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69-532: [REDACTED] From north to south, the delta is approximately 160 km (100 mi) in length. From west to east, it covers some 240 km (150 mi) of coastline. The delta is sometimes divided into sections, with the Nile dividing into two main distributaries , the Damietta and the Rosetta , flowing into the Mediterranean at port cities with the same name. In the past, the delta had several distributaries, but these have been lost due to flood control, silting and changing relief. One such defunct distributary

138-423: A hot desert climate ( Köppen : BWh ) as the rest of Egypt, but its northernmost part, as is the case with the rest of the northern coast of Egypt which is the wettest region in the country, has relatively moderate temperatures, with highs usually not surpassing 31 °C (88 °F) in the summer. Only 100–200 mm (4–8 in) of rain falls on the delta area during an average year, and most of this falls in

207-751: A fast browning rate. Lotus root tea is consumed in Korea. Lotus root is a popular vegetable in Sri Lanka, where it is often cooked in coconut milk gravy. In India, lotus root (also known as kamala kakaṛī in Hindi ) is cooked as a dry curry or Sabzî . Japan is one of the primary users of the rhizomes, representing about 1% of all vegetables consumed. Japan grows its own lotus but still must import 18,000 tons of lotus rhizome each year, of which China provides 15,000 tons yearly. Rhizomes contain high amounts of starch (31.2%) without characteristic taste or odor. The texture

276-665: A higher yield and higher quality rhizomes than seed or flower lotus cultivars. Furthermore, this group grows tall and produces few to no flowers. Cultivars can be classified by harvest time or by the depth of rhizomes into these types: The main popular Nelumbo nucifera cultivars in China are Elian 1, Elian 4, Elian 5, 9217, Xin 1, and 00–01. The average yield of these cultivars is 7.5–15 t/ha (3.3–6.7 tons/acre) of harvest in July and 30–45 t/ha (13–20 tons/acre) of harvest in September. In Australia,

345-598: A part of branding strategy and to make it easier for voters, BJP started using lotus logo in black-and-white in most settings as Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) in India only allow black-and-white logos. The rhizomes of lotus ( Chinese : 蓮藕 ; pinyin : lián-ǒu , Japanese : 蓮根 , romanized :  renkon , Korean : 연근 or 蓮根 , romanized :  yeongun , Hindi : कमल ककड़ी , romanized :  kamala kakaṛī , Sindhi Beeh, Telugu : అల్లిదుంప , romanized :  alli'dumpa ) are consumed as

414-439: A result of river bifurcation and are often found where a river approaches a lake or an ocean and divides into distributary networks; as such they are a common feature of river deltas . They can also occur inland, on alluvial fans , or where a tributary stream bifurcates as it nears its confluence with a larger stream. In some cases, a minor distributary can divert so much water from the main channel that it can later become

483-417: A suitable stage for eating in approximately six to nine months. Early varieties are harvested in July until September and late varieties from October until March, after the ponds or fields are drained. The large, starch -rich rhizomes are easy to dig out of the drained soil. In small-scale production, they are harvested by hand using fork-like tools. In Japan and on bigger farms, manual labour harvesting

552-582: A vegetable in Asian countries, extensively in China, Japan, India, Pakistan ( Sindh ), sold whole or in cut pieces, fresh, frozen, or canned. They are fried or cooked mostly in soups, soaked in syrup or pickled in vinegar (with sugar, chili and garlic). Lotus rhizomes have a crunchy texture and are a classic dish at many banquets, where they are deep-fried, stir-fried, or stuffed with meats or preserved fruits. Salads with prawns , sesame oil or coriander leaves are also popular. Fresh lotus root slices are limited by

621-407: A water lily, though this more often refers to members of the family Nymphaeaceae . Lotus plants are adapted to grow in the flood plains of slow-moving rivers and delta areas. Stands of lotus drop hundreds of thousands of seeds every year to the bottom of the pond. While some sprout immediately and most are eaten by wildlife, the remaining seeds can remain dormant for an extensive period of time as

