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Mountain Chains
Egypt
Date of Submission: 12/06/2003
Criteria: (vii)(viii)(ix)(x)
Category: Natural
Submitted by:
Egyptian National UNESCO Commission Egyptian National MAB Committee
Coordinates: 1) North Sinaï, North Sinaï Govern. 2) Eastern Desert, Red Sea Govern. 3) Eatern
Desert, Red Sea Govern. 22°00' - 23°50' N / 35°00' – 37°00' E 4) Western Desert, New Valley
Govern. 5) Western Desert, New Valley Govern.
Ref.: 1811
Description
Site # 1: Yelleg, Halal, and Maghara Mountains The mountains of Yelleg (1087 m), Halal (892 m), and Maghara (750
m), are isolated highlands of the Tih (= Wildrness) Desert of North Sinaï. These mountains, besides being rather rich
in plant dibversity, include many interesting elements not known from the Egyptian mainland, or even in other regions
of Sinaï. The only conifer tree in Egypt, Juniperus phoenicia, is restricted to these three mountains. Boulos (1960)
recorded 200 species of vascular plants from Maghara during one collection trip (22-28 April 1959). Among his
collections many were new records to the flora of Egypt, of which Rorippa integrifolia (Cruciferae) was described as
new to science (hence endemic, and Rosularia lineata (Crassulaceae) was a new genus to the Egyptian flora,
previously known only from Palestine and Syria. Danin (1969) described another new species (endemic), Origanum
isthmicum, from Gebel Halal, and he states that the entire population of this new species amounts to 1000-2000
individuals, occurring within an area of no more than 10 sq. km, on the north-west flanks of the Gebel Halal. Among
other species restricted to these isolated mountains, and not known from other regions in Egypt, are : Astomaea
seselifolium, Ephedra foemina, and Rubia tenuifolia. These is still more to be discovered and a lot in need of
conservation. The following is a list of these species: Rare: Caralluma sinaica, Zosima absinthifolia, Ephedra
foemina, Rubia tenuifolia, Leontice leontopetalum, Dianthus sinaicus, Echinops galalensis, Scorzonera judaica,
Cynomorium coccineum, Pterocephalus brevis, Hippocrepis unisiliquosa subsp. unisiliquosa, Trigonella
schlumbergeri, Asterolinon linum-stellatum, Verbascum sinaiticum, Solanum sinaicum, Allium artemisitorum, Muscari
commutatum, Vulnerable: Origanum isthmicum, Astomaea seselifolium, Juniperus phoenicia, Rosularia lineata,
Acacia pachceras var. najdensis, Ceratonia siliqua, Euphorbia hierosolymitana, Astragalus amalecitanus, Polygala
hohenackeriana, Verbascum fruticulosum, Allium desertorum, Androcymbium palaestinum, Bellevalia desertorum,
Endangered: Rorippa integrifolia, Pancratium parviflorum, Colchicum guessfeldtianum, Tulipa polychroma. Above
and beyond this rare assemblage of rare, vulnerable, and threatened species, a species of the legendary plant
Sylphium grows in very small numbers south of Gebel Maghara. This Gebel revealed a coal mine in its lower strate,
but its extraction proved too costly. Site # 2: Gebel Dokhkhan See Gebel Shayeb El-Banat Site # 3: Gebel Elba
Region The Gebel Elba region is situated in the south-eastern corner of Egypt, and lies adjacent to the border
between Egypt and the Sudan, and the Red Sea. It extends into the north-eastern corner of the Sudan. About
480,000 ha of this region has protection status on the Egyptian side since 1986, modified by a Prime Ministerial
Decree in 1995, as Elba National Park. It comprises a series of basement complez mountains (gebels), some of
which rise above 2000 masl (e.g., Gebel Asoteriba 2218 masl). The Gebel Elba massif faces along its broad front the
north and northeast winds which bring moisture and cause orographic rain in winter. Average annual rainfall in the
area is 50 mm/year. But orographic precipitation , drawn from moist north-easterly winds, can bring as much as 400
mm on Elba. This creates “mountainn oases”, or “mist oases” on the slopes of these mountains. The area is
dissected by numerous wadis which drain this high region and where runoff is collected following orographic
rains,thus supporting a rich and unique biodiversity of producers and consumers. The region comprises a variety of
distinguished habitat-types: ·Red Sea coral reefs ·Mangrove growth (Avicennia and Rhizophora) in the shallow
coastal water ·Low shore-line coastal dunes ·Littoral saltmarsh belts ·Coastal desert plain ·Coastal mountains and
associated hills with representative mist oases. Hundreds of plant and animal species have been recorded in the area
(485angiosperms, 23 mammals, 22 reptiles and amphibians, and 40 breeding birds). Many of these do not occur
elsewhere in Egypt, but rather represent the nothernmost extension of the biocoenoses of the Ethiopian Realm, while
several are locally endemic. The area provides a habitat and refuge for many species threatened with extinction, such
as the African wild ass, the addax antelope, the Tora red hartbeast, the dama gazelle, and the scimitar-horned oryx.
