Petrified Forest Protectorate - Maadi - Cairo

Petrified Forest Protectorate - Maadi - Cairo

An overview about the Petrified Forest Protectorate

The area outside Maadi, which lies about 30 kms away from Cairo, in the year 1989, was declared to be a protectorate. The same is referred as The Petrified Forest and is about 35 million years old at least. The reserve is an ideal example of the physical history of the planet. The six km area is covered with the remains of trees from the early era which were brought here due to the floods on the red Sea hills. The period during which such floods occurred was referred as the Oligocene when the temperature of earth saw a large amount of drop. The uniqueness about this period is that the drop in temperature led to the creation of an atmosphere which supported the coming of many new species like elephants and horses.

Location

The Petrified protectorate is located at a distance of 18 km from Maadi city in Cairo on the North Katameya- ein el sokhna road. The geological history this place preserves makes it very important. The natural fortune present at the place has helped the same acquire a position of being a cultural, touristic and scientific heritage. Most people know about the same for which a lot has been written. There are a large variety of stones; sands, petrified trees and trunks present here which can help in knowing about the geological period of earth. The Petrified Forest is a relatively small geological protectorate compared to others in Egypt and covers a land area of only 7 square kilometers. It is also classified as a natural heritage site.

The vegetation

The forest reserve in the northeastern part of Egypt is densely covered by acacia trees, pastoral plants and bushes that help in fixing the dunes which further assists in conserving the environmental setting of the Mediterranean coast which was otherwise damaged by the developmental projects that disturbed the natural environment of the region.

The high density of acacia helps in increasing the level of soil water and preserves the natural qualities of the subterranean water. This also helps the Petrified Forest in becoming a favored tourist attraction due to the natural resources present here in abundance. The Petrified Forest protectorate is one of the natural sites in Egypt which the state wishes to conserve and protect for the importance and richness in the wildlife flora and fauna seen here.

The protectorate by some is also known as Gabal el-Khashab, or Wood Hill, if considering a non geologist or a person who is not a nature lover, there is nothing much to see in the reserve accept the stones, sands and rocks. The biggest threat to the reserve now comes from the constant construction work around the area. The many construction programs nearby have led to most of the animals and wildlife disappearing from this area over the past ten to 15 years.

Overall the small size of the Petrified Forest reserve does not pave any hindrance in it being an important pearl in the natural heritage of the country.