Tributaries.None of much importance.
Rahad. General.The Rahad rises in Abyssinia in the mountainous region between Lake Tsana on the East and Kwara to the west. It takes, at first, a northerly direction, but after entering the Sudan it flows generally north-west in an extraordinarily winding bed to its junction with the Blue Nile, almost opposite the town of Wad Medani.
Width.Its width probably nowhere exceeds 100 yards, and is frequently not more than 60; in places it is only 30 yards wide. It loses much of its water by “spills” known as “Maya,” and is a much more imposing-looking river above than below Hawata.
Banks.The banks, especially the right, are steep and high, sometimes as much as 40 feet above the bed at low water. They differ from those of the Dinder in that only the left bank is liable to be flooded, and that only at a few places, and consequently do not lend themselves to cultivation to the same extent.
Forest.Belts of dense kittr bush and other jungle grow along its banks. In the lower reaches there are many fine sunt trees, and further inland talh, heglig, etc. Bordering its upper reaches are heglig, silag, khashkhash, ardeib, tebeldis, gemmeiz, etc.
Villages.There are few villages at present above Hawata (right bank), and consequently there is no regular path, though the bush has been to a certain extent cleared. Travelling along the river above Shammam, though practicable, is a difficult operation, more especially before the grass is burnt.
Flood.The flood reaches the Blue Nile about the first week in July, and water ceases to flow at the mouth by the end of November. High water is said to last 90 days from about mid-July.
Navigability.The river, when in flood, is navigable for small steamers throughout, but its comparatively narrow bed, combined with very sharp and frequent bends, militate against successful navigation by sailing boats.
Mr. Armbruster navigated the river in the stern-wheeler Amara from its mouth to Meshra Abid (420 miles) in August, 1904. On the way down stream navigation was only effected with considerable difficulty and serious damage to the steamer, owing to the rate of the current—6 miles per hour at Abid and 3 miles per hour at Sherif Yagub—as well as to the extreme sharpness of the bends, at which there were often rocks and large overhanging trees.