And the ambitions of British policy 101 Control of the waters of the two great rivers (1) They want to sell the Nile's water to Egypt for a price. The English say that the control of the two rivers is guaranteed to Egypt and that the waters of Sudan are in the grip of the Egyptian government. They provide proof of this by saying, "The Egyptian government hastened after the opening of Sudan to ascertain the state of the two rivers - the White Nile and the Blue Nile - and Sir William Garstin pointed to the irrigation issues being placed before the Egyptian government, and that the government of Sudan should not be permitted to undertake any action related to (1) The two great rivers are the White Nile and the Blue Nile. As for the White Nile, it traverses Sudan from south to north, originating from three lakes at the equator, the most important of which is Lake Victoria Nyanza. After flowing 290 miles north to the west, it empties into Lake Albert Nyanza. A river originating from Lake Edward Nyanza flows into the south of this lake, and its course is 180 miles long. Then the Nile flows from Lake Albert Nyanza and traverses the Equatorial Province under the names Bahr al-Jabal and Bahr al-Ghazal. After a distance of 470 miles, a river known as Bahr al-Zaraf branches off from it. The two rivers flow north, separated by about 200 miles. Bahr al-Ghazal meets Bahr al-Zaraf, which is a river flowing from the south. It is composed of several rivers, the most famous of which is Bahr al-Arab. Then it flows east to meet Bahr al-Zaraf. After 25 miles, it meets Bahr al-Sabt, which comes from the south. The White Nile flows from there for 500 miles, meeting the Blue Nile at Khartoum. Its length from its source to Khartoum is 1530 miles. As for the Blue Nile, it originates from Lake Tana in Abyssinia and flows south from there, then turns north to the west until it enters the land of Sennar, about 160 miles from Khartoum, where the Dinder River empties into it. After a journey of 20 miles, the Rahad River empties into it. Both of these rivers flow from the Abyssinian mountains and dry up in the summer. It meets the White Nile at Khartoum after a journey of 846 miles from Lake Tana and flows The Great Nile flows from Khartoum to Ad-Damer, a distance of 180 miles, where it meets the Atbara River, which is a collection of rivers that flow in winter from the Abyssinian mountains and dry up for six months. From Ad-Damer to its mouth in the Mediterranean Sea, it passes through a dry region. The average width of the Blue Nile is 550 cubits, and the average width of the White Nile is 1860 cubits. The Blue Nile empties at Khartoum during the low-water season at a rate of 159 cubic meters per second, and 1604 cubic meters during the flood season. The White Nile empties at a rate of 279 cubic meters during the low-water season and 5907 cubic meters during the flood season. The water of the White Nile is not suitable for drinking. Those who descend on its banks dig wells for drawing water. Due to the low gradient of its sides, it overflows over a wide area where dams form. These are grasses that block its course.