Chapter VI (2)

=Gebel Ras el Kharit= is a mountain range forming part of the main watershed, running in a nearly east and west line a little south of Gebel Hamata. Its highest peak is extremely sharp, and rises to 1,661 metres above sea-level six kilometres south-south-east of Hamata. Of the many other peaks of the range, the chief is one three kilometres west of the highest point, and six kilometres due south of Hamata; this reaches an altitude of 1,564 metres. The northern face of the range is drained by the heads of the Wadi Huluz, while the southern is drained by the heads of Wadi Kharit, whence the name of the mountain range.

=Gebel Khashir=, which forms an eastward extension of Gebel Ras el Kharit, reaches an altitude of 1,565 metres above sea-level; its highest peak is nine and a half kilometres south-east of Gebel Hamata. It is drained to the sea by the Wadi Khashir, the heads of which end in the precipitous eastern faces of the mountain.

=Gebel Mikbi= is a long high ridge on the main watershed, seven kilometres south of Gebel Khashir. Its highest point, at the south end of the ridge, is 1,388 metres above sea-level. Gebel Mikbi is connected with Gebel Ras el Kharit by a lower ridge running north-west and forming the continuation of the watershed across the head of Wadi el Kharit. There is a pass across this ridge into the head of Wadi Mikbi, which drains Gebel Mikbi seawards, but it is a very difficult one for loaded camels owing to the great steepness of the eastern side.

=Gebel Zatit= is another high ridge about five kilometres east of Gebel Mikbi, on the south side of the head of Wadi Mikbi.

=Gebel Egat= is a high mountain close to the south-west of Gebel Mikbi, forming the continuation of the watershed. It has two principal peaks, two and a quarter kilometres apart, of which the south-west one is the higher, being 1,422 metres, while the north-east one is 1,277 metres above the sea. The western face of the mass is drained by the Wadi Egat, a tributary of Kharit, while the eastern flanks are cut up by feeders of the Wadi Sefent, a tributary of Wadi Lahami.

=Gebels Um Sellim= and =Gumudlum= are high hill ranges forming an eastward extension of the Egat and Mikbi mountains, on the north side of Wadis Sefent and Lahami. The highest point of Gebel Um Sellim is 947 metres above sea, or about 620 metres above the floor of Wadi Lahami. These ranges are flanked by lower hills through which run various small wadis such as Um Khuzuma, Um Ghobasha, and Gumudlum, all feeders of Wadi Lahami. Some of these small wadis contain rock basins or galts which retain large supplies of water for some time after rain has fallen on the hills.

=Gebel Abu Gurdi= is a great mountain in latitude 24° 0′, forming the terminal peak to the south of the Hamata group. The beacon on its summit, in latitude 24° 0′ 11″, longitude 35° 5′ 17″, is 1,562 metres above sea-level. Though in reality a ridge, Abu Gurdi from most points of view looks like a rather flat cone, surrounded by lower hills. It is on the main watershed, which crossing to the summit from Gebel Egat, continues south-eastward along a narrow ridge descending to the pass at the head of Wadi Lahami. The south-west parts of Abu Gurdi are drained by the Wadis Abu Gurdi and Elemikan, both tributaries of Kharit, while its southern and eastern parts drain into Wadi Lahami by various feeders, of which the chief are the Wadis Um Karaba, Um Rishan, Um Homar, and Sefent. Gebel Abu Gurdi could probably be ascended from the west by following up the Wadi Abu Gurdi, but in occupying the mountain as a triangulation station I descended the Wadi Lahami as far as the point of influx of Wadi Um Karaba and then ascended the latter wadi as far as the camels could get, pitching my camp two kilometres south of the summit at 804 metres above sea-level. The ascent of 758 metres to the beacon on foot from the camp occupied two and a quarter hours of fairly stiff climbing; it presented no serious difficulties, but the rock near the top is much broken up and one has to be careful lest blocks are dislodged under one’s foot. The view from the top of Abu Gurdi on a clear day must be extremely fine, but during the three days I remained there a thin haze spoiled the distant prospect, especially towards the coast; the remarkable shapes of the granite peaks of Gebel Faraid, sixty kilometres to the south-south-east, formed the most striking feature in the scene.

=Gebel Derhib=, 1,160 metres above the sea, is a mountain separating Wadi Abu Gurdi from Wadi Egat; it is really an extension of Gebel Abu Gurdi, from the beacon on which its summit is six and a half kilometres west.

=Gebel Um Goradi= is likewise in reality part of the Abu Gurdi mass, forming the end of a spur extending south-eastward for ten kilometres from the main peak. The Wadi Lahami curves round its foot northward, passing between it and Gebel Um Gunud.

=Gebel Selaia=[107] (the bald head) is a very remarkable rounded granite boss rising from the plain thirty-one kilometres south-south-west of Gebel Hamata. Owing to its peculiar shape, isolated position, and considerable height (its top is 787 metres above sea-level and about 260 metres above the plain), Selaia is a conspicuous landmark for great distances round it. The lower illustration on Plate XI (p. 172) gives an idea of its appearance as seen from the east; from the north or south it appears much steeper.

