On the right bank, although a fringe of acacias borders the Nile, cultivation is almost entirely absent except in the immediate neighbourhood of the villages, which are met at frequent intervals; and the country, after entering the sandstone formation, consists of nothing but one vast desert plain extending as far as the eye can reach.
In view of the railway running the whole way along the river bank from Abu Hamed to Khartoum the description of the itineraries along the banks is omitted. The reader who desires such is referred to N.O. (pp. 63-70).
Berber.Berber, 131 miles from Abu Hamed (for description, vide Chap. III, [p. 85]).
Between Berber and the Atbara (20 miles) the cultivation improves, and a fairly broad band runs parallel to the east bank of the river; the inhabitants in this reach are fairly numerous.
The current here runs at the rate of from 2 to 3½ miles per hour; but above it, where the river increases in width, a proportional decrease in the rate of the stream takes place, and it does not exceed 2 miles.
Atbara confluence.The Atbara River, at its point of junction with the Nile, has a deep, well-defined section, and a bed-width of some 400 yards; the banks are steep and high. Although the channel is dry in summer, the flood marks register a height of 25 feet above the bed. The velocity of the Atbara current in flood is so great that it forces the water of the Nile across on to the western bank. The sandbank thus formed causes considerable difficulty to navigation, and in the early spring of 1898 caused the division of the fleet of gunboats into two isolated halves, neither of which could have moved if required to the assistance of the other.
El Damer.South of the junction lies the town of El Damer, formerly celebrated for its learning and university. It is now again a town of growing importance, and is to supersede Berber as the headquarters of the Province. Railway bridge over the Atbara here. The Nile-Red Sea Railway branches off up the right bank of the Atbara, north of the bridge.
From the Atbara to Khartoum the distance, by water, is about 200 miles. On this reach the slope of the river is separated by the Shabluka Cataract into three portions. This cataract begins at some 35 miles from Khartoum, and continues as far as Wad Habashi, 55 miles further north.
The average bed-slopes are:—
| From Khartoum to head of Cataract | 111000 |
| Cataract and Rapids | 15500 |
| From Wad Habashi to Atbara | 112500 |