What causes cataracts in rivers?

What causes cataracts in rivers?

The Nubian Swell has diverted the river’s course to the west, while keeping its depth shallow and causing the formation of the cataracts. Even as the river bed is worn down by erosion, the landmass is lifted, keeping parts of the river bed exposed.

What are cataracts of a river?

The cataracts of the Nile are areas between Aswan and Khartoum where the water is shallow and flows quickly. The surface is broken by numerous small boulders and stones that lie on the river bed, as well as many small rocky islets. This is called “rapids or “white water”.

How many cataracts are in the Nile river?

six
The Blue Nile brings about the inundation or annual flood and provides most of the river’s water and silt. The Atbara river has less of an impact, as it flows only occasionally. In the south, the Nile has a series of six main cataracts, which begin at the site of Aswan.

Where were the cataracts of the Nile?

The Cataracts of the Nile are shallow lengths of the Nile River, between Khartoum and Aswan, where the surface of the water is broken by many small boulders and stones jutting out of the river bed, as well as many rocky islets.

What is the difference between a cataract and a waterfall?

A waterfall is an area where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops in the course of a stream or river. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision.

Why is it called cataract?

“Cataract” is derived from the Latin cataracta, meaning “waterfall”, and from the Ancient Greek καταρράκτης (katarrhaktēs), “down-rushing”, from καταράσσω (katarassō) meaning “to dash down” (from kata-, “down”; arassein, “to strike, dash”).

Who lived beyond the Nile cataracts?

Nubia is traditionally divided into two regions. The southern portion, which extended north to the southern end of the second cataract of the Nile was known as Upper Nubia; this was called Kush (Cush) under the 18th-dynasty pharaohs of ancient Egypt and was called Ethiopia by the ancient Greeks.

What are the three types of waterfall?

Types of Waterfalls

• BLOCK. A cascade, wider than it is tall, that usually covers the entire distance across a stream and drops at a near vertical angle.
• CASCADE. A series of small drops, too many to count feasibly, that fall at a low angle of descent.
• FAN.
• HORSETAIL.
• PLUNGE.
• PUNCHBOWL.