Sahara el Beyda, the White Desert Protected Area, is a
national park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
in
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 Mediter ...
, first established as a protected area in 2002. It is located in the
Farafra depression, north of the town of
Qsar El Farafra. Part of the park is in the Farafra Oasis (
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 (Egypt), Western D ...
).
The park is the site of large white
chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Chalk ...
rock formations, created through erosion by wind and sand. It is also the site of cliffs (at the northern end of the Farafra Depression), sand dunes (part of the
Great Sand Sea
The Great Sand Sea is an approximately sand desert (erg) in the Sahara between western Egypt and eastern Libya in North Africa. Some 74% of the area is covered by sand dunes.
Geography
The Great Sand Sea stretches about from north to south an ...
), as well as
Wadi Hennis and oases at
Ain El Maqfi and
Ain El Wadi.
White Desert National Park covers an area of . The highest point in the park is at El Qess Abu Said at above sea level, and the lowest is at Wadi Hennis at .
The park serves as the refuge for various animals, including the endangered
Rhim gazelle
The rhim gazelle or rhim (''Gazella leptoceros''), also known as the slender-horned gazelle, African sand gazelle or Loder's gazelle, is a pale-coated gazelle with long slender horns and well adapted to desert life. It is considered an endangered ...
and the vulnerable
Dorcas gazelle
The dorcas gazelle (''Gazella dorcas''), also known as the ariel gazelle, is a small and common gazelle. The dorcas gazelle stands about at the shoulder, with a head and body length of and a weight of . The numerous subspecies survive on vegeta ...
, as well as
Barbary sheep
The Barbary sheep (''Ammotragus lervia''), also known as aoudad (pronounced ɑʊdæd is a species of caprine native to rocky mountains in North Africa. While this is the only species in genus ''Ammotragus'', six subspecies have been describ ...
;
jackal
Jackals are medium-sized canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word "jackal" has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-backed ...
s;
Rüppell's,
red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
and
fennec foxes; and the
sand cat
The sand cat (''Felis margarita'') is a small wild cat that inhabits sandy and stony deserts far from water sources. With its sandy to light grey fur, it is well camouflaged in a desert environment. Its head-and-body length ranges from with a ...
.
Gallery
File:Kalksteinfelsen-limestonerock.jpg
File:White Desert, Egypt.jpg
File:White Desert, Rock formations in desert landscape 2, Egypt.jpg
File:White Desert, Rock formations in desert landscape, Egypt.jpg
File:Al Farafrah, New Valley Governorate, Egypt - panoramio (14).jpg
References
External links
Ministry of Environment Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency - Natural Protectorates Description
National parks of Egypt
Protected areas established in 2002
IUCN Category II
2002 establishments in Egypt
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