Word FileWadi Rum
Property names are listed in the language in which they have been submitted by the State Party.
Jordan (Arab States) |
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| Date of Submission: | 08/11/2006 |
| Criteria: | (iii)(iv)(vii)(viii) |
| Category: | Mixed |
| Submitted by: | The Jordan National Commission for Education, Culture and Science |
| State, Province or Region: | Southern part of Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan |
| Ref.: | 5101 |
Description
Wadi Rum was identified as a potential Protected Area in 1979 through an IUCN sponsored study (J. E. Clarke; A Proposal for Wildlife Reserves in Jordan 1979, IUCN). It was selected because it was considered to be among the best examples of the Eastern Desert (Hisma) Land Type. This Land Type is very extensive in Jordan and is characterized by three main vegetation types: Sudanian, Sand Dunes and Acacia-rocky Sudanian. These three vegetation types are fully represented in the protected area and each of them is typical of its type in terms of species composition and community structure.
While Wadi Rum has all the key components of the Hisma Land Type, with its characteristic plants and animals, it is far from "typical" in terms of landscape. The dramatic, sheer-sided mountains of Wadi Rum are not characteristic Hisma landscapes in Jordan, which largely consist of gently undulating gravel plains with occasional basins of sand. The exceptional scenery of Wadi Rum is undoubtedly one of the main reasons it was selected as a protected area.
The relatively large size of Wadi Rum enables it to fully represent the Sudanian Biogeographical Region in Jordan, as exemplified in three distinct vegetation types: Hammada, Acacia-Rocky Sudanian and Sand Dunes. It also contains within its boundaries sizeable examples of all the major physical components of the Eastern
Desert (Hisma) Land Type (mountains, wadis, sand dunes, springs), enabling the protected area to function as a single ecological system.
Elevations for the site range between 800m in the Qa Um Salab to 1754m at the top of Jabal Rum (the second highest mountain in Jordan). The climate of Wadi Rum is of the dry desert type with a wide range of annual variation between daytime temperatures. During the summer, temperatures range from 15-45 C, whereas the daily winter temperature ranges from 16-31 C, dropping to less than 5 C at night. Annual precipitation is low, usually between 50-100 mm and concentrated in the winter months. Fresh water springs occur in many places at the junction between the impervious granites and the porous sandstones that overlie them. It is this feature that has allowed the human exploitation of the site over the millennia.
Brief History
The modem name 'Rum' is generally thought to have been taken from the ancient name 'Iram' that is attested in local Nabataean inscriptions. The area is mentioned in the Old Testament of the Holy Bible as being the centre of the emirate of the Prince of Aram (Exodus: 34, cf. AI-Fakhiry 1997, p. 2) and the name Iram was given to one of the sons of Noah, whose descendants dwelled in this region. In the Geography of Ptolemy this area was called Aramwa (ibid.). In Muslim traditions, Iram is mentioned in the Holy Koran (Surat AI-Fajer) linking it with a tribe called ‘Ad, whose name has recently been found on inscription in the temple at Rum.
Geology of Wadi Rum
Wadi Rum Protected area forms the chief part of the Hisma desert of southern Jordan and northern Arabia, lying to the east of the Jordan rift valley and below the steep escarpment of the central Jordanian plateau. Cambrian and Ordivician sandstones rest on the older pre-Cambrian basement granite rocks that have eroded into the characteristic inselbergs which owe much of their present shape to the numerous fault lines that criss-cross the area. Between the inselbergs are sand sheets with occasional low dunes. Bore holes have shown that the depth of accumulated sand in the wadi bottoms is very variable. The Protected Area has five main wadis running north-south and open sandy areas with smaller inselbergs in the southwestern part.
The unique geology of Wadi Rum is characterized by the presence of the precipitous sandstone and sedimentary rocks. Varieties of distinctive plutonic granitoids of the late praterozoic age are found in the western and central parts of the protected area.
In the eastern and north-eastern sides, sedimentary rocks, early Paleozoic sandstone uncomfortably overlie platonic granitoids can be found. Soil is mostly alluvial and generally composed of water, saline, sandy and gravel.
Vegetation of Wadi Rum protected area
Wadi Rum Protected Area is present in the Sudanian vegetation region. As for the vegetation types, there are three types present in the protected area (Eisawi, 1996).
The Sudanian Vegetation Region
This region is characterized by having usually warm winter and very hot summer, the temperature ranges from 15-45 C, and it might go beyond these limits in some days of the year. The rainfall ranges from 50-100 mm year. It is called Sudanian penetration or tropical because it has some physical and biological characters similar to those occurring in Sudan.
Justification for Outstanding Universal Value
Satements of authenticity and/or integrity
Culturally
Archaeological evidences show that Wadi Rum has been inhabited and utilized by humans since prehistoric times and few areas (at the lower altitudes) have escaped human interference. The type of use has varied throughout the past, from transient pastorlism to elaborate settlements supported by trading, and mixtures of both.
The extreme aridity of the area has limited occupation and development to the locality of springs and other water supplies, leaving large parts of what is now the protected area relatively free of long-term settlement.
The area is still free from any modem intervention of Development projects except the visitor centre and the rest house what are established for the benefit of the protection of the area.
The village of Rum did not form any modem intervention to the area since its boundaries are limited and its inhabitants did not cause any harm to the main set up of the area.
Naturally
The major human influences on the natural environment of Wadi Rum in modern times have been goat grazing and tourism.
Tourism itself has had a minor impact on the soils and landscape quality of the protected area. No major tourist project have been established or constructed. Moreover, control on the circulation and behavior of tourists has been practiced very early.
The most "natural" components of the area are the mountaintops and cliff faces, being generally inaccessible, they add relatively to the protection means of the area. At the lower altitudes, the most pristine area of natural vegetation in the protected area lies within the recent extension, which links the old southern boundary to the Saudi Arabian border. This has relatively low levels of grazing and tourism use, allowing a greater coverage and density of characteristic desert plants to flourish.