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Ras Mohamed
About 30 km south of Sharm el Sheikh there is the southernmost part of Sinai: the Ras Mohamed. With its extraordinary beauty it is one of the or for some even the most interesting site in Sinai. This first and only Egyptian National Park was declared in 1983 with an area of 97m2. Since then it has been extended to 480km2 and includes marine and terrestrial areas (also on Tiran Island).
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Species
Ras Mohamed is the point where two different water masses are coming together: the salty water from the Gulf of Suez and the less salty water from the much deeper Gulf of Aqaba. As a result of these two water-come-together there are now more than 1.000 species of tropical fish and more than 170 species of corals as well as a huge number of sponges and gorgonians. |
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Corals
The park is surrounded by magnificent coral reefs that are famous in the whole world for its unique beauty. These corals are part of an elevated promontory that emerged after a change in the coastline some 70.000 years ago.
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Protection
Because of its exceptional beauty and its enormous scientific significance, the Egyptian Government has declared this area as a protected area in 1983 (law 102). It should especially protect this area from any possible harm that could arise from the quickly growing tourism.
There are plenty of damages, coming especially with tourism activities that have negative and long term impact. For example, swimmers, snorkellers or divers that are standing or walking on corals in order to reach the sea are damaging the fragile surface. The corals are then open to bacterial attack and desease. Photographers damage the nature just to have a better view, cars are going off tracks, destroy seeds, and do harm to the plant life. Boats are anchoring on reef areas and each time they drop the anchor they destroy huge reef parts.
Every visitor should be aware that its action has an impact on nature and should respect the rules.
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