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Egypt is bounded by the Mediterranean to the north,
to by the Sudan the south, by Libya to the west,
and by the Red Sea, Palestine, and Jordan to the
east. The extension of the Blue River Nile divides
the country unevenly in two, while the Suez Canal
provides a third division with the Sinai Peninsula.
Beyond, the highly cultivated Nile Valley and Delta,
a lush green tadpole of land that holds more than
90 per cent of the population. The landscape is
mainly a flat desert, devoid of vegetation apart
from the few oases that have persisted in the once
fertile depressions of the Western Desert. Narrow
strips are inhabited on the Mediterranean coast
and on the African Red Sea coast. The coast south
of Suez has fine beaches and coral reefs just offshore,
which attract many divers. The Aswan High Dam now
controls the annual floods that once put much of
the Nile Valley under water.
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