Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Blue Nile

Blue Nile

1 4.6
A river that starts in Ethiopia and joins the White Nile at Khartoum to make the Nile
  • proper noun
: Nilo Azul
  • The most prominent dams are Roseires Dam and Sennar Dam on the Blue Nile, and Kashm el Girba Dam on the Atbara River.

Examples

  • In 1991, when Sudan and Ethiopia agreed to explore cooperation over the Blue Nile and Atbara rivers, it alarmed Egypt.

    Academic text (2008)

  • The major challenge to Egypt's Nile water access comes from Ethiopia, which has plans to harness the waters of the Blue Nile and other tributaries.

  • Sudan has also constructed a number of smaller barrages in the Blue Nile system.

    Academic text (2008)

  • The White Nile and Blue Nile are two of its main tributaries.

    Academic text (2008)

  • The major challenge to Egypt's Nile water access comes from Ethiopia, which has plans to harness the waters of the Blue Nile and other tributaries.

    Academic text (2008)

  • However, the Blue Nile, which is the foremost tributary, descends from the Ethiopian highlands and is affected by high seasonal fluctuations.

    Academic text (2008)

  • Sabonabe was established in 1820 on the banks of the Blue Nile by two sheikhs, Ahmed and Mustapha Sabonabe.

    Academic text (2008)

  • Ethiopia's Blue Nile River generates approximately 85 percent of the total water flowing into the Nile.

  • Sudan has also constructed a number of smaller barrages in the Blue Nile system.

Surface Forms

Blue Nile main

Morphology

Blue + Nile

The compound is a straightforward descriptor ('blue' + 'Nile') so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a (blue‑characterized) part or branch of the Nile river rather than an unrelated idiom. Cross‑linguistically rivers are often named by color (e.g., White Nile), so the composition is compositional and immediately interpretable even if precise geographic details require world‑knowledge.

Etymology

Blue Nile may get its name from the dark, strong color of its water. During the rainy season the river carries a lot of mud and looks darker than the 'White Nile', so people used blue to tell this part of the Nile apart. That's why today the name means the big river that joins the 'White Nile'.