US Letter portrait · 1 page · Map activity
Ancient Egypt Blank Map
Egypt, the Sinai and the Nile River with no names – ready for your own activity.
Free teacher resource
Ancient Egypt Map Worksheets
Six map worksheets for a unit on ancient Egypt: a blank map with the Nile River, a labeled map of Alexandria, Giza, Thebes, Abu Simbel and other places, sheets for labeling the places and the seas and regions, a page of map questions, and a coloring page about life along the Nile.
Every sheet comes as an A4 and a US Letter PDF.Print it, then play it
US Letter portrait · 1 page · Map activity
Ancient Egypt Map
Alexandria, Giza, Memphis, Thebes, the Valley of the Kings, Abu Simbel and more, with the seas, the Nile and Upper and Lower Egypt named.
US Letter portrait · 1 page · Map activity
Label the Places of Ancient Egypt
Nine lettered places along the Nile, from Alexandria to Abu Simbel. Students name each one using the word bank.
US Letter portrait · 1 page · Map activity
Label the Seas and Regions of Ancient Egypt
Students name the Mediterranean and Red Seas, the Nile, Upper and Lower Egypt, the Sinai, the Western and Eastern Deserts and Nubia.
US Letter portrait · 1 page · Map activity
Ancient Egypt Map Questions
A labeled map and five questions about the seas, the Nile, the pyramids and Upper and Lower Egypt.
US Letter portrait · 1 page · Map activity
Nile River Coloring Page
Students trace the Nile in blue, color the farmland along it green and the desert yellow, then explain why Egyptians lived near the river.
For teachers
How the Ancient Egypt worksheets work
Every map shows the Nile from Abu Simbel to the delta, with the coastline as it is today and no modern borders. Upper Egypt is in the south and Lower Egypt in the north, because the Nile flows north – a good first question for students. There are no answer sheets: the labeled map works for checking.
Each activity has its instructions, a key to colour in and space for pupils' answers printed on the sheet. The maps are crisp black line drawings with no names, so they photocopy cleanly and pupils do the finding themselves.
How to use these ancient Egypt map worksheets
Start with the labeled map and trace the Nile from Abu Simbel to the delta. Then use the labeling sheets for the places and the seas and regions, and the map questions to check understanding. The Nile coloring page shows students the narrow green strip of farmland in the desert and asks why almost every Egyptian lived beside the river.
Why Upper Egypt is in the south
The Nile flows north, from the south of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. Upriver, in the south, is Upper Egypt; downriver, in the north and around the delta, is Lower Egypt. It is a good first question to ask students before they label the map.
Places from different times
The maps put places from three thousand years of history together. Memphis and the pyramids of Giza belong to the Old Kingdom, Thebes and the Valley of the Kings to the New Kingdom, and Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC. The coastline is drawn as it is today, without Lake Nasser, the modern lake behind the Aswan High Dam.
Which grades are they for?
Ancient Egypt is most often taught in sixth grade world history, and in earlier grades as a unit on its own. The labeled map, blank map and Nile coloring page suit grades 2 to 6; the labeling sheets and map questions suit grades 4 to 7.
Frequently asked questions
Why was the Nile River important to ancient Egypt?
Each summer the Nile flooded and left rich black soil on its banks, so farmers could grow wheat and barley in the middle of the desert. The river was also the main road for boats.
Which way does the Nile flow?
North. It flows from the south of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea, which is why Upper Egypt is in the south.
What is the Nile Delta?
The wide, flat, fan-shaped land where the Nile splits into branches before reaching the Mediterranean Sea. It was the heart of Lower Egypt.
Where are the pyramids of Giza?
On the west bank of the Nile, at the edge of the desert near modern Cairo and the ancient capital Memphis.
What was the capital of ancient Egypt?
It changed over time. Memphis was the capital of the Old Kingdom, Thebes of the New Kingdom, Amarna for a short time under Akhenaten, and Alexandria under the Ptolemies.
Are there answer keys?
No. The labeled ancient Egypt map works for checking the labeling sheets.
