Where does the Nile River originate?

The Nile River originates chiefly from Lake Victoria, which rests at the border of the African countries of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The lake is the largest on the continent of Africa and the second-largest freshwater lake in the world.

At more than 4,100 miles in length, the Nile is the longest river in the world. The two principal branches of the river are the White Nile and the Blue Nile, which meet in Khartoum, Sudan to form the "main" Nile. Known for its unusual "south to north" flow, the Nile stretches across the driest, most arid desert in the world, the Sahara, and empties into the Mediterranean Sea.