690-410: Is Wadi Tumilat . The Suez Canal is east of the delta and enters the coastal Lake Manzala in the north-east of the delta. To the north-west are three other coastal lakes or lagoons: Lake Burullus , Lake Idku and Lake Mariout . The Nile is considered to be an "arcuate" delta (arc-shaped), as it resembles a triangle or flower when seen from above. Some scholars such as Aristotle have written that

759-504: Is 1.05–1.9 t/ha (0.5–0.8 tons/acre) of dry seeds and weight of thousand seeds between 1,020 and 1,800 g (36 and 63 oz). Green Jade and Vietnam-Red are recommended cultivars for seed production in Australia. Flower lotus cultivars are used exclusively for ornamental purpose , producing many flowers and the lowest plant height. The seed production of flower lotus is typically poor regarding yield and quality. Flower types differ in

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828-556: Is Wanlian. Also known as bowl lotus, wanlians are any miniature cultivars of N. nucifera sized between 5 and 8 centimetres (2.0 and 3.1 in). Bowl lotuses come in various colours and numbers of petals , and they bloom longer than other species of lotus. But together with the rhizome , their seeds are often too small or too hard to be edible. The sacred lotus may be crossed with the yellow lotus to produce interspecific hybrids . A few varieties have been produced with differing appearances. About 70% of lotus for human consumption

897-500: Is about 30 cm (12 in). In colder climates, having a deeper water level protects the tubers more effectively, and overall is helpful for better growth and flowering . The sacred lotus germinates at temperatures above 13 °C (55 °F). Most varieties are not naturally cold-hardy, but may readily adapt to living outdoors year-round in USDA hardiness zones 6 through 11 (with some growers having success in zones as low as 4 or 5);

966-716: Is an inland distributary of the upper Orinoco , which flows southward into the Rio Negro , forming a unique natural canal between the Orinoco and Amazon river systems. It is the largest river on the planet that links two major river systems. The Huai River in China splits into three streams. The main stream passes through the Sanhe Sluice, goes out of the Sanhe river, and enters the Yangtze River through Baoying Lake and Gaoyou Lake . On

1035-679: Is comparable to a raw potato. The binding and disintegration properties of isolated Nelumbo starch have been compared with maize and potato starch; Nelumbo starch is shown to be superior as an adjuvant in the preparation of tablets . When dried, N. nucifera is also made into flour , another popular use of this vegetable. Lotus pip tea is consumed in Korea. Fresh lotus seeds ( simplified Chinese : 莲子 ; traditional Chinese : 蓮子 ; pinyin : liánzǐ ; Cantonese Yale : lìhnjí ) are nutritious but also vulnerable to microbial contamination , especially fungal infections. Therefore, mostly dry lotus seed-based products are found on

1104-507: Is consumed in China and Vietnam. Young lotus stems are used as a salad ingredient in Vietnamese cuisine and as a vegetable ingredient for some soup and curry in Thailand, such as keang som sai bua ( Thai : แกงส้มสายบัว , lotus stem sour soup) and keang kati sai bua ( แกงกะทิสายบัว , lotus stem in coconut milk curry). In northern and eastern regions of India, the stalk of the flower

1173-464: Is fully replaced by machines. Lotus varieties have been classified according to their use into three types: rhizome lotus, seed lotus, and flower lotus. Varieties that show more than one of these characteristics are classified by the strongest feature. Regarding production area in China, rhizome lotus has the largest area with 200,000 ha (490,000 acres), followed by seed lotus with 20,000 ha (49,000 acres). Rhizome lotus cultivars produce

1242-457: Is native to West Africa, including Nigeria and Cameroon, and thrives in slow-moving water. A fertilized lotus flower bears fruit that contains a cluster of 10 to 30 seeds. Each seed is ovoid 1–2.5 cm wide by 1–1.5 cm long with a brownish coat. Lotus seeds can remain viable after long periods of dormancy. In 1994, a seed from a sacred lotus, dated at roughly 1,300 years old ± 270 years, was successfully germinated . The traditional sacred lotus

