This fairly large wadi rises in the mountains of the Eastern Desert and runs northwest to debouch into the Nile Valley just to the south of Cairo at Maadi. It runs through limestone country cutting a deep winding canyon; in its central part, floodwaters have carved the rock into spectacular shapes.
There are innumerable fossils in the rock formations and some scattered patches of petrified wood that are an extension of the Maadi petrified forest.
There is vegetation in the wadi bed and on its banks, composed of both annual and perennial plants and after rain, ephemerals burst into life.
Dorcas Gazelle, Gazella dorcas, and Nubian Ibex, Capra nubiana, ( bottom at right) have both been reported from this wadi in recent years and Cape Hare, Lepus capensis, is found here as well as several species of bats, which live in the many caves in the sides of the wadi. A number of reptile species are found here and it is to 12 species of birds.
Wadi Degla is ideally situated to be a place where school children can be introduced to the desert on one-day nature trips and also as a useful location for university-level field research.