Why Does the Nile Flow Backwards? The True Source Revealed | Map Animation

Added: 2026-05-26

[00:00:00]Where exactly is the true source of the Nile, the longest river on Earth? While most rivers flow from north to south, the Nile actually flows from south to north. Its first major branch, the White Nile, begins at Lake Victoria in Uganda, and its second branch, the Blue Nile, originates from Lake Tana in Ethiopia.

[00:00:21]This branch alone supplies 80% of the Nile's water. These two branches meet at Cartoum, the capital of Sudan. From there they join together and flow onward toward Egypt under the single name the Nile. Cutting straight through the heart of the vast Sahara Desert, it finally empties into the Mediterranean Sea. And here's the thing.