The Valley of the Whales in the Desert
In the Egyptian desert, far from any sea, lie the skeletons of whales, hundreds of them, and some of them have legs.
What was reported
Wadi Al-Hitan, 'the Valley of the Whales', is a stretch of desert in Egypt's Western Desert, about 150 kilometres from Cairo. Lying in the sand and rock are hundreds of fossil skeletons of ancient whales, some more than 15 metres long, along with sharks, turtles and sea cows.
Some of the whales, such as Basilosaurus and Dorudon, still had small hind legs with feet and toes, though they could no longer walk.
Explanations offered
About 40 million years ago, the area was a shallow sea. The fossils show a key stage in the evolution of whales from land-living mammals. The site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with an open-air museum.
- When
- Fossils about 40 million years old
- Where
- Wadi Al-Hitan, Faiyum, Egypt
- Witnesses
- Palaeontologists and visitors
- Status
- Confirmed
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