Blue Nile
The Blue Nile is an Ethiopian river that flows from Lake Tana. It travels 1,450 kilometers (900 miles) through Ethiopia and Sudan. It is one of the Nile's two major tributaries, along with the White Nile, and supplies approximately 80% of the Nile's water during the rainy season.
The river's length from its headwaters to its confluence has been estimated to be between 1,460 km (910 mi) and 1,600 km (1,600 mi) (990 mi). This uncertainty may be due to the fact that the river flows through a series of nearly impenetrable gorges cut into the Ethiopian Highlands to a depth of approximately 1,500 metres (4,900 ft)—a depth comparable to the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River in the United States. According to Central Statistical Agency materials, the Blue Nile has a total length of 1,450 kilometers (900 miles), of which 800 kilometers (500 miles) are within Ethiopia.
The Blue Nile originates in Ethiopia at Lake Tana (where it is called the Abay River). The river flows generally south before entering a canyon about 400 kilometers (250 miles) long, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Lake Tana, which is a major barrier to travel and communication between north and south Ethiopia. The canyon was first referred to as the "Grand Canyon" by a British team in 1968 after they completed the first descent of the river from Lake Tana to the canyon's end; subsequent river rafting parties referred to it as the "Grand Canyon of the Nile." One of Ethiopia's most popular tourist attractions, the Blue Nile Falls (Amharic: Tis Abay, literally "great smoke"), is located at the canyon's entrance.
The river winds its way through northwest Ethiopia before being fed by a slew of tributaries between Lake Tana and the Ethiopia–Sudan border. The Wanqa River, the Bashilo River, the Walaqa River, the Wanchet River, the Jamma River, the Muger River, the Guder River, the Agwel River, the Nedi River, the Didessa River, and the Dabus River are all on its left bank. The Handassa, Tul, Abaya, Sade, Tammi, Cha, Shita, Suha, Muga, Gulla, Temcha, Bachat, Katlan, Jiba, Chamoga, Weter, and Beles are among those on the right side, also in downstream order.
Length: 1,450 km (900 mi)
