White Nile (state)

White Nile (Arabic: النيل الأبيض‎ An Nīl al Ābyaḍ) is one of the 18 wilayat or states of Sudan. It has an area of 30,411 km² and an estimated population of approximately 1,188,707 (2006). Since 1994 Rabak is the capital of the state; other important cities include Kosti and Ed Dueim.

White Nile

The White Nile (Arabic: النيل الأبيض‎ an nīl al 'abyaḍ) is a river of Africa, one of the two main tributaries of the Nile, the other being the Blue Nile. In the strict meaning, "White Nile" refers to the river formed at Lake No at the confluence of the Bahr al Jabal and Bahr el Ghazal Rivers.

In the wider sense, the term White Nile refers to the approximately 3,700 kilometres (2,300 mi) of rivers draining from Lake Victoria into the White Nile proper. It may also, depending on the speaker, refer to the headwaters of Lake Victoria.

The 19th century search by Europeans 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 White Nile's true source was not discovered until 1937, when the German explorer Burkhart Waldecker traced it to a stream in Rutovu at the base of Mount Kikizi.

When in flood the Sobat tributary carries a large amount of sediment, adding greatly to the White Nile's color.

Headwaters of Lake Victoria

South Sudan

Coordinates: 8°N 30°E / 8°N 30°E / 8; 30

South Sudan (ⁱ/ˌsaʊθ suˈdɑːn, -ˈdæn/), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in northeastern Africa that gained its independence from Sudan in 2011. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city. It is planned that the capital city will be changed to the more centrally located Ramciel in the future. South Sudan is bordered by Sudan to the north, Ethiopia to the east, Kenya to the southeast, Uganda to the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the southwest, and the Central African Republic to the west. It includes the vast swamp region of the Sudd, formed by the White Nile and known locally as the Bahr al Jabal.

The territories of modern South Sudan and the Republic of the Sudan were occupied by Egypt under the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, and later governed as an Anglo-Egyptian condominium until Sudanese independence was achieved in 1956. Following the First Sudanese Civil War, the Southern Sudan Autonomous Region was formed in 1972 and lasted until 1983. A second Sudanese civil war soon developed and ended with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005. Later that year, southern autonomy was restored when an Autonomous Government of Southern Sudan was formed.