A Unique Coincidence of Geomorphological, Geological, and Geoarchaeological Features in the Valley of Camels (Dakhla Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt)

Geosites constitute important natural resource of Egypt. Field investigations in the Dakhla Oasis of the Western Desert have permitted to assess unique geomorphological, geological, and geoarchaeological features co-occurring in the Valley of Camels. These features are assigned to geomorphological t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geoheritage 2020-12, Vol.12 (4), Article 81
Main Authors: AbdelMaksoud, Kholoud M., Elfeky, Hend, Ruban, Dmitry A., Ermolaev, Vladimir A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biogeosciences
Cretaceous
Desert animals
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Field tests
Geology
Geomorphology
Historical Geology
Hydrogeology
Landforms
Landscape/Regional and Urban Planning
Mineralogy
Natural resources
Original Article
Paleontology
Physical Geography
Sustainable development
Tourists
Visibility
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Geosites constitute important natural resource of Egypt. Field investigations in the Dakhla Oasis of the Western Desert have permitted to assess unique geomorphological, geological, and geoarchaeological features co-occurring in the Valley of Camels. These features are assigned to geomorphological type (animal-shaped landforms sculptured by differential erosion), palaeogeographical type (continental facies of the Cretaceous sandstones and petroglyphs left by the past societies and partly suitable to palaeoenvironmental interpretations), sedimentary type (cross-bedding and multiple truncation planes in sandstones), and hydrogeological type (Roman wells). The Valley of Camels is a globally ranked geosite of complex type. It demonstrates coincidence of essentially different features. For instance, the Toutam landform is notable by its unusual shape resulting from weathering, it exhibits cross-bedding and multiple parallel truncation planes typical for continental sandstones, and it bears petroglyphs near its base. In the Valley of Camels, the geoheritage can be used as the resource for (geo)education and (geo)tourism. Excellent visibility and high aesthetic properties make the proposed geosite suitable to tourists with different geological knowledge or even without it. Geotourism development in the Valley of Camels can contribute to the local sustainable development via providing socio-economic benefits to the local community and strengthening the oasis integration into the Egyptian economy.
ISSN:1867-2477
1867-2485
DOI:10.1007/s12371-020-00507-x