White Nile

Upper reach of R Nile in S and E Sudan; a continuation of the Albert Nile, which crosses into SE Sudan from NE Uganda at Nimule; flows generally N to Khartoum, where it is joined from the E by the Blue Nile, forming the R Nile proper; length 1900 km/1180 mi.

The White Nile (Arabic: النيل الأبيض, transliterated: an-Nīl al-Ābyaðˤ) is a river of Africa, one of the two main tributaries of the Nile, the other being the Blue Nile.

It rises from Lake Victoria as the Victoria Nile, then flows north and westwards through Uganda, Lake Kyoga, and Lake Albert. It then flows over rapids entering the Sudan plain, through the vast swamps of the Sudd, and via Lake No before meeting with the Blue Nile at Khartoum in Sudan and forming the Nile.

The 19th century search for the source of the Nile was mainly focused on the White Nile, which disappeared into the depths of what was then known as Darkest Africa. The discovery of the source of the White Nile thus came to symbolise modern civilisation's penetration of unknown jungle in order to finally map and tame the wild and 'barbaric' source of the most influential of early civilisations.