The Nile River flowing through Egypt could be six times as old as previously thought, according to a study which estimated it to have originated at least 30 million years ago. The study, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, assessed the links between the geographical and physical features — or topography — of the Nile River to the flow of molten rocks in the Earth’s mantle.
The researchers, including those from the University of Texas (UT) at Austin in the US, connected the tilted nature of the Nile’s topography to a conveyor belt of mantle rock pushing up against the Ethiopian Highlands in the south, and pulling the surface down in the north. This gentle gradient, they said, keeps the Nile on a consistent northward course from its beginning to the end. The study said the Nile would have turned west long ago — probably changing the course of history along with it — if it weren’t for the mantle movement keeping the river on course.
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