Wadi Al-Hitan, Whale Valley
Brief Description
Wadi Al-Hitan, Whale Valley, in the Western Desert of Egypt, contains invaluable fossil remains of the earliest, and now extinct, suborder of whales, Archaeoceti. These fossils represent one of the major stories of evolution: the emergence of the whale as an ocean-going mammal from a previous life as a land-based animal. This is the most important site in the world for the demonstration of this stage of evolution. It portrays vividly the form and life of these whales during their transition. The number, concentration and quality of such fossils here is unique, as is their accessibility and setting in an attractive and protected landscape. The fossils of Al-Hitan show the youngest archaeocetes, in the last stages of losing their hind limbs. Other fossil material in the site makes it possible to reconstruct the surrounding environmental and ecological conditions of the time.
Wadi Al-Hitan, Whale Valley, in the Western Desert of Egypt, contains invaluable fossil remains of the earliest, and now extinct, suborder of whales, Archaeoceti. These fossils represent one of the major stories of evolution: the emergence of the whale as an ocean-going mammal from a previous life as a land-based animal. This is the most important site in the world for the demonstration of this stage of evolution. It portrays vividly the form and life of these whales during their transition. The number, concentration and quality of such fossils here is unique, as is their accessibility and setting in an attractive and protected landscape. The fossils of Al-Hitan show the youngest archaeocetes, in the last stages of losing their hind limbs. Other fossil material in the site makes it possible to reconstruct the surrounding environmental and ecological conditions of the time.
Wadi Al-Hitan (La vallée des Baleines)
وادي الحيتان
يقع وادي الحيتان في صحراء مصر الغربيّة ويتضمّن بقايا أحفوريّة متحجّرة نفيسة عن فصيلة الحيتان القديمة والمنقرضة اليوم. تمثّل هذه البقايا المتحجرة إحدى أبرز محطات تطوّر الحيتان من ثدييات بريّة إلى ثدييات بحريّة. وهو أكبر مواقع العالم الشاهد على هذه المرحلة من التطوّر حيث يعكس طبيعة الحيتان وحياتها في خلال فترة تحوّلها. فهذه البقايا الأحفوريّة بعددها وتركّزها ونوعيّتها فريدة من نوعها تماماً كما النفاذ إليها ووجودها في موقع جميل ومحمي. تُبيّن بقايا الحيتان المتحجرة حيتاناً شابةً في المراحل الأخيرة من فقدان أعضائها الخلفيّة. وتتيح متحجرات أخرى متوفرة في هذا الموقع التعرف على البيئة والشروط البيئية في تلك الحقبة.
Wadi Al-Hitan, Whale Valley © UNESCO More Source: UNESCO/CLT/WHC