Whales' nature reserve in Fayoum, Egypt
Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak inaugurated the International Whales Nature reserve of Al Fayoum in celebrations organized by the Environment Ministry on the occasion of the UNESCO'S choosing this nature reserve to join the list of the world nature heritage which comprises 259 such locations worldwide.
Environment Minister Maged George said the location of the whales' nature reserve was developed to become a unique open museum as it includes 400 whales skeletons dated back to more than 40 million years ago.
Wadi Al-Hitan or Whales Valley, in the Western Desert of Egypt, is the most important site in the world to demonstrate one of the iconic changes that make up the record of life on the Earth: the evolution of the whales.
It vividly portrays their form and mode of life during their transition from land animals to a marine existence.
It exceeds the values of other comparable sites in terms of the number, concentration and quality of its fossils, and their accessibility and setting in an attractive and protected landscape.
It represents significant values that are currently absent from the World Heritage List.
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 a sea of some 40 million years ago.
March 2, 2008
Posted in: Egypt