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20. Egypt and the Nile.—The Egypt of history comprises the delta of the Nile and the flood plains of its lower course. These rich lands were formed in past geologic ages from the sediment brought down by the river in seasons of flood. The delta was known to the ancients as Lower Egypt, while the valley proper, reaching from the head of the delta to the First Cataract, a distance of six hundred miles, was called Upper Egypt.

Through the same means by which Egypt was originally created is the land each year still renewed and fertilized; hence the Greek