Wadi Hamra ( ar, الوادي الحمراء, ''red valley'') is a valley of
Gilf Kebir
Gilf Kebir () (var. Gilf al-Kebir, Jilf al Kabir, Gilf Kebir Plateau) is a plateau in the New Valley Governorate of the remote southwest corner of Egypt, and southeast Libya. Its name translates as "the Great Barrier". This sandstone plateau, ro ...
, in
New Valley Governorate
New Valley Governorate or El Wadi El Gedid Governorate ( ar, محافظة الوادي الجديد , ) is one of the governorates of Egypt. It is in the southwestern part of the country, in the south of Egypt Western Desert (part of the Saha ...
in the extreme south-west of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
. It is known for its vegetation and rock encarvings.
Geography
The approximately 20 km long wadi Ḥamra is the easternmost of three valleys originating from the ''Abu Ras Plateau'' in Gilf Kebir running north, consisting of ''wadi Ṭalḥ'' in the west and ''wadi Abd el-Mālik'' in the middle. The name of the wadi derives from the color of the sand, which appears reddish due to its high
iron oxide content.
Vegetation
The upper section of wadi Hamra receives run-off from the plateau and provides groundwater storage capacity for a remarkable growth of trees and shrubs despite of its
hyper-arid climate. The vegetation includes
Acacia raddiana
''Vachellia tortilis'', widely known as ''Acacia tortilis'' but now attributed to the genus ''Vachellia'', is the umbrella thorn acacia, also known as ''umbrella thorn'' and Israeli babool, a medium to large canopied tree native to most of Afri ...
, shrubs like
Maerua crassifolia,
fagonia
''Fagonia'' is a genus of wild, flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae, having about 34 species. The latest reorganization of the genus took place in 2021 when systematists Christenhusz & Byng included ''Fagonia spp''.. along with ...
s and
Zilla spinosa
''Zilla'' is a genus of plants in the family Brassicaceae, that grows in the Sahara-Arabian extreme deserts, in Northern Africa and the Middle East.
Species
Species include the following, and possibly others:
* ''Zilla macroptera
Zilla may r ...
.
Rock engravings
In wadi Hamra there are three remarkable sites with rock engravings and petroglyphs depicting wild fauna such as giraffes, gazelles and antelopes:
* Rhotert’s site in the upper reaches of the wadi, discovered during the Frobenius-Rhotert expedition in 1935.
* Negro’s site, discovered by Negro & party in 1991, lies on a low rock face on the east side of the valley in the middle section.
* Berger’s site, discovered by Berger & party in 1998, is at the end of a small side wadi not far from Negro's site.
[Uta Berger, Friedrich Berger; Ein neuer Felsbildfund im Wadi Hamra (Gilf Kebir, Ägypten). In: Almogaren / Institutum Canarium, vol. 30 (1999), p. 203–220.]
Gallery of rock engravings at Negro’s site
File:WadiHamra2.jpg, Boulder with engraved animals
File:WadiHamra3.jpg, Boulder with pecked animals
File:WadiHamra4.jpg, Pecked giraffes
File:WadiHamra5.jpg, Giraffe
File:WadiHamra6.jpg, Pedroglyphs
File:WadiHamra7.jpg, Pedroglyphs
References
{{Saharan rock art
Saharan rock art
New Valley Governorate
Archaeological sites in Egypt
Valleys of Egypt