The Blue Nile originates in the heart of Ethiopia at Lake Tana.
The confluence of the Blue Nile and the White Nile is also the location of Khartoum, capital of the Republic of Sudan.
The Blue Nile Falls fed by Lake Tana near the city of Bahar Dar, Ethiopia forms the upstream of the Blue Nile.
A topographic map of the Nile River watershed with political boundaries in red
The Fashoda Incident, 1898, was the climax of imperial territorial disputes during the "scramble for Africa."
Ethiopia lost its Red Sea coastline when a civil war resulted in the secession of Eritrea.
The Toshka Canal, one of the world’s most expensive and ambitious irrigation projects, would take 10% of waters in Lake Nasser to irrigate Egypt’s sandy Western Desert, increasing Egypt’s need for Nile water.
Map of Egypt showing the location of Lake Nasser and the Toshka Lakes
Beginning of the Blue Nile River by its outlet from Lake Tana. Photo by Ondřej Žváček.
The Sudd, a swamp in South Sudan, contributes to the Nile's historic lack of navigability.
