Abstract
- Qena Valley in Egypt’s Eastern Desert appears to have had a complex history. It is currently hyperarid much like the rest of North Africa. Its earlier history is inferred from interpretation of space images followed by field investigations. The earlier stages were contemporaneous with major tectonic events of late Eocene/Oligocene, which led to the regression of the Tethys Sea and the elevation of the Red Sea hills. The valley was elevated relative to the present regime, and collected water from the Red Sea highlands. It probably drained northward toward the Faiyum to the latitude of the Tethys Sea shorelines. It was modified by subsequent stages marked by tectonic uplifts and lateral movements related to the Red Sea opening during the Miocene. One of those events was the north uplift that gave a southward gradient to the Qena Valley. This was followed by westward movements of massive plateaus that hindered the northward flow and forced the valley to change its pathway. Remnants of the early Qena Valley are preserved in the form of inverted valleys hinting at westward movement. Thus, the Qena Valley hosted the master river course prior to the Nile and had followed the general northward slope of Egypt.