The challenges of the Indus Valley were: It was a huge flat and fertile plain formed by two rivers, the Indus River flows southwest from the Himalayas to the Arabian Sea, the agriculture is possible only in areas which are directly watered by the Indus, the Indus and the Ganges and the lands which they water constitute a vast area which extends 1,000,700 miles across northern India and is called the Indo-Gangetic plain . Like the Tigris, Euphrates, and Nile, these rivers carry not only water for irrigation, but also silt, which produces fertile soil for agriculture. Seasonal winds called monsoons dominate India's climate. From October to February, winter monsoons from the northeast blow dry air westward across the country. Then, from mid-June to October, the winds shift. These monsoons blow eastward from the southwest, carrying moisture from the ocean in large rain clouds. Powerful storms bring so much moisture that flooding often occurs. When summer monsoons fail to develop droughts they often cause crop disasters. People face so many environmental challenges The civilization that emerged along the Indus River faced many of the same challenges as the ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations. Then annual floods spread deposits of rich soil over a large area. However, the floods along the Indus were unpredictable. The rivers sometimes changed course. The cycle of wet and dry seasons brought by monsoon winds was unpredictable. If it rained too little, the plants in the fields withered and the people went hungry. If it rained too much, floods wiped out entire villages. In most ancient cities, people fetched water from a river or central well. They dumped waste into open drains or transported it out of town. ......middle of paper ......prepare their fields of wheat and barley. Throughout the fall and winter they watered their crops via a network of irrigation canals. Egyptian farmers were much luckier than Mesopotamian villagers. Compared to the unpredictable Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the Nile was as regular as clockwork. Even so, life in Egypt presented its risks. When the Nile? the flood waters were only a few meters lower than normal, the amount of fresh silt and water for crops was greatly reduced. Thousands of people died of starvation. When flood waters were a few feet higher than normal, the unwanted water destroyed homes, barns and the precious seeds farmers needed to plant. The vast and hostile deserts on both sides of the Nile served as natural barriers between Egypt and other countries. They forced the Egyptians to live on a very small portion of the territory and reduced interaction with other peoples.