As most of it formed some 600
milliion years ago, the Sinai mountain range is
one of the World's oldest massifs. Apart from the
red granite rock which takes up 80 % of the Sinai
High Mountain Region, there are newer, 10 million
year-old black volcanic rock formations. The interconnected
labyrinth of valleys were created by the rains and
melting snow, and are dotted with gigantic boulders
brought down by the enormous force of water. Regular
flash floods still sweep through the wadis, causing
damage to gardens and buildings, but at the same
time replenishing the underground water catchment
basins on which the very same gardens depend on.
Geology
The South Sinai massif is part of the Arabo-Nubian
massif. Its mounts are mainly magmatic, that is,
originate from the magma, or the molten rock below
the earth's crust. Towards the end of the Precambrian,
around 600 million years ago, large bodies of molten
magma began intruding upwards toward the surface,
cooling, and thus solidifying into rock. The many
kinds of rock found in the region of the South Sinai
massif, formed by the cooling process mentioned,
may be classified into three main groups:
1. Plutonic granites, were formed deep beneath
the surface. The cooling was relatively slow,
and their crystals are typically large. Jabel
Rabba, Jabel Safsafa and Jabel Er-Deir are examples
of mounts of this type of granite.
2. Volcanic rocks, where formed of magma which
erupted to the earth's surface, cooled quickly,
and their crystals are too small to be distinguished
by the naked eye. J. Katerina, J. Musa and (the
upper portion of) J. Abbas Basha are examples
of mounts of volcanic rocks.
3. Dykes, where formed by magma which broke its
way upwards in cracks and fissures. It cooled
rather quickly, but at a slower rate than volcanic
rocks. Dykes are typically of crystal size between
plutonic granites and volcanic rocks. Dykes can
be seen in great numbers and in a variety of sizes
throughout the South Sinai massif. The typical
structure of a dyke is either a gully with vertical
walls and fractured base, if its erosion is more
intense than in the hosting rock, or an outcrop,
if its erosion is lower than in the hosting rock
Other types of rock, such as metamorphic, sandstones,
or limestone, although found in other areas of
Sinai, are quite absent from the South Sinai massif.
After their formation, these magmatic rocks were
deeply eroded, and then covered by layers of sedimentary
rocks for most of their subsequent lifetime. These
sediments were formed either at the bottom of
a rather shallow ocean, in which case limestone
layers and their relatives are found, or on the
continent itself, in which case sandstone is found.
It was only relatively recently, during the Miocene
(about 20 million years ago), that stresses and
motions in the crust brought about an uplifting
of the area which today comprises the South Sinai
massif, accompanied by two important phenomena:
1. Erosion of the sedimentary layers and thus
exposure of the magmatic rocks, and 2. Creation
of faults, firstly connected with the formation
of the Gulf of Suez on the west, and then with
the formation of the Gulf of Aqaba on the east.
The granite is composed mainly of three minerals:
Feldspar, Quartz and Mica. The Feldspar and the
Mica portions, with the addition of water, may
convert, under favorable conditions, into clay
minerals, in which case the rock texture disintegrates,
as if the cement between the bricks of a wall
is removed, and the wall then looses its strength.
As the Sinai granite has not been exposed for
long, and the climate is very dry, not much of
the Sinai granite has undergone this disintegrating
process, except in locations where humidity tends
to persist. On the whole, whatever little erosion
occurs in Sinai, is chiefly mechanical, rather
than chemical.
At exposed surfaces the humidity is low, and
whatever friable material is formed - it is soon
removed by winds and rains. Exposed surfaces in
Sinai, therefore, are in most cases fairly solid.
In gullies and dry waterfalls humidity is maintained
for prolonged periods of time after a rain event,
and the disintegration is therefore considerable.
However, in gullies and dry waterfalls the disintegration
materials is flushed away by the next water stream,
and solid rock is left behind.
In sloping walls, wherever an irregularity of
the surface forms a pocket, water is retained.
The erosion increases the size of the pocket until
it touches the neighboring pocket, and creates
a layer of friable material beneath the surface,
covering large areas of the wall, with typical
"coves" and "bridges" imbedded
in it.
Onion-like structures are fairy common in Sinai,
seen mostly as "belts" separating between
"slabs".
The NE wall of J. Safsafa (on both sides of the
Boustan Gully), The "Little Rabba",
and the W wall of J. Rabba (near the Um-Surdi
pass), are examples of such onion-like structures.
This feature is not yet well understood, and is
often attributed to weathering, rather than to
some process which might have occurred during
the magma solidification.
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Nature
Notes: Rays of God or Dendrites
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On some rock faces a black leaf-like pattern
can be seen. Some people believe that the
patterns were caused by divine light so
intense that it imprinted the shadows of
living plants on stone and that it is reminiscent
of the leaves from the Burning Bush.
Geologists call this pattern dendritic pyrolusite
and say it is formed by a chemical reaction
which leaves a manganese deposit.
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References:
• Climbing
in Santa Catherine area in South Sinai
• Mount Sinai, A Walking Trail Guide - National
Parks of Egypt Protectorates Development
Programmes
St Katherine Protectorate (Important Birds Areas of Egypt)
"Four primary avian habitat-types can be identified in the National Park: mountains, wadis, plains and oases. Mountain habitat includes hilly country and slopes, as well as narrow small wadis, gullies and ravines. These are usually poorly vegetated at lower elevations, although higher up very thin vegetation cover shrouds the mountain slopes and diversity is fairly high. Wadis contain much of the vegetation in the region. However, frequent flash floods render many of the narrow wadis and torrent beds plantless. Several plains and plateaus are found at high altitude. Elwat El Agramya is one of the largest. Some wadi beds, particularly at lower elevations, are very wide and plain-like. The largest and best-known oasis is Feiran. Many orchards and small areas of cultivation are scattered in wadis, particularly at higher elevations. ... The resident bird community of the St Katherine Protectorate includes the majority of Egypt's Sahara-Sindian biome-restricted species. Many of these species are not well represented or are not present at all in any other IBA in Egypt." BirdLife International
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Climbing in Santa Catherine area in South Sinai
All you need to know about rock climbing in the area. Maps, route descriptions, photos, background information.
"To navigate this site it is recommended that you start from the Interactive schema of climbing areas page containing links to pictures of main climbing walls (with routes). Every route has its own index (i.e. E21), that can also be found in List of climbing routes. Some descriptions of routes can be located by clicking on a route from List or by clicking on index from schemas." Israel Alpine
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The Medicinal Plants Conservation Project
There is a comprehensive database aimed "to inform and educate protectorate managers, policy makers, scientists as well as the general public about medicinal plant species and their associated value". There are 481 different species of medicinal plants, all found in South Sinai, listed in the database. Unfortunatelly the common name of the plants is listed in Arabic only.
"The St. Katherine's Herbarium is now complete with 353 herbarium sheets housed at the St. Katherine's office" and you can search and view many of these sheets online.
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MIKE JAMES
Butterfly ecology and conservation in the mountains of South Sinai, Egypt, and a small portfolio of photographs, sketches and paintings.
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these pages are regularly updated and more content
is added - check back later!
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Getting
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