Some of the Hydroelectric Generators at Aswan High Dam. ©Michael Barron
Questions
1. What is a dam ?
2. Read the fact file about the Nile and look at the map to answer the following questions :
a. Where are the sources of the Nile and which countries does the Nile flow through ?
b. What is the length of the Nile ?
3. Where is the Aswan Dam located in Egypt (see the general map of Egypt) ?
4. What is particular about the geography of Egypt ?
- satellite image (also, have a look at this picture)
- climate (see this map and the average temperatures and number of rain days on this page - scroll down to find Aswan. You can also read the paragraph about climate here.)
5. What made Herodotus write (in 440 BC) that Egypt was the “Gift of the Nile” (scroll down the page to find the relevant paragraph) ?
6. Read this page or this page : What prompted the decision to build the Aswan High Dam ? When was it built ? What was the main consequence of the building of the dam ?
7. Using what you have just read and this article from the Cairo Times, fill out a table like this :
Positive aspects of the dam |
Negative aspects of the dam |
- first - second... etc |
8. Assign a positive or a negative value to each item, on a scale from 5 (high benefit) to - 5 (high cost), and try to make a cost-benefit calculation : is your total negative or positive ? In your opinion, has the Aswan Dam been more beneficial or detrimental to Egypt and its people ?