Page "Geography of Egypt" Paragraph 17

At Cairo, the Nile spreads out over what was once a broad estuary, subsequently filled by silt deposits to form what is now a fertile, fan-shaped delta some 250 km wide at its seaward extremity and extending about 160 km from north to south.

The Nile Delta covers approximately 22, 000 km < sup > 2 </ sup > ( roughly equivalent in area to that of Massachusetts ).

According to historical accounts from the first century AD, seven branches of the Nile once ran through the delta.

According to later accounts, the Nile had, by around the twelfth century, just six branches.

Since then, nature and man have closed all but two main outlets: the east branch, Damietta ( also seen as Dumyat ; 240 km long ), and the west branch, Rosetta ( 235 km long ).

Both outlets are named after the ports located at their respective mouths.

A network of drainage and irrigation canals supplements these remaining outlets.

In the north, near the coast, the Nile delta embraces a series of salt marshes and lakes, the most notable among which are Idku, Al Burullus, and Manzilah.