The six cataracts of the Nile are depicted extensively by European visitors, notably by Winston Churchill in The River War (1899), where he recounts the exploits of the British trying to return to the Sudan between 1896 and 1898, after they were forced to leave in 1885.
Nilens seks vigtigste katarakter er beskrevet udførligt af europæiske udvandrere, f.eks. af Winston Churchill i bogen The River War, 1899, hvor han beretter om briternes besværligheder med at vende tilbage til Sudan mellem 1896 og 1898, efter at de var blevet tvunget til at forlade landet i 1885.