1311-474: Is only distantly related to Nymphaea caerulea , but possesses similar chemistry. Both Nymphaea caerulea and Nelumbo nucifera contain the alkaloids nuciferine and aporphine . The genome of the sacred lotus was sequenced in May 2013. A dedicated genome database lists additional genome assemblies sequenced since then. The sacred lotus grows in water up to 2.5 m (8 ft) deep. The minimum water depth

1380-475: Is produced in China. In 2005, the cultivation area in China was estimated at 300,000 hectares (740,000 acres). A majority of lotus production takes place in managed farming systems in ponds or flooded fields like rice . The most widely used system is crop rotation with rice and vegetables . This system is applicable if the propagule (small piece of rhizome) can be planted early in the year. The rhizomes are harvested in July, after which rice can be planted in

1449-745: Is used as the main ingredient in dishes with coconut milk. The stems and petals can be bought in markets when in season. In China and Korea, lotus leaf tea ( Korean : 연잎차 , romanized :  yeon'ip-cha ) is made from the leaves of the lotus. It is also used as a wrap for steaming rice and sticky rice and other steamed dishes in Southeast Asian cuisine, such as lo mai gai in Chinese cuisine or kao hor bai bua ( Thai : ข้าวห่อใบบัว ), fried rice wrapped in lotus leaf in Thai cuisine. Vietnamese also use lotus leaves to wrap green young rice, cốm , which

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1518-500: Is used to prepare a soup, kamala gaṭṭē kī sabzī ( Hindi : कमल गट्टे की सब्ज़ी ) and an appetizer, kamala kakaṛī pakauṛē ( Hindi : कमल ककड़ी पकौड़े ). In South Indian states, the lotus stem is sliced, marinated with salt to dry, and the dried slices are fried and used as a side dish. In Kerala ( Malayalam : താമര ) and Tamil Nadu , this end product is called thamara vathal . In the Philippines , an indigenous variety called tukal

1587-730: The Clutha River , splits into two arms, the Matau and the Koua , some 10 kilometres from the South Island's Pacific Coast. A large island, Inch Clutha , lies between the two arms. Many of the rivers crossing the Canterbury Plains in the central South Island are braided rivers , and several of these split into separate branches before reaching the coast. Notable among these is the Rangitata River ,

1656-589: The Fly River , which splits into three major and several minor rivers close to its mouth. The Bamu River splits into several channels close to its mouth, among them the Bebea , Bina , Dibiri , and Aramia . The Kikori River also splits into a multitude of channels as it crosses the plains close to the Gulf of Papua. The Purari River splits into three major channels as it approaches its mouth. New Zealand's second-longest river,

1725-642: The Fraser River , separated by Annacis Island ). In Australia, the term anabranch is used to refer to a distributary that diverts from the main course of the river and rejoins it later. In North America such a branching river is called a braided river . In Louisiana , the Atchafalaya River is an important distributary of the Mississippi River . Because the Atchafalaya takes a steeper route to

1794-657: The Gulf of Mexico than does the Mississippi, over several decades the Atchafalaya has captured more and more of the Mississippi's flow, after the Mississippi meandered into the Red River of the South . The Old River Control Structure , a dam which regulates the outflow from the Mississippi into the Atchafalaya, was completed by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1963. The dam is intended to prevent

1863-525: The Second Intermediate Period and burials from the Naqada II era. The burial site contained the remains of animals, amulets and scarabs carved from faience , round and oval pots with handles, flint knives, broken and burned pottery. All burials included skulls and skeletons in the bending position and were not very well-preserved. Records from ancient times (such as by Ptolemy ) reported that

1932-558: The mud 10–15 cm ( 3 + 7 ⁄ 8 – 5 + 7 ⁄ 8  in) below the soil surface . The stolon is ready to harvest two to three months after planting. It must be harvested before flowering. Harvesting the stolon is done by manual labor. For this step, the field is not drained. The stolon is pulled out of the water by pulling and shaking the young leaves in the shallow water. The first leaves and flowers can be harvested three months after planting. Flowers can be picked every two days during summer and every three days during

