Ras Mohammed National
Park occupies one of the world's most extraordinary settings:
a slender, dramatically arid peninsula at the very southernmost
tip of the Sinai, rising to a dramatic promontory that
looks out over some of the most gloriously rich coral
reefs that you will ever see. The Ras Mohammed peninsula
marks the nexus of the shallow Gulf of Suez and the deep
intercontinental chasm of the Gulf of Aqaba, itself a
small portion of the Great Rift Valley that stretches
deep into Africa. Declared a park in 1983, Ras Mohammed
contains within its modest area an astounding variety
of life, ranging from the gazelles of its northern desert
area to the brilliant orange coral groupers of its skirting
reefs. |
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boundaries of Ras Mohammed extend far out into the surrounding
waters, and even the most casual of visitors is struck
by how much of the park is dominated by the sea. Even
the dry land area of the park seems a part of the marine
world: in the north, large dunes are interspersed with
outcroppings of Miocene limestone in which are embedded
an astonishing wealth and variety of marine fossils.
In fact, the dramatic promontory that marks the Sinai's
southernmost tip belongs in part to the sea, as it is
in fact an enormous, fossilized coral reef, left high
and dry tens of thousands of years ago.
For many visitors, Ras Mohammed's
most stunning scenery is found underwater, in the broad,
terraced coral reefs that encircle the peninsula. Fire
corals and brilliant sea fans abound here, and among
these lush reef corals roams a truly magnificent array
of both reef and pelagic fish--over a thousand species
in all.
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