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LAND TENURE
State. Managed by the Nature Conservation Sector of the Egyptian
Environmental Affairs Agency.
ALTITUDE
70m to 210m (Gebel Gehannam).
PHYSICAL FEATURES
The area is in the arid western desert on the westernmost edge
of the great depression of Faiyum – Wadi Rayan west of the Nile.
The deepest contours of the nearby Wadi Rayan are now occupied
by two brackish lakes created in the 1970s from excess
agricultural water channelled from nearby Lake Qarun in the
Faiyum oasis which has enriched the previously meagre wildlife
of the area. The totally dry sand-covered Wadi Al-Hitan 40 km
west exhibits wind-eroded pillars of rock surrounded by sand
dunes, cliffs and remnant hills of a low shale and limestone
plateau.
Geological History:
For eons the Tethys Sea reached far south of the existing
Mediterranean. It gradually retreated north depositing thick
layers of sediments which became sandstone, limestone and shale,
seen at Wadi Al-Hitan. Three Eocene formations are visible. The
oldest is the Gehannam Formation (ca 40-41 million years old)
consisting of white marly limestone and gypseous shale and
yielding many skeletons of archaic whales (archaeocetes),
sirenians (sea cows), shark teeth, turtles, and crocodilians.
The middle unit, Birket Qarun Formation, consists of sandstone,
clays and hard limestone, which also yields whale skeletons. The
youngest formation is the Qasr El-Sagha Formation of Late Eocene
age, about 39 million years old. It is rich in marine
invertebrate fauna, indicating a shallow marine environment.
These formations were uplifted from the southwest, creating
drainage systems, now buried beneath the sand, which emptied to
the sea through mangrove-fringed estuaries and lagoons when the
coast was near present Faiyum some 37 million years ago.
In Wadi Al-Hitan in an area over 10 kilometres long there h as
been found an unusually large concentration of over 400 fossil
skeletons of archaic whales and other vertebrates, extensively
displayed on the desert floor and in cliffs. A few are exposed
but most are shallowly buried in sediments, from which erosion
slowly releases them. It is expected that further skeletons will
be excavated. The site provides evidences of millions of years
of coastal marine life. The presence of many baby skeletons
suggests that the place was a shallow and nutrient-rich
embayment frequented for calving. Since the fossils of different
periods lie at different levels they are valuable indicators of
palaeogeologic and palaeoecologic conditions, Eocene life, and
the evolution of marine mammals.
CLIMATE
The climate is typically Saharan, hot and dry in summer and mild
with scanty rain in winter. At nearby Wadi el-Rayan the annual
average precipitation is 10.1 mm, 40% falling in December. The
average ambient relative humidity is 51%. The mean winter
temperature is 13.7°C with an absolute minimum of –1.2°C; the
mean summer temperature is 28.5°C with an absolute maximum of
48.4°C; the average diurnal range is 15.6°C. The direction of
the wind for most of the year is from the north, varying from
northwest to northeast. The Wadi is subject to both erosion and
deposition which buries or exposes the skeletons.
VEGETATION
(Modern and Ancient)
The present site is extremely barren and there is very little
vegetation. Tamarix nilotica is the most prominent shrub,
accompanied by the halophytes Salsola imbricata spp.gaetula,
Zygophyllum coccineum and Cornulaca monocantha.
Fossil remains of sea grasses and mangroves with clearly exposed
vertical pneumatophores were first noticed in the 1920s. Nearby,
a worm-bored log was found of a species resembling the mangrove
palm Nypa fruticans, a plant of southeast Asia, which
suggests that the Eocene climate in the area was humid and warm
FAUNA
(Modern and Ancient)
The present day fauna is very sparse. The fennec fox Fennecus
zerda has been seen, and mammals found in the WRPA which
might occasionally occur are north African jackal Canis
aureus lupaster, red fox Vulpes aegyptiaca, Rüppell’s
fox V. rueppeli, Egyptian mongoose Herpestes ichneumon,
African wildcat Felis sylvestris lybica, and dorcas
gazelle Gazella dorcas. 19 reptiles and 36 breeding birds
are recorded for the WRPA, mostly attracted by the lakes. Wadi
Al-Hitan is not separately noted but the desert species hoopoe
lark Alaemon alaudipes, probably occurs.