2001-552: The Atchafalaya from capturing the main flow of the Mississippi and stranding the ports of Baton Rouge and New Orleans . In British Columbia , Canada, the Fraser River has numerous sloughs and side-channels which may be defined as distributaries. This river's final stretch has three main distributaries: the North Arm and the South Arm , and a few smaller ones adjoining them. Examples of inland distributaries: The Casiquiare canal

2070-587: The Buddha in most Buddhist temples. Lotus is also widely used in Varamala (hindu wedding garland). Lotus is the national flower of the Republic of India . Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) , the largest political party in the world with around 200 million active members, uses lotus as its party symbol. BJP, in the past, have used lotuses in multiple colors - pink,white,blue,red and saffron, in their party flag. In recent times, as

2139-570: The Chinese regard the plant as a symbol of longevity . It has a very wide native distribution, ranging from central and northern India (at altitudes up to 1,400 m or 4,600 ft in the southern Himalayas ), through northern Indochina and East Asia (north to the Amur region ; the Russian populations have sometimes been referred to as Nelumbo komarovii , with isolated locations at the Caspian Sea . Today,

Nile Delta - Misplaced Pages Continue

2208-553: The Delta region. Outside of major cities, population density in the delta averages 1,000/km (2,600/sq mi) or more. Alexandria is the largest city in the delta with an estimated population of more than 4.5 million. Other large cities in the delta include Shubra El Kheima , Port Said , El Mahalla El Kubra , Mansura , Tanta , and Zagazig . During autumn , parts of the Nile River are red with lotus flowers . The Lower Nile (North) and

2277-879: The Hongkou. The Tha Chin River and Noi River are distributaries of the Chao Phraya River in Thailand , splitting off from the latter about 200 kilometers upstream from the Bay of Bangkok . The Brantas River in East Java , Indonesia , branches off into two distributaries, Mas River , also known as Surabaya River, and Porong River . A number of the rivers that flow inland from Australia's Great Dividing Range form distributaries, most of which flow only intermittently during times of high river levels and end in shallow lakes or simply peter out in

2346-669: The Mediterranean. A 30 cm (12 in) rise in sea level could affect about 6.6% of the total land cover area in the Nile Delta region. At 1 m (3 ft 3 in) sea level rise, an estimated 887 thousand people could be at risk of flooding and displacement and about 100 km (40 sq mi) of vegetation, 16 km (10 sq mi) wetland, 402 km (160 sq mi) cropland, and 47 km (20 sq mi) of urban area land could be destroyed, flooding approximately 450 km (170 sq mi). Some areas of

2415-433: The Nile Delta's agricultural land have been rendered saline as a result of sea level rise; farming has been abandoned in some places, while in others sand has been brought in from elsewhere to reduce the effect. In addition to agriculture , the delta's ecosystems and tourist industry could be negatively affected by global warming. Food shortages resulting from climate change could lead to seven million "climate refugees" by

2484-454: The Nile Delta: 30°54′N 31°7′E  /  30.900°N 31.117°E  / 30.900; 31.117 Distributary A distributary , or a distributary channel is a stream channel that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. It is the opposite of a tributary , a stream that flows towards and into another stream or river. Distributaries are

2553-647: The Upper Nile (South) have plants that grow in abundance. The Upper Nile plant is the Egyptian lotus, and the Lower Nile plant is the Papyrus Sedge ( Cyperus papyrus ), although it is not nearly as plentiful as it once was, and is becoming quite rare. Several hundred thousand water birds winter in the delta, including the world's largest concentrations of little gulls and whiskered terns . Other birds making their homes in

2622-502: The air temperature dropped to 10 °C (50 °F). They suspect the flowers may be doing this to attract cold-blooded insect pollinators . Studies published in the journals Nature and Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences in 1996 and 1998 were important contributions in the field of thermoregulation in plants. Two other species known to be able to regulate their temperature include Symplocarpus foetidus and Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum . The red tiger lotus

