Sannur Valley Cave Protectorate
Wadi Sannur cave is a limestone cave covered with alabaster resulting from thermal springs, located 10 km southeast of the Egyptian city of Beni Suef
Discovery
The Sannurcave was discovered in the eighties after a quarry explosion created an entrance. The cave is 10 km southeast of the city of Beni Suef.
It is located 40 kilometers east of the city of Beni Suef and about 200 kilometers from Cairo. The Wadi Sannur cave extends about 700 meters underground with a depth of 15 meters, and the width of the cave reaches almost 15 meters. It is divided into two parts, one of which contains complete formations (descents and ascents) and the other contains calcium deposits of various forms. It is believed that there is another cave under this cave.
The Reserve
The unique geology and beautiful formations of stalactites and stalagmites led to its recognition as a nature reserve in 1992.
Wadi Sannur cave was discovered by chance during the extraction of Alabaster ore by quarrymen during the nineties of the twentieth century, where a gap appeared leading to a cave in the underground containing geological structures known as stalagmites and stalactites of alabaster stone that take beautiful shapes and these geological structures date back to the middle Eocene epoch, that is, from about 40 million years ago. As a result of the leakage of aqueous solutions saturated with calcium carbonate salts through the cave ceiling and then evaporated, leaving these mineral salts, which accumulated in the form of deposits of stalagmites and stalactites.
The importance of this cave is due to the rarity of these natural formations in the world, and the Reserve is considered a unique cultural world shrine for researchers and studies in the field of Geology, and the studies conducted at this site and nearby sites help to discover future mineral resources.
