Inventory and Assessment of the Geomorphosites of Bahariya –Farafra Territory, Western Desert, Egypt

Abstract

The study area forms the central territory of the Western Desert, Egypt, and encompasses two declared Protected Areas namely, the White Desert National Park and Al Wahat Al Bahariya under the law number 102 /1983 in the framework of protected areas in Egypt. The Ministerial Decrees No. 1220/2002 and No. 2656/2010  declared the White Desert National Park to protect spectacular karst landscapes and associated erosional features and Al Wahat Al Bahariya Protected Area to protect the sites of the Cenomanian Dinasour as a natural heritage and the black duricrusted cone hills. The present study presents an inventory and assessment for the wonderful geosites within the Bahriya- Farafra territory, Western Desert, Egypt, with emphases on the protected areas, using inclusive inventory cards for each selected site. Firstly, up to 52 potential sites are selected representing the remarkable historical geological evolution of the Early Cretaceous to a Recent time span. Later nineteen of them as significant geomorphosites have been subjected to further assessment. The main inventory results revealed that the Bahariya - Farafra territory has a great geodiversity reflecting high scientific, aesthetic and management values for various activities of geotourism and education and research institutions. Protection and conservations of the recorded geosites are available to a certain extent, but still not high enough to regulate the visiting activities. The visitors' awareness is of very low level due to the lack of an adequate infrastructure and qualified administrative and guiding staff.