2691-444: The air; when kept underwater in soil, the energy-rich tubers can overwinter temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F). If the plants are taken out of the water for wintertime storage (mostly in exceptionally cold climates), the tubers and roots must be stored in a stable, frost-free location, such as a garage, preferably in a cardboard box or container filled completely with vermiculite or perlite . Care must be taken to fully insulate

2760-587: The closest relatives of Nelumbo include the sycamores ( Platanaceae ). The lotus roots are planted in pond or river bottom soil, while the leaves float on the water's surface or are held well above it. The leaf stalks (petioles) can be up to 200 cm (6 ft 7 in) long, allowing the plant to grow in water to that depth. The peltate leaf blade or lamina can have a horizontal spread of 1 m (3 ft 3 in). The leaves may be as large as 80 cm (31 in) in diameter. The flowers are usually found on thick stems rising several centimeters above

2829-403: The colder season. Four months after planting, the production of flowers has its climax. The harvest of flowers is usually done by hand for three to four months. Seeds and seed pods can be harvested when they turn black four to eight months after planting. After sun drying for two to three days, they are processed by mechanical tools to separate seed coats and embryos. The rhizomes mature to

Nile Delta - Misplaced Pages Continue

2898-584: The cultivar grown for the fresh rhizome market in Guangdong and Japan , the common rhizome cultivars are Tenno and Bitchu. The characteristics of seed lotus cultivars are a large number of carpels and seed sets as well as large seeds with better nutritional properties. Roots of these varieties are thin, fibrous, and do not form good rhizomes. The main popular cultivars for seed production in China are Cunsanlian, Xianglian 1, Zilian 2, Jianlian, Ganlian 62, and Taikong 36. The average yield of these cultivars in China

2967-543: The delta had seven distributaries or branches, (from east to west): Modern Egyptologists suggest that in the Pharaonic era there were at a time five main branches: The first three have dried up over the centuries due to flood control , silting and changing relief, while the last two still exist today. The Delta used to flood annually , but this ended with the construction of the Aswan Dam . About 39 million people live in

3036-476: The delta include grey herons , Kentish plovers , shovelers , cormorants , egrets and ibises . Other animals found in the delta include frogs , turtles , tortoises , mongooses , and the Nile monitor . Nile crocodiles and hippopotamus , two animals which were widespread in the delta during antiquity, are no longer found there. Fish found in the delta include the flathead grey mullet and soles. The Delta has

3105-467: The delta was constructed for agricultural purposes due to the drying of the region of Egypt. In modern day, the outer edges of the delta are eroding, and some coastal lagoons have seen increasing salinity levels as their connection to the Mediterranean Sea increases. Since the delta no longer receives an annual supply of nutrients and sediments from upstream due to the construction of the Aswan Dam ,

3174-409: The delta. Artifacts belonging to ancient sites have been found on the delta's coast. The Rosetta Stone was found in the delta in 1799 in the port city of Rosetta (an anglicized version of the name Rashid ). In July 2019 a small Greek temple, ancient granite columns, treasure-carrying ships, and bronze coins from the reign of Ptolemy II , dating back to the third and fourth centuries BC, were found at

3243-794: The deserts. Yarriambiack Creek , which flows from the Wimmera River into Lake Coorong, and Tyrrell Creek, which flows from the Avoca River into Lake Tyrrell , are two distributaries in Victoria . The Narran River flows from the Balonne River in Queensland into Narran Lake in New South Wales . Many of Papua New Guinea's major rivers flow into the Gulf of Papua through marshy, low-lying country, allowing for wide, many-branched deltas. These include

3312-581: The east bank of Hongze Lake , another stream goes out of Gaoliangjian Gate and enters the Yellow Sea at the port of Bidan through Subei Guan'gai Zongqu, the main irrigation channel of Northern Jiangsu ); its total length is 168 kilometers. The third stream leaves the Erhe lock on the northeast bank of Hongze Lake, passes the Huaishuhe River to the north of Lianyungang city, and flows into Haizhou Bay through

