Site description (2001 baseline)
This site consists of a narrow, 100-km-long strip extending along the Gulf of Suez/Red Sea coast, from Ras Gharib in the north to the bay of Ghubbet El Gemsa in the south. Gebel El Zeit itself is an isolated, elongate mountain that reaches up to 457 m and overlooks the southern end of the Gulf of Suez. The eastern flank of the mountain falls steeply to the sea, while the western flank slopes more gently and merges with a 20-km-wide plain that separates Gebel El Zeit from the rest of the Red Sea hills further west. To the north there is a wide coastal plain fringed near the shore by several areas of sabkha, the largest of which is Sabkhet Ras Shukheir. This contains several pools of hyper-saline water and large patches of saltmarsh. To the south are Ghubbet El Zeit and Ghubbet El Gemsa, two large shallow bays with extensive intertidal mud and sandflats. Numerous small wadis drain the mountains of the area and dissect adjacent plains. These are lined with scattered Acacia trees.
Key biodiversity
See Box for key species. The Gebel El Zeit area is a very important migration corridor for soaring migrants, particularly birds of prey and storks. Because of the geography of the Gulf of Suez as a whole and the micro-geographic configuration of the Gebel El Zeit area, which is the narrowest point in the southern part of the Gulf of Suez, over 250,000 Ciconia ciconia and many other migrant soaring birds are funnelled through this stretch of coast on both spring and autumn journeys. Birds of prey, storks and pelicans migrate through and usually land, rest or roost near the coastline and on the surrounding desert plains and hills. Resting and roosting storks, especially, utilize the two bays of Ghubbet El Zeit and Ghubbet El Gemsa and the saltmarsh at Sabkhet Ras Shukheir.
Non-bird biodiversity: Marine: There are seven species of sea grass in the bay of Ghubbet El Zeit forming one of the most diverse and extensive sea-grass beds in the northern Red Sea. These beds are potential feeding grounds for Dugong dugon (VU) and endangered marine turtles.
Attributes
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Gebel El Zeit (Egypt). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/gebel-el-zeit-iba-egypt on 24/12/2024.