"بعثة لإجراء عملية مسح لنهري دجلة والفرات، تم تنفيذها بأمر من الحكومة البريطانية، في السنوات ١٨٣٥، ١٨٣٦، ١٨٣٧؛ تسبقها إشعارات جغرافية وتاريخية للمناطق الواقعة بين نهري النيل والسند. في أربعة مجلّدات. مع أربع عشرة خريطة ورسمًا، ومزينة بثلاث عشرة لوحة، بالإضافة للعديد من الرسومات بالحفر على الخشب. المجلّد الأول." [‎٥‎٦‎١] (٩٠٥/٦٥٢)

CHAP. XXII.j WADis EL JEIB AND 'ARABAH.
561
wholly unfit for cultivation. Here it is bounded by the pro- Valleys and
longation of the hills of Esdum, a narrow ridge of rock salt, Edo ntain3 of
with a coating of chalky limestone, which curves first to the
south-west, then to the south, and finally sends out an offset
lines of cliffs eastward. The latter, with the exception of the
aperture caused by Wadi-el-Jeib, separates Wadi-el-Ghor
from its southern prolongation, called Wadi Arabah, which
only terminates at the Gulf of Akabah. The prolongation
of this extensive depression has so much the appearance of
the bed of a great river, that if its slope in the centre (Wadi-
el-Jeib) did not tend towards the Dead Sea, one would
exclaim that this is really the ancient bed of the Jordan. 1
Towards the southern extremity the valley has a width of
about four miles, running N.N.E., between two chains of
mountains, and is full of sand-drifts. 2 The mountains on the
western side are from 1500 to 1800 feet high, and on the
opposite side they rise to from 2000 feet to 2500 feet; but
between them a marked difference prevails. The former
chain, which borders the desert of El Tih, being wholly bare
and sterile f whilst the latter is covered with tufts of herbs,
and occasionally with trees. The mountains of Edom consist
of a succession of nearly parallel ridges, which, eastward of
the Arabah, have together a width of 15 or 20 miles. The
wadis which they enclose are full of trees, shrubs, and
flowers; whilst the upper slopes are extensively cultivated,
though the higher part of the ridges, 4 particularly the peaks
of Mount Seer or Hor, and the extraordinary masses of rock
enclosing Wadi Miisa have a barren aspect.
At about one-third of the distance from hence, along Supposed
Wadi Arabah to the Dead Sea, is the supposed watershed, wldrlrabah
having an almost imperceptible slope northward, and receiving
a number of smaller valleys, such as Wadi Ghurundel, Wadi-
el-Jerafeh, and others, which fall into the depression from
each side. The great Wadi itself widens till, towards the
northern extremity, it probably has a breadth, from side to
1 Count de Bertou, London Royal Geographical Journal, vol. IX., p. 279.
2 Dr. Robinson, vol. I., p. 240. 3 Ibid., vol. II., p. 551%
4 See Plate XXVII.
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