3381-440: The end of the 21st century. Nevertheless, environmental damage to the delta is not currently one of Egypt's priorities. The delta's coastline has also undergone significant changes in geomorphology as a result of the reclamation of coastal dunes and lagoons to form new agricultural land and fish farms as well as the expansion of coastal urban areas. The Nile Delta forms part of these 10 governorates : Large cities located in

3450-398: The forms of paste , fermented milk, rice wine, ice cream, popcorn ( phool makhana ), and others, with lotus seeds as the main raw material. Traditional Chinese medicine claims that fresh lotus seed wine has thirst-quenching, spleen-healing, and anti-diarrheal advantages after drinking, attributed to unspecified bioactive compounds. Lotus seed tea is consumed in Korea, and lotus embryo tea

3519-514: The future to produce high volumes of uniform, true-to-type , disease-free materials. The first step of the cultivation is to plough the dry field. One round of manure is applied after ten days, before flooding the field. To support a quick initial growth, the water level is relatively low and increases when plants grow. Then a maximum of approximately 4,000 per hectare (1,600/acre) with grid spacing of 1.2 by 2 metres (3 ft 11 in × 6 ft 7 in) are used to plant directly into

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3588-609: The genus should belong in its own unique family and order. According to the APG IV system, N. nucifera , N. lutea , and their extinct relatives belong in Proteales with the protea flowers due to genetic comparisons. Older systems, such as the Cronquist system , place N. nucifera and its relatives in the order Nymphaeles based on anatomical similarities. According to the APG IV classification,

3657-399: The higher the zone's number, the greater the adaptability of the plants. In the growing season , from April to September (in the northern hemisphere ), the average daytime temperature needed is 23 to 27 °C (73 to 81 °F). In regions with low light levels in winter, the sacred lotus has a period of dormancy . The tubers are not cold-resistant, if removed from water, and exposed to

3726-511: The leaves. They are showy and grow up to 35 cm (14 in) in diameter. Some cultivated varieties have extraordinary numbers of petals. For example, the Chinese variety qian ban lian ("thousand petals lotus") can have between 3000 and 4000 petals in a single blossom and the Japanese variety ohmi myoren ("strange lotus") can have between 2000 and 5000 petals, the greatest number recorded for any species of plant. Researchers report that

3795-518: The lotus has the remarkable ability to regulate the temperature of its flowers within a narrow range, just as humans and other warm-blooded animals do. Roger S. Seymour and Paul Schultze-Motel, physiologists at the University of Adelaide in Australia, found that lotus flowers blooming in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens maintained a temperature of 30–35 °C (86–95 °F), even when

3864-624: The main route. Common terms to name individual river distributaries in English-speaking countries are arm and channel . These terms may refer to a distributary that does not rejoin the channel from which it has branched (e.g., the North, Middle, and South Arms of the Fraser River , or the West Channel of the Mackenzie River ), or to one that does (e.g. Annacis Channel and Annieville Channel of

3933-578: The market. Traditional sun baking combined with charcoal processing dries the seeds but results in a loss of nutrients. Freeze-dried lotus seeds have a longer shelf life and maintain original nutrients, while no differences in flavour are found after rehydration compared to fresh lotus seeds. Dry stored lotus seeds are sensitive to moisture and mold infestation ; researchers continue to explore new ways to preserve fresh lotus seeds, such as radiation processing . Lotus seeds can be processed into fillings for moon cake , lotus seed noodles and food in

4002-404: The number of petals (single petals, double petals, or multi-petals) and their colours range from single colour in white, yellow, pink, and red to bi-colour, most often of white petals with pink tips or highlights. The flowers are capable of producing ink used by artists such as Morrison Polkinghorne to produce abstract images of the landscapes of southern Asia. One example of a flower lotus

4071-419: The pond silts in and dries out. During flood conditions, sediments containing these seeds are broken open, and the dormant seeds rehydrate and begin a new lotus colony. Under favorable circumstances, the seeds of this aquatic perennial may remain viable for many years, with the oldest recorded lotus germination being from seeds 1,300 years old recovered from a dry lakebed in northeastern China. Therefore,

