WADI AL-HITAN (WHALE VALLEY), in the western desert of Egypt, contains priceless fossil remains of the first, and now extinct, suborder of whales, Archaeoceti. These fossils represent one of the major evolutionary stories: the emergence of the whale as a deep-sea mammal from an earlier life as a land animal. This is the most important site in the world for the demonstration of this stage of evolution. It vividly portrays the form and life of these whales during their transition.
WADI AL-HITAN (WHALE VALLEY portrays the shape and life of these whales during their transition. The fossils already show the streamlined body configuration of modern whales, in some respects the primitive skull shapes and tooth structure.
Wadi Al Hitan is of sufficient size to include the main rock exposures where the whale fossils are found, as well as associated geological features of interest. In addition, a larger portion of the Wadi El-Rayan protected area is included in the property, including the immediate landscape around the fossil sites.
Wadi Al-Hitan is owned by the State and has firm and unequivocal legal protection under Egyptian Law 102/1983 for Nature Reserve Protectorates, prohibiting actions that would lead to the destruction or deterioration of the natural environment. The law mentions geological features as specific elements that receive protection.
The Nature Conservation Sector (NCS) of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) is responsible for the management, protection and conservation of the entire site as part of its overall management of the property.
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