This protected area contains the petrified remains of a forest that grew here 35 million years ago during a very much wetter period of Egyptian history. At this time, great geological upheavals were taking place and the Red Sea was in the process of being formed by the splitting apart of the African and Arabian tectonic plates.
The area includes a part of the Eastern Desert Eocene limestone beds. The wadi is fairly well vegetated along its bed and banks. Among the wildlife to be seen here there is Cape Hare, Lepus capensis, and the supremely adaptable Red Fox, Vulpes vulpes, as well as a number of small rodent species including the Cairo Spiny Mouse, Acomys cahirinus. Birds are generally those that are typical of the Eastern Desert such as the Mourning Wheatear, Oenanthe lugens. A characteristic lizard of wadi beds is the Pale agama, Trapelus pallidus.
The Petrified Forest is a unique wilderness area within the bounds of Greater Cairo and offers a pleasant refuge from the stress of city life as well as an excellent study area for students of geology.