| Gilf Kebir | |
|---|---|
 View from the top of Gilf Kebir overlooking Wadi Sura | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,014 to 1,016 m (3,327 to 3,333 ft)  |
| Coordinates | 23°26′29″N25°50′23″E / 23.44139°N 25.83972°E /23.44139; 25.83972 |
| Geography | |
  Gilf Kebir | |
| Country | Egypt |
Gilf Kebir (جلف كبير) (var.Gilf al-Kebir,Jilf al Kabir,Gilf Kebir Plateau) is aplateau in theNew Valley Governorate of the remote southwest corner ofEgypt, and southeastLibya. Its name translates as "the Great Barrier". This 7,770 km2 (3,000 sq mi)sandstone plateau, roughly the size ofPuerto Rico, rises 300 m (980 ft) from theLibyan Desert floor. It is the true heart of theGilf Kebir National Park.
The name Gilf Kebir was given to the plateau byPrince Kamal el Dine Hussein in 1925, as it had no local name.[1] It is known for its rugged beauty, remoteness, geological interest, and the dramatic cliff paintings-pictographs and rock carvings-petroglyphs which depict an earlier era of abundant animal life and human habitation.
TheUweinatmountain range at the very south of the plateau extends from Egypt intoLibya andSudan.
The plateau is crisscrossed byWadis (dry, seasonal riverbeds). These include:
Gilf Kebir Plateau lies in the heart of the eastern part of the vastSahara Desert, and, thus, gets some of the most extreme climates on Earth. This is the driest place on the planet, not only because the area is totally rainless (the annual average rainfall amount hardly reaches 0.1 mm) but also because thegeological aridity index/dryness ratio is over 200, which means that the solar energy received at the ground evaporates 200 times the amount of precipitation received.[2] Rainfall may fall every twenty years in Gilf Kebir.
| Climate data for Gilf Kebir Plateau | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 20.8 (69.4) | 23.6 (74.5) | 27.8 (82.0) | 33.8 (92.8) | 36.6 (97.9) | 38.3 (100.9) | 38.7 (101.7) | 38.6 (101.5) | 37.2 (99.0) | 32.3 (90.1) | 26.3 (79.3) | 22.1 (71.8) | 31.3 (88.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 7.7 (45.9) | 10 (50) | 12.4 (54.3) | 18.4 (65.1) | 22.2 (72.0) | 24.9 (76.8) | 26.1 (79.0) | 26.3 (79.3) | 24.2 (75.6) | 19.2 (66.6) | 13.2 (55.8) | 8.7 (47.7) | 17.8 (64.0) |
| Source:Storm247.com[3] | |||||||||||||
The Gilf Kebir is known for its prehistoricNeolithicpetroglyphs
Saharanrock art has been found to resemble the art of Nile valleys.The Saharan area was wetter until mid-Holocene or about 4000 BC, when the monsoon retreated southwards, forcing humans to migrate. Some retreated eastward to the Nile valley, taking with them their beliefs and influencing Egyptian art.[4][5][6]
The hills of the Gilf Kebir were first seen from a distance by European explorers in 1910 - with W. J. Harding-King in 1910 and 1911, and Ball and Lieutenant Moore in 1918. The high southern part of the plateau was sighted for the first time by Prince Kamal el Dine Hussein in 1925, and on another expedition, in the following year, he fixed the eastern escarpment of the plateau and first realised the true size of the plateau. In 1930 an expedition headed byRalph Alger Bagnold followed the same route. In the winter of 1930-1, P. A. Clayton surveyed some of the areas.
The western side of the Gilf Kebir was explored in 1932 by the Clayton-Almásy Expedition, headed by Sir Robert East Clayton andCount László E. Almásy, and accompanied byPatrick A. Clayton,Squadron Leader H. W. G. J. Penderel, three Arabian car drivers and a cook. The expedition explored the area byGypsy Moth plane, by car, and on foot.
1933 Patrick Clayton and Ladislaus Almasy discovered theAqaba-Pass, the only way up Gilf Kebir from the southern plains i.e. from wadi Sura.[7]
The plateau was the site for various British logistical operations during theSecond World War, and due to the extremely dry conditions and lack of population, remains of this occupation are often found intact. A large airbase, including huge navigation arrows laid out in army petrol cans, can still be seen at theEight Bells Hills spot in the southeast of Gilf Kebir.
It was also the site of the 2007 discovery of a bag that had been lost in theSecond World War by a dispatch rider (Alec Ross) of theLong Range Desert Group, part of theBritish Army. This contained the rider's personal letters and photographs and had been well preserved.[8]
The Gilf Kebir is the setting for part ofMichael Ondaatje's novelThe English Patient.It also plays an important role in Paul Sussman'sThe Hidden Oasis.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |