The Impacts of Recent Evolution of Dahab Coast Line –

Gulf of Aqaba, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt.

Magdy Torab*

* Prof. of Geomorphology, Department of Geography, Alexandria University, Faculty of Arts, Damanhour, Egypt

E-mail: magdytorab@hotmail.com.

Key words: Coastline evolution, Sinai Peninsula, Gulf of Aqaba, coastal management

Abstract : Dahab was a little Bedouin-village in Sinai Peninsula at the mid coast of gulf of Aqaba approx. 90 km north of Sharm-el-Sheikh and it means “gold” in Arabic language. But in the past 20 years ago it becomes one of the most tourist sites in Egypt.   

The basement complex is composed mostly of biotiteaplite-granite, mica-aplitegranite, granodiorite, quartzdiorite, alaskite, and diorite. These rocks are intruded by numerous acidic, intermediate and basic dike rocks.
Based on correlation with similar igneous in the most southern part of Sinai and the Red Sea area. The highly metamorphosed rocks occurring in the Wadi Dahab are thought to represent the remnants of the oldest early Algoncian geosynclinal sedimentation, the coast line is formed of the fragments of igneous and metamorphic rocks, mixed with fragments of coral reef and fluvial deposits of wadi Dahab.

The morphology of Dahab coast line is characterized by hooked marine spit, which composed of fluvial sediments carried by marine current from wadi Dahab mouth. This spit encloses shallow lagoon .

This paper dealing with the evolution of  Dahab spit and lagoon during the last 100 years, and it impacts of the future management of the coast area. The coast line mapping during the period of study depends upon G.I.S technology for data were collected during field measuring by using total station, as well as aerial photo and satellite image interpretation.