[1][3][4] The Bahariya Formation forms the base of the depression, the lower part of the enclosing escarpment and all of the small hills within.

[5] The type section for the formation is found at Gebel El-Dist, a hill at the northern end of the Bahariya depression.

[1] Each of the individual sequences contains sediments deposited under fluvial, shoreline and shallow marine conditions.

Direct fossils are sparse, though plant leaves with extensive damage from folivorous insects have been documented.

[14][15] Other taxa include Sapindales, Piperaceae, Lauraceae, Platanaceae, Magnoliopsida, Nymphaeaceae, Cornaceae, Proteaceae and Vitaceae not identified at genus level; and miospore and pollen species.