A Fact File about the Nile RiverLength: (From White Nile Source to Mouth) 6695km (4184 miles). Name: The Nile gets its name from the Greek word "Nelios", meaning River Valley. Sources: The White Nile: Lake Victoria, Uganda. The Blue Nile: Lake Tana, Ethiopia. Countries: The Nile and its tributaries flow though nine countries. The White Nile flows though Uganda, Sudan, and Egypt. The Blue Nile starts in Ethiopia. Zaire, Kenya, Tanzanian, Rwanda, and Burundi all have tributaries, which flow into the Nile or into lake Victoria Nyanes. Cities: The major cities that are located on the edge of the Nile and White Nile are: Cairo, Gondokoro, Khartoum, Aswan, Thebes/Luxor, Karnak, and the town of Alexandria lies near the Rozeta branch. Major Dams: The major dams on the Nile are Roseires Dam, Sennar Dam, Aswan High Dam, and Owen Falls Dam. The Nile River's average discharge is about 300 million cubic metresper day. To get a more accurate idea about how much water actuallyflows in the nile look at this image:Atbara is the first town on the Nile, when no more smaller rivers join the nile futher down it. Cubic metres * 35.31 = cubic feet. I have recieved many emails about why does the nile river flow south to north, the answer is very simple. The river just flows down hill, from the high mountains in the middle of africa to the Nile delta (point where Nile enters the Mediterranean Sea). Here is an image I scanned in from a book to show in more detail the way the Nile flows. Use this image with the maps on the maps page to find out where the places on this map are. Back To Main Page