Kerma Basin

The Kerma Basin is a low-lying area by the Nile in Sudan. Located just below the Third Cataract it is the largest section of flood plain on the Dongola Reach. At maximum extent some 70,000 acres (283 km²) can be inundated by the annual Nile flood, but a more regular year sees only about half that. This creates the largest section of arable land between Aswan and the Fourth Cataract. This has led to a high population density that has long made the Kerma Basin one of the central portions of Nubia. The ancient city of Kerma was in the basin and it was the core of the Kingdom of Kerma.