The northern part of Egypt, land around the Nile delta and Memphis, from modern Cairo to the Mediterranean coast. This geographic and cultural division of Egypt was bounded generally by the 30th parallel north in the south and by the Mediterranean Sea in the north. The boundary between Lower and Upper Egypt was somewhere between Lisht and Meidum on the west bank of the Nile. On the east bank, the second nome of Upper Egypt existed further to the north. Characterized by broad expanses of fertile soil, Lower Egypt contrasts sharply with Upper Egypt, where the centers of habitation along the Nile valley are close to the desert. Lower Egypt in late predynastic times constituted a political entity separate from Upper Egypt. Menes (fl. 3100 BC) joined the two regions, using the royal title, King of Upper and Lower Egypt.