Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin (ISSN 0178 – 6288) . Number 134, February 2016, pp. 1-44. | Page 31

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Geology
The geology of the Whales Valley gives rise to the scenery, with wind and water
erosion producing spectacular cliffs and buttes. The rocks present at Wadi ElHitan are all Middle to Late Eocene in age and comprise three main rock units.
The Gehannam Formation comprises open marine mudstones, which are largely
present on the flatter ground to the East of the public park. The rock unit that
contains most of the whale fossils is the Birket Qarun Formation. This comprises
yellowish open marine sandstones that form most of the cliffs and buttes. The
monotony of these sandstones is broken by a white layer full of well-preserved
animal burrows (previously thought to be mangrove roots) and a layer of black
mudstone above that. When the cliffs of the Birket Qarun Formation are followed
to the East, they are replaced by Gehannam Formation mudstones, indicating a
change in water depth from shallower to deeper in that direction. The tops of the
higher cliffs are within the Qasr el-Sagha Formation, which comprises dark
mudstones alternating with limestones full of shells and represents a lagoonal
environment (Wikipedia).

Prof. Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher Khalaf-von Jaffa studying the fossils at Wadi
El-Hitan (Whales Valley), Al-Fayyum, Al-Sahraa Al-Gharbiah (Western Desert), Egypt.
Photo: Ola Mostafa Khalaf. 11.07.2012.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/50022881@N00/15306932618/
Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 134 – February 2016