Gabal Elba ( ', , "Box Mountain"), or Elba Mountain refers to the mountain itself as well as the mountainous area in the

Halaib Triangle The Halaib Triangle is an area of land measuring located on the Northeast African coast of the Red Sea. The area, which takes its name from the town of Halaib, is created by the difference in the Egypt–Sudan border between the "political boun ...

Northeast Africa Northeast Africa, or Northeastern Africa, or Northern East Africa as it was known in the past, encompasses the countries of Africa situated in and around the Red Sea. The region is intermediate between North Africa and East Africa, and encompasses ...

. It is claimed by both

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

, but is under Egyptian control.

Geography

The higher peaks in the area are Gabal Elba (), Gabal Shellal (), Gabal Shendib () and Gabal Shendodai (). Average annual rainfall in the region is less than , but

orographic precipitation Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain. Orography (also known as ''oreography'', ''orology,'' or ''oreology'') falls within the broader disci ...

in and around Gabal Elba itself amounts to as much as . in the upper areas. This phenomenon is due to the proximity of the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

coast (some east of the mountains) and also to the fact that the coast, slightly curved to the east at this point, presents an unusually broad front to the sea across a strip of relatively flat land, which facilitates interception of moisture-laden north-east sea winds. This phenomenon is registered at its best in the northeast of the region, where Gabal Elba is located, which explains the fact that Gabal Elba receives higher precipitation than other coastal mountains in the range, including higher ones. Aridity gradually increases to the southwest of the area.

Ecology

Gabal Elba's summit is a "mist oasis" where much of the precipitation is contributed in the form of dew, mist and clouds, creating a unique ecosystem not found anywhere else in the country. Indeed, Gabal Elba is a "biodiversity hotspot", with a biological diversity unparalleled in any terrestrial environment in Egypt proper. The relative abundance of moisture supports a diverse flora of some 458 plant species – almost 25% of plant species recorded for the entire country. Many

Afrotropical The Afrotropical realm is one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Sub-Saharan Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean. It was formerly known as the Ethiopi ...

species have their northern limits at Gabal Elba, and the dense cover of

acacias ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Australa ...

and other scrubs represents the only natural woodland in Egypt. In the higher-elevation mist zone, species of acacia, ''

Moringa Moringa may refer to: * ''Moringa'' (genus), a genus of plants * ''Moringa oleifera ''Moringa oleifera'' is a short-lived, fast-growing, drought-resistant tree of the family Moringaceae, native to northern India and used extensively in South ...

'' and Gabal Elba dragon tree (''Dracaena ombet'') form the woodland tree canopy, with ferns, mosses and succulents in the understory. The mountain intercepts moisture-bearing winds from the northeast, and the northern and northeastern slopes are more humid than the western and southern slopes. Savannas of acacia and '' Delonix'' grow in the foothills and along watercourses.BirdLife International (2024)
Important Bird Area factsheet: Gebel Elba
Retrieved 24 May 2024. The mountain is home to the largest remaining population of ''Dracaena ombet'' in Egypt and Sudan. 41 species of birds breed in and around Gabal Elba. The

bateleur The bateleur (; ''Terathopius ecaudatus''), also known as the bateleur eagle, is a medium-sized eagle in the family Accipitridae. It is often considered a relative of the snake eagles and, like them, it is classified within the subfamily Circaet ...

(''Terathopius ecaudatus''),

Namaqua dove The Namaqua dove (''Oena capensis'') is a small Columbidae, pigeon. It is the Monotypic taxon, only species in the genus ''Oena.'' It is found over much of Sub-Saharan Africa as well as Arabia and Madagascar. Taxonomy The Namaqua dove is the onl ...

(''Oena capensis''), Nubian nightjar (''Caprimulgus nubicus''), shining sunbird (''Cinnyris habessinicus''), Arabian warbler (''Curruca leucomelaena''),

rosy-patched bushshrike The rosy-patched bushshrike (''Telophorus cruentus'') is a species of bird in the family Malaconotidae. It is found in Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Tanzania. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry s ...

(''Rhodophoneus cruentus''),

African silverbill The African silverbill (''Euodice cantans'') is a small passerine bird formerly considered conspecific with the Asian species Indian silverbill, (''Euodice malabarica''). This estrildid finch is a common resident breeding bird in dry savanna ...

