River · South Sudan
White Nile
White Nile is the great river of South Sudan, in the north-east of Africa. Its water comes from the Great Lakes and meets the Blue Nile at Khartoum to form the Nile.
Picture credit: User DEMOSH on flickr.com (CC BY 2.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is the White Nile?
The river starts here: Great Lakes region of East Africa.
It ends in the joins the Blue Nile at Khartoum to form the Nile.
Countries on the river: South Sudan.
The story behind it
In South Sudan this river is called Bahr al-Jabal, the river of the mountain. Experts argue about how long it really is and where its true beginning lies, so books give different figures. Its most amazing part is the Sudd, an enormous swamp of papyrus and floating grass islands where the water spreads out so widely that much of it simply evaporates. Boats can lose their way among the reeds, and rare shoebill storks stand there waiting for fish. Crocodiles and hippos live in the channels, and huge herds of antelope cross the wet plains. Cattle herders bring their animals to the banks in the dry season, and the capital Juba lies right beside the water. Barges carry food and goods, because in the rainy season many roads turn to mud.
Questions children ask
How long is the White Nile?
It is usually given as about 3 700 kilometres. The number is not fixed, because people measure the river from different starting points.
Which country is the White Nile the main river of?
It is the main river of South Sudan, where it is known as Bahr al-Jabal. On its long way north it also crosses other countries of eastern Africa.
Where does the White Nile end?
At Khartoum it meets the Blue Nile, and together they become the Nile. That river then flows on through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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