The nominated site contains a diverse Eocene marine fauna
including 25 genera of more than 14 families and 4 classes of
vertebrates. They are not the oldest whale fossils but cover a
vital evolutionary period of some 4 million years when these
mammals evolved from land to sea-going animals. The fossils
which range from young to old individuals in a great
concentration of specimens, are so well preserved that even some
stomach contents are intact. The neighboring Gebel Qatrani also
an exceptionally rich fossil site.
The skeletons of four species of Eocene whales have been
uncovered in the highest concentration of such remains in the
world: 379 fossil whales (179 catalogued) and 40 catalogued
vertebrates. Three of the whales are Basilosaurids, the latest
surviving group of archaeocete whales which are the earliest,
now extinct, sub-order of whales, ancestors of the modern
Mysticeti and Odontoceti whale families. Their fossils reveal
the evolution of whales from land and shore-based to ocean-going
mammals. Though they retained certain primitive aspects their
form was already streamlined. The largest was Basilosaurus
isis, which was up to 21 meters long, with well developed
five-fingered flippers on the forelimbs and the quite unexpected
presence of hind legs, feet, and toes, not known previously in
any archaeocete; a vestigial use may have been as claspers
during aquatic mating. Their form was serpentine and they were
carnivorous. Many infant skeletons were also found. These and
the dense congregation are probably due to the area having been
shallow and nutrient-rich and therefore used for calving by the
animals.
Another species is Dorudon atrox, also found with
vestigial hind limb bones, a small whale with a more compact
dolphin-like body. The presence of calving females of this
species may have attracted the larger predator whales. Other
whales found are Saghacetus osiris and Anclacetus
simonsi. Nineteen other species of invertebrates are known:
three species of early sirenian (sea cow), one partial skeleton
of the primitive proboscidian Moeritherium, early
mammals, sharks, crocodiles, three kinds of sawfish, rays,
cartilaginous and bony fishes, several kinds of turtles,
including a sea turtle and a sea snake. There is a rich
invertebrate fauna with thousands of remains, large and small,
of nummulites, molluscs, gastropods, bivalves, echinoids and
crabs, which, with the remains of plants, permit reconstruction
of the ecology and habitat of the animals.
CULTURAL HERITAGE
Wadi Al-Hitan itself was probably always rather abandoned in
historical times. However, the ancient Lake Moeris in the nearby
Faiyum depression was large and the climate 8,500-4,000 years
ago was wetter, so the abundant wildlife and surrounding fertile
soils, attracted continuous human habitation to the Faiyum area
from Neolithic times to the present. It was also a major
crossroad used for many centuries by travellers between the Nile
Valley and the oases of the Western Desert. Remains of human
settlements from the early Egyptian, Greek and Roman eras are
found there.
LOCAL HUMAN POPULATION
No-one lives on the site, but Wadi el-Rayan 40 km away has a few
thousand settled and temporary farmers and fishermen.
VISITORS AND VISITOR FACILITIES
From 1997 on, Wadi el-Rayan became a popular excursion area for
Cairenes and in 2003 a well equipped Visitors’ Centre with an
audio-visual theatre and fossil museum was sited on the western
lakeshore. Brochures, a video and a website have been produced
for the Wadi site. Only about 1,000 visitors a year drive on to
Wadi Al-Hitan as the 4WD track is unpaved, crosses treacherous
sands and the site itself is extreme desert. Because the area
has had to be protected, the management plan for the Wadi
el-Rayan Protected Area is applied to Wadi Al-Hitan restricting
visitors to prearranged guided tours along a prescribed trail
either on foot or by camel. Sustainable tourism is beginning to
be developed and tourism will increase in the future.
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND FACILITIES
The first fossil whale was found in the Faiyum oasis in the 19t h
century. Large fossil skeletons were first found in Wadi
Al-Hitan in the winter of 1902-3 and named Zeuglodon by
Beadnell of the Geological Survey of Egypt. This find was
followed by Andrews of the Natural History Museum, London who in
1905 renamed it Basilosaurus isis on the assumption that
it was a dinosaur, and named a second find Dorudon atrox.
