Cruising the Nile River

This piece is part of Water Grabbers: A Global Rush on Freshwater, a special National Geographic Freshwater News series on how grabbing land—and water—from poor people, desperate governments, and future generations threatens global food security, environmental sustainability, and local cultures.

A man surveys Nile River boat traffic near the Aswan High Dam in Egypt.

The river—one of the world’s longest at 4,225 miles (6,800 kilometers)—runs a south-north course from its headwaters in central Africa to the Mediterranean Sea.

From the Ethiopian highlands to the arid deserts of South Sudan, Sudan, and Egypt, the Nile River and its tributaries have shaped the history and fate of the region's diverse peoples.