from arid, sandy deserts in the north, to flat, swampy wetlands in the middle, to rainy, forested mountains in the south.

The basin can be divided into seven regions; five of these regions encompass the longest course of the Nile. Proceeding in a downstream sequence, these five regions are: the African Great Lakes, the Mountain Nile, the White Nile, the main Nile, and the Nile Delta.