Two brief unpublished visits by the University of California and
Yale University followed in mid century. But between 1985 and
1993 P. Gingerich from the University of Michigan discovered
hundreds of fossils, among them, in 1989, the last whales found
with functioning feet, 10 million years after their evolution
from terrestrial to marine existence. In the dense aggregation
they also found many infant skeletons probably because the area
being shallow and nutrient-rich was used for calving by the
animals. Field work is planned to resume in 2005 and further
discoveries are certain.
Specimens from Wadi Al-Hitan are currently displayed in several
institutions: 56 specimens, including the type specimens, are
preserved in the Cairo Geological Museum; others are held in
London, Berlin, Stuttgart and the University of Michigan where
there is a complete Dorudon atrox skeletal mount on
exhibit. A research plan for the property during 2005-2008 has
been developed in a Memorandum of Understanding between EEAA,
the University of Michigan, the Egyptian Geological and Mining
Surveys. This provides for regulated scientific exploration and
specimen collection, curation by the Egyptian Geological Museum
and the University of Michigan and training of Egyptian staff.
CONSERVATION VALUE
Wadi Al-Hitan is of international value as it represents an
outstanding record of Middle to Late Eocene life and geological
evolution. It is the only place in the world where the skeletons
of families of archaic whales can be seen in their original
geological and geographic setting of the shallow nutrient-rich
bay of an early sea of some 40 million years ago. There is no
other place in the world yielding arch aic whale fossils of such
quality in such abundance and concentration. Many of the
sirenians and cetaceans are preserved as virtually complete
articulated skeletons which, uniquely, preserve reduced hind
limbs, making them intermediate between earlier land mammals and
later modern whales. The nominated area contains most of the key
interrelated and interdependent elements in their natural
relationships which provide a robust foundation for
reconstructing the mosaic of paleoenvironments and
palaeogeography of a southern coastal realm of the ancient
Tethyan Ocean during Eocene time, enabling interpretation of how
animals then lived and how they were related to each other. The
high number, concentration and state of preservation of these
fossils is unequalled. They are of iconic value for the study of
evolutionary transition, and make the site vitally important.
CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT
The nominated property is managed as a Special Protection Zone
within the Wadi El-Rayan Protected Area (WRPA). The 2002-2006
Management Plan for the WRPA was applied to Wadi Al-Hitan,
restricting visitors to the site to guided tours along a marked
trail and proscribing many activities. These include the
destruction of geological formations, discharging pollutants,
hunting and littering. The Wadi Al-Hitan site is patrolled daily
to catch illegal visitors and twice a week a team monitors the
condition of the fossils, photographing them and when necessary
repairing damage. To ward off 4WD intruders, staff from
neighboring tribes are to be trained as guards and tourist
guides, and local people will participate in the area’s
management. Motorcycle patrols and camel supply transport are
proposed. A field outpost is to be sited in excavated caves for
protection from the extreme conditions. An open-air museum, two
camping sites, camel tours and a bedouin-style ecolodge supplied
by private ecotourist companies are all projected, and a
sustainable source of funds will be sought.
MANAGEMENT CONSTRAINTS
The exposed skeletons are fragile. They are vulnerable to wind
erosion and burying by wind-carried sand, although fresh fossils
are also exposed by the same process. They are more at danger
from collectors who steal bones and fossil wood as souvenirs and
saleable curiosities, As tourism increases visitors will require
constant surveillance and monitoring. The wild landscape is
scarred by 4WD tracks which are kept to a minimum. A long-term
threat to the Wadi El-Rayan area is the drying up of the
artificial lakes by evaporation.
COMPARISON WITH SIMILAR SITES
Fossil whale sites:
Whales evolved from land mammals during early Eocene times,
which started some 55 million years ago. By the end of the
Eocene 33 million years ago modern toothed and baleen whales
existed in virtually their modern form. Thus Wadi Al-Hitan, with
its Archaeoceti or archaic whales at 40-37 million years before
the present, presents vital evidence of the transition from land
mammals to modern ocean-going whales. The intermediacy of the
archaeocete whales of Wadi Al-Hitan is corroborated by skeletal
features like the retention of well-formed hind limbs, feet, and
toes in Basilosaurus and in Dorudon. Wadi Al-Hitan
is the only place in the world where numerous archaeocete
skeletons can be seen in place in their original geological and
geographic setting.