The area also has a very important conservation value, and is the traditional home of several hundred nomadic
Bisharin tribesmen, whose language and some of their traditions can be traced to the Ancient Egyptian language and
traditions. Site # 4: Gebel Oweinat Region The Gebel Oweinat was first discovered in 1920 by the Egyptian explorer
Ahmad Hassanein Pasha. It is described as the most formidable mountain in the generally flat and featureless
Western Desert of Egypt. Situated roughly at the center of this hyperarid desert, it stands out like an island from the
surrounding plain. Its height is sufficient to capture a little rain (in the order of 50 mm/year), from the summer
monsoon clouds of the Sudano-Sahelian belt that may reach that far to the north. The last rainfall was seen in
September 1998. Probably as much as 10 to 15 years may pass without a drop. Yet this little rain is sufficient to allow
vegetation and some wildlife to survive. Geologically the Mountain is composed of of two very different parts. The
western part, lying entirely in Libya, is composed of a large granite ring complex (like the one of the St. Catherine
mountain complex); about 25 km in diameter, being the eroded remnants of a large arachaic granite dome. The
interior is less resistant to erosion, thus a large basin occupies the center of the ring, with three large wadis, Karkur
Hamid, Karkur Idriss, and Karkur Ibrahim, draining the interior towards the west, all supporting scarce vegetation. As
granite erodes, it forms huge boulders that are stacked upon each other like an emptied bag of potatoes. The
southern half is less eroded, with a large crescent shaped plateau filling the interior of the ring, much dissected by
shallow water courses. This plateau apparently acts as a large reservoir after rains, as two permanent springs, Ain
Ghazal and Ain Doua, can be found at the southern foot of the Mountain. Since the base of the Mountain is well
above the permanent aquifer, the source of the water can only be rainfall. However, they never went dry in living
memory. The eastern part of the Mountain area consists of a large block of Palaeozoic sandstone, restring upon
metamorphosed Precambrian basement rocks, propped up against the granite western uplift. The sandstone slab
forms a large elevated plateau, that is dissected into several large units. The massif to the south is the highest point
of the Mountain (1932 masl), and another three large, slightly lower plateaus, lying to the north, surrounded by
vertical cliffs. To the north the sandstone hills continue, much dissected for a further 10 km, to the north and to the
east. To the south, the cliffs form a vast perpendicular wall dropping aqlmost 600 m to the foot of the Mountain. The
high plateaus and the northern foothills are drained by a large complex wadi system, which merge into Karkur Talh. A
lesser wadi, Karkur Murr, drains the eastern foothills to the south. Near the mouth of Karkur Murr there is a
permanent rock pool, Ain El Brins, the Prince’s Spring, or Bir Murr. There is a curious feature on the western tip of the
easternmost of the large sandstone plateaus (named Hassanein Plateau by the 1968 Belgian expedition). It is a white
circular patch, about 350 m in diameter, that strikingly stands out on satellite photos. During an ascent made in
October 2002, the explorers could take a peep into this “white blob” at a shallow angle from a vantage point, but as
they ascended higher up the main massif, it became hidden from view. From what could be seen, it is a sand filled
depression or basin, with walls of sandstone that are sloping towards the inside, and drop almost perpendicularly on
three sides to merge with the cliffs of the Plateau. It could be the remnant of an ancient impact crater. This theory
awaits investigation. Karkur Talh is the largest wadi of the Mountain. Its mouth, marked by two acacias (hence the
name), visible for many kilometers, opens onto the broad sand plain flanking the Mountain on the north-east side.
From the narrow mouth, choked with sand dunes, the wadi winds for some 25 kms towards the base of the
sandstone plateau, forming the highest part of Gebel Oweinat. Except for a few kilometers at the beginning, most of it
lies within Sudan (the border is marked). As one proceeds inwards, the thinly spaced vegetation becomes more
dense, with Acacia forest, continuous tufts of Panicum grass, and Colocynthis, covering the wadi floor in the broad
middle section. In Prehistoric times, the wadis were densely populated, as attested by the hundreds of rock paintings
and engravings that may be found in shelters along the sides of all the main wadis. More recently, Tibbu nomads
inhabited the Mountain up till the arrival of the earliest explorers in the first half of the 20th century. By 1931, the
Tibbu were gone, driven away by increasing aridity. Presently there is a Libyan border post at Ain Ghazal, and a
small police post at Ain Doua. A heavily used desert track passes by along the western rim of the Mountain, linking
Kufra with El-Fasher in western Sudan. Site # 5: The Gilf El-Kebir Plateau The Egyptian explorer Prince Kamal el-Din
Hussein discovered the Gilf Kebir Plateau in 1926. He mapped its eastern cliffs, leaving others to complete the
exploration. In the early 1930’s, the British Patrick Clayton sketched the western edge. In the same time, the famous
Hungarian desert explorer Count Laszlo de Almasy, chief character of the film “The English Patient”, winner of the
1996 Oscar for best picture, was leading his exploits atop the Plateau, discovering several vegetated canyons he
professed as Zarzora, the Lost Oasis. In 1978, a group of NASA scientists studies the area and reported a landscape
similarity between it and that of Mars. In 1993, Theodore Monod visited the Plateau and reconfirmed its scientific
significance as one of the driest regions of the Earth. The Martian Gilf El-Kebir has attracted scientists, but due to its
remoteness, ans several other factors, it has not yet been fully explored. The Gilf El-Kebir Plateau is thus an
extensive virgin Saharan area, first discovered in 1925 in the far southern corner of Egypt. It is a high plateau of
Nubia sandstone standing from 200 to 300 m above the surrounding desert plain. This Plateau has vertical
escarpments on all sides and is dissected by numerous canyon-like dry wadis, but its top is flat, except for a few
basalt flows. It is covered with a thick red soil, indicating heavy rainfall in older times. Occurrence of Early Palaeolithic
and Neolithic aretfacts has been reported in one of its wadis, Wadi Bakht.