue Nile basin
What is the distribution of the Niles sediment load?
30% clay
40% silt
30% fine sand
What is the coastal plain?
The Northern part of the Nile Delta, runs parallel to the Mediterranean coastline.
What are the 3 Subunits of the coastline?
Foreshore plain
Frontal plain
Sandy zone
What is the Foreshore Plain?
Characterised by elongated ridges.
Runs parallel to the present shoreline.
Alternates with lagoons, salt marshes and alluvial deposits between them.
What is the Frontal Plain?
Located south of the foreshore plain.
scattered eroded limestone outcrops and clay deposits.
What is the Sandy Zone?
Comprised of different sand formations such as sheets, dunes and hummocks.
How do the distributries split?
Splits at Cairo 160km inland into distributries which fan out over the whole delta.
What happened before the Aswan High Dam?
Before the construction in 1964 the Niles annual flood would cover t much of the delta in a thick layer of silty mud.
How do barrier bars form?
Wave action in the Med redistributes the sediment in front of the delta, the reworked sediment forms a series of curved barrier bars.