Older and more primitive archaeocete whales come primarily from
India and Pakistan from forested foothills of the Himalaya, from
desert areas in Kutch, and from desert in tribal parts of
Punjab, the Northwest Frontier and Balochistan provinces that
are inaccessible to most people. Important older whale sites
near Gebel Mokattam in Cairo are now covered by the developing
city. A substantial number of partial skeletons of archaeocete
whales more or less contemporary with those of Wadi Al-Hitan
have been found on the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plain of
eastern North America over the past 150 years, but none of these
skeletons are complete and the sites where they were found are
scattered, covered by vegetation, and generally inaccessible.
Fossil whales of the suborders Mysticeti and Odontoceti are
known in abundance from Miocene and Pliocene sites like the
12-15 million-year-old Shark-Tooth Hill in the Temblor Formation
of California
http://www.llu.edu/llu/grad/natsci/brand/whale.htm
and the 5-6 million-year-old Cerro Blanco in the Pisco Formation
of Peru
http://sharktoothhill.com/sharktooth.html but the
whales from these sites are essentially modern.
Other Palaeontological sites with World Heritage designation:
Wadi Al-Hitan with its excellent preservation and abundance of
coastal to marine fossil record and sedimentary facies provides
an outstanding window on Eocene life evolution and
palaeogeography comparable and complementary to Messel Pit
Fossil Site in Germany with its dom inantly terrestrial record.
In the wealth of its deposits, Wadi Al-Hitan is most similar to
the Triassic Ischigualasto/ Talampaya Natural Parks site in
Argentina, Monte San Giorgio in Switzerland, the Cretaceous
Dinosaur Provincial Park in Canada and the Oligo-Miocene fossils
of the Australian Fossil Mammal sites. There are very rich
deposits of the Burgess shale in the Canadian Rocky Mountain
Parks and Miguasha National Park in Canada, but these are
Palaeozoic; also the Jurassic Dorset and East Devon Coast of the
U.K., and the Quaternary deposits of Lake Turkana National Parks
in Kenya. The concentration of fossils at Wadi Al-Hitan, and
public interest in the site nationally and internationally, are
comparable to each of the sites already on the World Heritage
List.
An off-site occurrence of the Eocene-Oligocene Gebel Qatrani
formation north of Lake Qarun within the Lake Qarun Protected
Area have revealed the fossils of ancestral elephants, a
two-horned mammal Arsinotherium, and eight primate
lineages, including two genera of the earliest known hominoids
(Redfern, 2002). It has been called ‘the most complete record of
palaeogene mammals for all Africa’ (Wells, 1996). It is
adjacent, of a similar nature to, and with the same management
as Wadi Al-Hitan. As such, there is a strong case for any
nomination to be eventually extended to include it. This site
has the world’s highest concentration of the fossilised
skeletons of archaic whales. They are evidence of many millions
of years of coastal life in the shallow nutrient-rich bay of an
early sea. The fossils of different periods and levels are
valuable clues to its past geologic and geomorphic processes,
its Eocene vertebrate and invertebrate life and the evolution of
modern cetaceans 40 million years ago.
STAFF
The present staff of 28 rangers and guards is part of the Wadi
el-Rayan force. Only one palaeontologist-ranger is at present
solely working in Wadi Al-Hitan. In time 6 guards working in
shifts plus two environmental researchers will staff the
outpost.
BUDGET
The Italian-Egyptian Environment Program, supported by
technical assistance from the IUCN, funded the WRPA from
1998-2001 and during Phase II (2004-2008) is committed to fund
development at Wadi Al-Hitan with E£6 million (US$518,000).
Future funding is expected from government grants, entry fees,
donations, and eventually from a Conservation Fund. The
projected total expenses for the whole WRPA are given but sums
for Wadi Al-Hitan are not stated separately.
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