الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract The naturally protected areas are found world wide with their unique content either plants, animals, birds, structures …….etc. commonly they are under the control of Ministry of Environment that is responsible for their protects with special laws. These areas are of great economic importance for any country, e.g. Egypt has around 30 protected areas each one has its unique features. The current study deals with one of the most important naturally protected areas in Egypt namely Wadi Degla. It lies in the eastern desert as elongated valley surrounded by two scarps that were one unit of Eocene age. It is affected by intersected cracks with the impact of rainfall and other weathering processes resulted in two scarps around the valley. The top cap of each scarp is backward eroded. Not only that but also noticeable differential weathering noted in the vertical profiles of each scarp and from one part to the other of each scarp. Petrographic, physical, hydrochemical and durability tests had been conducted in conjunction with the field observations of damage category and measurements of air temperature and its relative humidity at outdoor and inside caves and cracks throughout the summer and winter seasons of four years. All data indicated rock properties impact on its durability to weathering and a hazard intensity zonation map had been created using DC of the field investigations with the aid of GIS computer program we get this map that enable defining the safe from hazard areas and which area(s) require urgent conservation for the best case of tourism at this Wadi. |