4140-769: The rhizomes into the drained field . The rhizomes are then harvested next March. A third way is to plant lotus in ponds or fields and raise aquatic animals such as fish , shrimp , or crab in the same field. A more efficient use of the water for both, the aquatic animals and lotus production has been identified with this planting pattern. Lotus flowers are widely used as offerings to most female deities, especially Lakshmi , in Hindu temples. Among male deities, lotuses are offered to Vishnu for prosperity and to Shiva for salvation. Garlands made of lotuses are used for adorning deities and lotus petals are used in puja . Lotus seeds are also used in prayer beads. Lotuses are also offered to

4209-455: The same field. Rice is then harvested in October. From November until March, the field stays either free or terricolous vegetables, such as cabbage or spinach , are planted. Alternatively, the vegetable can also be planted after the harvest of the lotus. Another alternative way is not to harvest the lotus rhizome , even though it is already ripe. A terricolous vegetable is planted between

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4278-426: The sea, in some places amounting to 90 m (100 yd) a year. The low-lying Nile Delta area in particular is vulnerable to sea level rise associated with global warming . This effect is exacerbated by the lack of sediments being deposited since the construction of the Aswan Dam . If the polar ice caps were to melt, much of the northern delta, including the ancient port city of Alexandria , could disappear under

4347-420: The soils of the floodplains have become poorer, and large amounts of fertilizers are now used. Topsoil in the delta can be as much as 21 m (70 ft) in depth. People have lived in the Nile Delta region for thousands of years, and it has been intensively farmed for at least the last five thousand years. The delta was a major constituent of Lower Egypt, and there are many archaeological sites in and around

4416-417: The species also occurs in southern India, Sri Lanka, virtually all of Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and northern and eastern Australia, but this is probably the result of human translocations. It has a very long history ( c. 3,000 years) of being cultivated for its edible seeds and is commonly cultivated in water gardens . It is the national flower of India and Vietnam. The lotus is often confused with

4485-490: The sunken city of Heracleion , colloquially known as Egypt's Atlantis. The investigations were conducted by Egyptian and European divers led by the underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio . They also uncovered a devastated historic temple (the city's main temple) underwater off Egypt's north coast. In January 2019 archaeologists led by Mostafa Waziri working in the Kom Al-Khelgan area of the Nile Delta discovered tombs from

4554-563: The true water lilies of the genus Nymphaea , in particular N. caerulea , the "blue lotus." In fact, several older systems, such as the Bentham & Hooker system (which is widely used in the Indian subcontinent), refer to the lotus by its old synonym, Nymphaea nelumbo . While all modern plant taxonomy systems agree that this species belongs in the genus Nelumbo , the systems disagree as to which family Nelumbo should be placed in or whether

4623-411: The tubers. The sacred lotus requires a nutrient -rich and loamy soil. In the beginning of the summer period (from March until May in the northern hemisphere), a small part of rhizome with at least one eye is either planted in ponds or directly into a flooded field. There are several other propagation ways via seeds or buds . Furthermore, tissue culture is a promising propagation method for

4692-430: The two arms of which are separated by the low-lying Rangitata Island . Nelumbo nucifera Nelumbo nucifera , also known as Padma ( Sanskrit : पद्म, romanized : Padmā , lit.   'Lotus') or Kamala ( Sanskrit : कमल, lit. 'Lotus'), sacred lotus , Indian lotus , or simply lotus , is one of two extant species of aquatic plant in the family Nelumbonaceae . It is sometimes colloquially called

4761-436: The winter months. The delta experiences its hottest temperatures in July and August, with a maximum average of 34 °C (93 °F). Winter temperatures normally range from 9 °C (48 °F) at nights to 19 °C (66 °F) in the daytime. With cooler temperatures and some rain, the Nile Delta region becomes quite humid during the winter months. Egypt's Mediterranean coastline experiences significant loss of land to

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