Place

First Cataract

The First Cataract is the stretch of rapids and granite islands on the Nile at Aswan, the northernmost of the river's cataracts. For much of antiquity it marked the southern frontier of Egypt with Nubia, and its quarries supplied granite for monuments. Senusret III had a canal cut through it for boats, and the Aswan dams of the twentieth century were built at and above it.

First Cataract
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Middle Kingdom of EgyptMilitaryRoman EgyptFoundationMakuriaFoundationAncient EgyptianSpeakers

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). First Cataract. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/first-cataract
MLA
“First Cataract.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/first-cataract. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “First Cataract.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/first-cataract.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘First Cataract’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/first-cataract (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