'The Expedition for the survey of the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, carried on by order of the British government, in the years 1835, 1836, and 1837; preceded by geographical and historical notices of the regions situated between the rivers Nile and Indus. In four volumes. With fourteen maps and charts, and embellished with ninety-seven plates, besides numerous wood-cuts. Volume the first.' [‎400] (479/905)

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COURSE OF THE JORDAN. [CHAP. XVII.
and they contain an abundant supply of fish. Marshes, teem
ing with aquatic birds of all kinds, nearly surround the lake ;
to these succeed, on the western side, a well-peopled tract of
undulating ground, and beyond the latter are the chains of
wooded mountains which form the limits of the valley on
both sides; these gradually approach each other till, at its
southern extremity, the basin is narrowed almost to the
width of the Jordan.
Continuation On quitting the lake, the river Urdun or Jordan 1 flows
o ie nver. south-westward, with a rapid current in a narrow bed, as far
as Jisr Beni Yakoub, 2 where it has a width of about 80 feet,
with a depth of 4 feet. Below the bridge it takes the name
of Sheri'at-el-Kelbi'a, or the great watering-place ; and here it
becomes more sluggish, receiving, as it flows through the
Ardh Asiferah, several affluents from the slopes of the moun
tains of Safet: after winding for about 10 miles from the
last-mentioned lake through a valley varying in width from
two to three miles, it separates the western mountains from
the rich tract of Batihah on the east; and its waters again
spreading out, form a second and more considerable lake.
The Sea of The Sea of Gennesereth occupies the mountain-basin formed
within the sweep made by the two great chains as they run
southward. It has the shape of an irregular oval, whose ex
treme length from north to south is about 12 miles, and its
greatest width near Tabariyah is upwards of 5 miles. It is
everywhere surrounded by a chain of rocky, bare, and brown-
coloured mountains, which throughout its circumference rise
abruptly from the borders of the lake almost to equal heights.
Although such a woodless belt must of itself be devoid of
anything picturesque, yet, when contrasted with the deep
tint of the placid lake and the depth of its volcanic basin, a
very pleasing effect is produced, and the view of the lake from
the castle of Tiberias is decidedly striking.
On quitting the south-western extremity of the lake, the El
Urdun, whose waters at fifty paces from thence are percepti
bly changed in taste, enters the singular tract called El Ghor,
1 Burckhardt's Travels in Syria, p. 43. ' Jisr signifies a bridge.