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The Blue Nile ((アムハラ語:ዓባይ); transliterated: ʿAbbay but pronounced ''Abbai'', (アラビア語:النيل الأزرق) ') is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. With the White Nile, the river becomes one of the two major tributaries of the Nile. The upper course of the river is called the Abbay in Ethiopia, where many regard it as holy. Some Ethiopians have long identified the Blue Nile as the River Gihon mentioned as flowing out of the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2〔 Edward Ullendorff, ''Ethiopia and the Bible'' (Oxford: University Press for the British Academy, 1968), p. 2. 〕 and "encircling the entire land of Cush". == Course == The Blue Nile is so-called because floods during the summer monsoon erode a vast mount of fertile soil from the Ethiopian highlands and carry it downstream as silt, turning the water dark brown or almost black.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.dinkneshethiopiatour.com/index.htm )〕 In the local Sudanese language, the word for black is also used for the colour blue. The distance of the river from its source to its confluence has been variously reported as being between and . This uncertainty over the length might partially result from the fact that the river flows through a series of virtually impenetrable gorges cut in the Ethiopian Highlands to a depth of some —a depth comparable to that of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River in the United States. According to materials published by the Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency, the Blue Nile has a total length of , of which are inside Ethiopia.〔("Climate, 2008 National Statistics (Abstract)" ), Table A.1. Central Statistical Agency website (accessed 26 December 2009)〕 The Blue Nile flows generally south from Lake Tana and then west across Ethiopia and northwest into Sudan. Within of its source at Lake Tana, the river enters a canyon about long. This gorge is a tremendous obstacle for travel and communication from the north half of Ethiopia to the southern half. The power of the Blue Nile may best be appreciated at Tis Issat Falls, which are high, located about downstream of Lake Tana. Although there are several feeder streams that flow into Lake Tana, the sacred source of the river is generally considered to be a small spring at Gish Abbai, situated at an altitude of approximately . This stream, known as the Lesser Abay, flows north into Lake Tana. Other affluents of this lake include, in clockwise order from Gorgora, the Magech, the Northern Gumara, the Reb, the Southern Gumara, and the Kilte.〔These lists are based on the compilation in G.W.B. Huntingford, ''Historical Geography of Ethiopia from the first century AD to 1704'' (London: British Academy, 1989), p. 34〕 Lake Tana's outflow then flows some 30 kilometres before plunging over the Tis Issat Falls. The river then loops across northwest Ethiopia through a series of deep valleys and canyons into Sudan, by which point it is only known as the Blue Nile. There are numerous tributaries of the Abay between Lake Tana and the Sudanese border. Those on its left bank, in downstream order, include the Wanqa River, the Bashilo River, the Walaqa River, the Wanchet River, the Jamma River, the Muger River, the Guder River, the Agwel River, the Nedi River, the Didessa River and the Dabus River. Those on the right side, also in downstream order, include the Handassa, Tul, Abaya, Sade, Tammi, Cha, Shita, Suha, Muga, Gulla River, Temcha, Bachat, Katlan, Jiba, Chamoga, Weter and the Beles.〔 After flowing past Er Roseires inside Sudan, and receiving the Dinder on its right bank at Dinder, the Blue Nile joins the White Nile at Khartoum and, as the River Nile, flows through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea at Alexandria. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Blue Nile」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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