'GAZETTEER OF PERSIA. VOL. III. PART II: L to Z' [‎137v] (279/988)

ysr mum—mum
(2) the * Alamarvdasht and Fidah stream, one branch rising a few
miles south of Lar, another branch, shown in Lieutenant Crook-
shank’s maps as running through the Tang-i-Khur, appearing
to drain the neighbourhood of Khunj, Bukhard and Binaru,
though this is doubtful, local report stating that the surplus
waters of these places accumulate in a marsh, dry in summer,
south-west of Khunj ;
(3) the Shur river, a salt stream, rising in the Khwajai district, north
of Firuzabad ; this tributary greatly exceeds the main stream in
volume and is for the greater part of the year quite unfordable ;
below the junction the waters of the Mund, by which name the
stream then becomes known, are too salt to be of use for irriga
tion ; ^
(4) the Jam and Riz stream, fresh, but dry for 8 months in the year.
It will be seen from the above survey of the river and its tributaries
that it drains a very wide area ; the comparatively small volume of its
waters is due to the fact that its basin embraces no lofty ranges, except
perhaps the Kuh-i-Safid. It is also eloquent of the small rainfall of Laris-
tan that the 'Alamarvdasht tributary, though 200 miles long, and with
a basin as large as that of many an English river, is quite dry for 8 months
in the year.
16. The Kara Aghach river is or was bridged at the following points
(1) . Khan-i-Zinlan.
(2) Ravar (bridge in ruins).
(3) Qir-o-Karzin plain. The Pul-i-Arus, a two-storied bridge, the
road way being in the upper storey : this was seen by Abbott
in 1873, but not by Wilson in 1911.
(4) Near Baghan. Remains of an ancient bridge.
The river is useless for navigation, it is fordable except in flood time
even at its mouth, where the depth at low water does not usually exceed
It can be ascended by native craft of 40 tons burden almost as far as
Kaki. Khur Ziarat, which forms its mouth, is a small creek with low banks
which can be entered at high water, but the entrance is exposed and does
not form a good harbour for native craft. For a short distance to the north
of it, and for some miles southward, the coast of the mainland is swampy.
This river, the Kara Aghach in its upper reaches, and the Mund in the
lower part of its course, was known to the ancients as the Sitakus or Sition-
agus ; the earliest mention of it is made by Arrian (in his “Indica,” chapter
38), who quotes from Alexander's admiral, Nearchos, who made the voyage
from the Indus to the Euphrates. Next comes Ptolemy (second century
A.D.), whose knowdedge of the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. w T as evidently
based on log-books from the time of the Ptolemean dynasty in Egypt and
the first Roman Emperors. The Arabic Geographers knew the river well
and described its course with great accuracy, as is exemplified by Ishta-
khris ‘‘Kitdb-ul Matkdlik Wal Masalik.” It was Colonel Ross, however,
who ; in his report on the administration of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India.