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Wildlife of Egypt


The wildlife of Egypt is composed of the flora and fauna of this country in northeastern Africa and southwestern Asia, and is substantial and varied. Apart from the fertile Nile Valley, which bisects the country from south to north, the majority of Egypt's landscape is desert, with a few scattered oases. It has long coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea, the Gulf of Suez, the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea. Each geographic region has a diversity of plants and animals each adapted to its own particular habitat.

Egypt is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Libya to the west and Sudan to the south. To the east lies the Red Sea, and the Sinai Peninsula, the Asian part of the country, which is bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel. Egypt is a transcontinental nation, providing a land bridge between Africa and Asia. This is traversed by the Suez Canal which connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean by way of the Red Sea. This results in the flora and fauna having influences from both Africa and Asia, and the marine life from both the Atlantic / Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea / Indian Ocean.

The River Nile enters Egypt as it flows through Lake Nasser, formed by the building of the Aswan Dam. In its lower reaches, the river is about 0.75 km (0.5 mi) wide and the alluvial plain about 10 km (6 mi) wide. The annual flooding of the Nile no longer occurs and the fertility of the Nile Valley is now maintained by irrigation rather than the deposition of silt. Much of the Nile is bordered by flat land but in some places there are low cliffs. Where the river flows into the Mediterranean, there is an extensive fan-shaped delta area with channels, lakes and salt marshes.


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