Water Origins

• The Nile is fed predominantly by the monsoon-type rains in Ethiopia and additionally by the White Nile river around Lake Victoria in Africa. Water for Mesopotamia, now known as Iraq, is provided by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The Tigris originates in the mountains of Southwest Turkey and flows northeast of the Euphrates until the two rivers join in Southern Iraq to feed the Persian Gulf. The Euphrates originates in the Caucasus Mountains of Armenia.
  
  

Flooding

• The Nile river flooded less frequently and more predictably than the Tigris and Euphrates did; but when it did flood, it was less devastating. Egypt developed an agricultural system that depended on the flood patterns and a minimal flood year could lead to famine. In contrast, the snow melt in Anatolia, or Asia Minor -- a majority of the Republic of Turkey, frequently resulted in devastating spring floods. Additionally, the Euphrates lies above the Tigris and floods along the Euphrates would sometimes flow into the Tigris with devastating effects.
  
  

Water Storage

• Water storage was a more significant issue for Mesopotamia than for Egypt. Mesopotamia had little rain and both the Tigris and the Euphrates were shallower rivers than the Nile. The Tigris and Euphrates also had more silt and salt than the Nile, which impacted its drinking quality during the late summer. Egypt also had little or no rain, but the Nile was very predictable and deeper, so it was less impacted by sediments.
  
  

Irrigation

• The Egyptians were able to use the predictable flood pattern of the Nile to develop basin agriculture. Basin agriculture consisted of a network of earthen banks constructed to divert flood water into a man-made basin where the farmers would hold it for several weeks until the soil was saturated. They would then drain the water and plant their crops. Mesopotamia, on the other hand, lies flat so it was hard to drain the flood waters. Once the water did subside, the soil was often damaged by excess salt left behind. Irrigation attempts concentrated on diverting water from the Euphrates into the Tigris and away from the fields.