(''Euodice cantans''), and

Sudan golden sparrow The Sudan golden sparrow (''Passer luteus'') is a small species of bird in the Old World sparrow, sparrow family found in sub-Saharan Africa. It is a famous cage bird, and in aviculture, it is known as the golden song sparrow. The Arabian golden ...

(''Passer luteus'') are Afrotropical species who reach the northern extent of their range on Gabal Elba. Other native species are the

black-crowned sparrow-lark The black-crowned sparrow-lark (''Eremopterix nigriceps'') is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found across northern Africa from Mauritania through the Middle East to north-western India. Its natural habitat is dry savanna. Tax ...

(''Eremopterix nigriceps''), fulvous babbler (''Argya fulva''), and

common ostrich The common ostrich (''Struthio camelus''), or simply ostrich, is a species of flightless bird native to certain areas of Africa. It is one of two extant species of ostriches, the only living members of the genus ''Struthio'' in the ratite group ...

(''Struthio camelus''), and the raptors Nubian vulture (''Torgos tracheliotos''),

bearded vulture The bearded vulture (''Gypaetus barbatus''), also known as the lammergeier and ossifrage, is a very large bird of prey in the Monotypic taxon, monotypic genus ''Gypaetus''. The bearded vulture is the only known vertebrate whose diet consists of ...

(''Gypaetus barbatus''),

Egyptian vulture The Egyptian vulture (''Neophron percnopterus''), also called the white scavenger vulture or pharaoh's chicken, is a small Old World vulture in the monotypic genus ''Neophron''. It is widely distributed from the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa ...

(''Neophron percnopterus''),

Verreaux's eagle Verreaux's eagle (''Aquila verreauxii'') is a large, mostly African, bird of prey. It is also called the black eagle, especially in southern Africa, not to be confused with the black eagle (''Ictinaetus malayensis'') of south and southeast Asia. ...

(''Aquila verreauxii''), and

Bonelli's eagle Bonelli's eagle (''Aquila fasciata'') is a large bird of prey. The common name of the bird commemorates the Italian ornithologist and collector Franco Andrea Bonelli. Bonelli is credited with gathering the type specimen, most likely from an expl ...

(''Aquila fasciata'').

National park

The Gabal Elba National Park (), declared by Egyptian Prime Minister

Ahmed Nazif Ahmed Nazif (, ; born 8 July 1952) served as the prime minister of Egypt from 14 July 2004 to 29 January 2011, when his cabinet was dismissed by President Hosni Mubarak in light of a popular uprising that led to the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. N ...

in 1986, covers some , including most of the disputed

(except its westernmost corner), and an area of comparable size just north of it. It is also known to potentially hold the last population of the

Nubian wild ass The Nubian wild ass (''Equus africanus africanus'') is the nominate subspecies of African wild ass, and one of the ancestors of the domestic donkey, which was domesticated about 6,000 years ago. It is presumed to be extinct, though two populati ...

. However, the purity of these animals is questionable. On December 16, 2014 an adult male

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

was killed by a group of shepherds after it attacked their camel in Wadi Shalal, in the region of

Halaib Halaib ( ) is a Red Sea port and town located in the Halaib Triangle, a disputed area between Egypt and Sudan. It is about southeast of the ruins of the medieval port ʽAydhab. Name Alternative spellings for the name include ''Halayeb'', ' ...

in the extreme southeast of Egypt. This was the first sighting of a leopard in Egypt since the 1950s. In the winter of 2024, a

spotted hyena The spotted hyena (''Crocuta crocuta''), also known as the laughing hyena, is a hyena species, currently classed as the sole extant member of the genus ''Crocuta'', native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as being of least concern by the IUC ...

was killed by local residents in the Gabal Elba Protected Area. It was the first documented occurrence of the species in modern Egypt since its extinction over 5,000 years ago. Researchers explored the potential influence of increased rainfall and grazing activities in facilitating a dispersal corridor for hyenas from neighboring Sudan. The record was located 500 km north of the species' previously known range.

References

External links

*
Ministry of Environment Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency - Natural Protectorates Description
{{authority control National parks of Egypt

Elba Elba (, ; ) is a Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park, a ...

Territorial disputes of Egypt Territorial disputes of Sudan Red Sea State Red Sea coastal desert Red Sea Governorate 1986 establishments in Egypt Protected areas established in 1986 Nature conservation in Egypt