# Wadi Howar

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River

Wadi Howar Map of Sudan (after 2011) Physical characteristics Mouth Nile • coordinates 18°11′56″N 30°44′26″E / 18.19889°N 30.74056°E / 18.19889; 30.74056

**Wadi Howar** (**Wadi Howa** or **Yellow Nile**) is a [wadi](/source/Wadi) in [Sudan](/source/Sudan) and [Chad](/source/Chad).

## Geography

Originating in the [Ennedi Region](/source/Ennedi_Region) of [Chad](/source/Chad) *Wadi Howar* runs through the Sudanese states of [North Darfur](/source/North_Darfur) and [Northern](/source/Northern_state%2C_Sudan) to join the Nile north of the [great bend](/source/Nile#In_Sudan) opposite [Old Dongola](/source/Old_Dongola). Stretching over 1100 km[1]: 25 in west–east direction across the southern fringes of the [Libyan Desert](/source/Libyan_Desert), it ordinarily receives 25 mm of rainfall per year.[2]

## Holocene period

Map of Nile tributaries in modern Sudan

*Wadi Howar* is the remnant of the ancient [*Yellow Nile*](/source/Nile#Yellow_Nile), a tributary of the [Nile](/source/Nile) during the [African humid period](/source/African_humid_period) from about 9500 to 4500 years ago. At that time, [savanna](/source/Savanna) fauna and cattle [herders](/source/Herder) occupied this region and the southern edge of the [Sahara](/source/Sahara) was some 500 kilometres (310 mi) further north than it is today.[2] When the Sahara underwent [desertification](/source/Desertification) between 6000 and 4000 years ago, the [wadi](/source/Wadi) first became a chain of freshwater lakes and marshes, as shown by [Ptolemy's world map](/source/Ptolemy's_world_map), then it became extinct about 2000 years ago.[1]: 28

## Archaeology

Abundant prehistoric sites certify *Wadi Howar* as a once ecologically favoured area of settlement and a communication route between the inner regions of Africa and the Nile Valley.[1]: 31 The hitherto most thoroughly investigated archaeological site in the wadi is [Gala Abu Ahmed](/source/Gala_Abu_Ahmed).

## See also

- [African humid period](/source/African_humid_period)

- [Lake Ptolemy](/source/Lake_Ptolemy)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ises_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ises_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-ises_1-2) Soghayroun, Intisar Soghayroun Elzein (2010). *Trade and Wadi System(s) in Muslim Sudan*. Kampala. [hdl](/source/Hdl_(identifier)):[1956/3994](https://hdl.handle.net/1956%2F3994). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-9970-25-005-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-9970-25-005-9).{{[cite book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_book)}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_location_missing_publisher))

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-kp_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-kp_2-1) [Kröpelin, Stefan](/source/Stefan_Kr%C3%B6pelin); Pachur, Hans-Joachim (1987). "Wadi Howar: Paleoclimatic Evidence from an Extinct River System in the Southeastern Sahara". *[Science](/source/Science_(journal))*. **237** (4812): 298–300. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[1987Sci...237..298P](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1987Sci...237..298P). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1126/science.237.4812.298](https://doi.org/10.1126%2Fscience.237.4812.298). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [17772057](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17772057). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [3894313](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:3894313).

Authority control databases VIAF GND

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