What Is The Aswan Dam?

The Aswan Dam is a huge water dam in the south of Egypt. The modern dam was built during the 1960s, replacing the older19th century dam.

The river Nile at Aswan was dammed to stop the annual cycle of flooding that happened in the area. In one respect, the flooding was useful as it created a very fertile delta around the river, which has been used as farmland for thousands of years.

However, the flooding was unpredictable and crops and lives were lost. The dam was built to regulate the flow of the Nile and to increase Egypt's cultivated land. The new dam created a huge artificial lake called Lake Nassar, after President Nassar, the Egyptian leader who ordered the dam to be built.

The dam now marks the point in the river where crocodile habitation starts and ends. There are no crocodiles north of the Aswan dam, but there are plenty in Lake Nassar and beyond.