ABSTRACTThe aim of this paper is to review the history of vegetation and land use from the end of the nineteenth century to today. The study area is Kassala Province, Eastern Sudan. Historical maps and statistics were digitised and analysed with a PC Arc/Info system. A summary of information in travel reports is presented. The conclusions are that the rainfall trends have decreased between 1949 and 1990. Areas of trees, bush and cultivation have increased. Kassala Province has been more mechanised during the last hundred years. In the past there seems to have been a greater variety of species and game than today.