The Valley of the Whales

World Heritage Site the Valley of the Whales(Wadi el Hitan, Wadi Zeuglodon) is situated in the west of the Fayom, 35 km north of Wadi er Rayyan.
Contains invaluable fossil remains of the earliest, and now extinct, suborder of whales, Archaeoceti.
These fossils represent one of the major stories of evolution: the emergence of the whale as an
ocean-going mammal from a previous life as a land-based animal. This is the most important site in
the world for the demonstration of this stage of evolution. It portrays vividly the form and life of
these whales during their transition. The number, concentration and quality of such fossils here is
unique, as is their accessibility and setting in an attractive and protected landscape. The fossils of
Al-Hitan show the youngest archaeocetes, in the last stages of losing their hind limbs. Other fossil
material in the site makes it possible to reconstruct the surrounding environmental and ecological
conditions of the time.