South-east of Gebel Selaia stretches a line of four smaller granite hills. The first of these, about a kilometre from the great boss, is interesting as having a small spring, called Megal el Selaia, at its foot. The next, one and a half kilometres further on, is larger, while the third is larger still, rising to 623 metres above sea-level. The fourth, five kilometres from Gebel Selaia, is marked by a triangulation beacon, 563 metres above sea-level and about fifty metres above the plain, in latitude 23° 55′ 30″, longitude 34° 54′ 37″.

=Gebel el Homur= is an isolated mass of granite hills on the plain six kilometres north-east of Selaia. Its highest point is 731 metres above sea and 230 metres above the plain at its foot. It is drained by small feeders of the Wadi Abu Gurdi, which passes north of the mass on its way across the plain to join Wadi Kharit.

=Gebel Abu Derega= is an isolated mass of higher granite hills thirteen kilometres south-east of Gebel Selaia. Its highest point is 831 metres above sea-level, and about 300 metres above the plain. Gebel Abu Derega is on the Nile — Red Sea watershed, which crosses the plain from east to west in this locality. The northern drainage is to the Wadi Elemikan, which runs between Gebels Abu Derega and Selaia to join Wadi Kharit, while the southern faces of the hills are drained by feeders of the Wadi el Khiua, a tributary of Wadi Um Bisilla, in the basin of Wadi Hodein.

Besides the hills above described, there are many smaller ones scattered at intervals over the great sandy plain of Selaia, but the only others calling for special notice are the three very remarkable white conical hills called =Marwot Elemikan=, situated twelve kilometres east of Abu Derega. These hills, though small, are conspicuous from considerable distances, owing to the dazzling appearance of the pure milk-white quartz of which they are composed. The highest and most northerly one, with a triangulation beacon on its summit, rises to 648 metres above sea, or 68 metres above the plain, in latitude 23° 54′ 14″, longitude 35° 6′ 8″. The other two lie about two kilometres south-east and south respectively, with a black hill mid-way between them.

=The Um Gunud — Dahanib — Batoga Group.=

The mountains of this group, occupying the country east of the watershed between Wadi Lahami and Wadi Khoda, are considerably lower than those of the preceding two groups, only a few peaks rising more than 1,000 metres above sea. The north portion of the group is formed by the line of mountain ridges which as seen from the sea near Berenice appears to connect Gebel Kalalat with Abu Gurdi, while the south part spreads further east and west and contains the highest peaks.

=Gebel Um Gunud= is the northernmost mountain of the range west of Berenice. It is a dark rugged ridge, surmounted by a cairn[108] 989 metres above sea-level, forming the east side of the Wadi Lahami opposite Gebel Abu Gurdi. It is drained from the west by the Wadi Um Gunud, a feeder of Wadi Lahami, and on the east by feeders of Wadi Naait. Gullies in the west flanks of the mountain contain rock basins, called Galt Um Gunud, which hold water supplies for a long time after rain has fallen, and which are fairly easy of access from Wadi Lahami.

Gebel Eidab, the next member of the range to the south, rises to 848 metres above sea. It is drained on the west by the Wadi Eidab, a tributary of Wadi Lahami, and on the east by the Wadi Abu Daba, a tributary of Wadi Mukhit; a rough and steep pass is said to exist from east to west between the heads of these two wadis near the mountain.

=Gebel Um Maiat=, a long high ridge stretching south-east from Gebel Eidab, has three marked summits near its ends and centre; that at the north end, which is the highest, is 928 metres, while the other two are 870 and 842 metres above sea respectively. Another broken ridge, of similar height, for which I could get no name from my guides, forms a south-eastern prolongation of Um Maiat, and extends to the Wadi Kalalat; this likewise has three well defined summits, rising in order from north to south, to 875, 821, and 627 metres respectively. These ridges are drained to the east by the Wadis Murra (tributary of Abu Daba) and Mindeit. Their western drainage has not been studied in detail, but it all reaches the sea, none of it going Nilewards; part of the drainage is probably taken by each of the Wadis Kalalat, Shut, and El Khiua.

To the east and north-east of the Um Gunud — Eidab — Um Maiat range is a great expanse of lower hill country through which the wadis cut their way eastwards for about fifteen kilometres to the coast plain. The most conspicuous peaks in this lower hill country are Gebels Um Huk, Abu Ghalqa, and Um Hegilig, all situated in its north portion round about Wadis Lahami and Naait. Other low rugged hills fill a triangular tract south-west of the main range.

=Gebel Um Huk= is a sharp granite peak, surmounted by a cairn,[109] rising to 517 metres above sea-level near the south side of Wadi Lahami, fourteen kilometres north-north-east of Gebel Um Gunud.

=Gebel Abu Ghalqa= is another high granite hill, also marked by a cairn on its summit, seven kilometres south-south-east of Um Huk. The cairn is 561 metres above sea-level, and is in latitude 24° 1′ 7″, longitude 35° 16′ 47″.

=Gebel Um Hegilig= in a small rather spiky range of red granite hills situated a little to the north-east of Gebel Um Gunud, near the heads of Wadi Naait.

To the north-west of Berenice are several low hills on the coast plain, which serve as landmarks and bear special names. =Grain el Rih= is a conspicuous isolated low hill nearly opposite the place where Wadi Naait emerges from the hills on to the plain, thirteen and a half kilometres north-west of Berenice. =Khasheib Abu Daba= is the name of some low bouldery granite hills at the place where Wadi Abu Daba enters the plain. =Sikeit=, a landmark for Berenice, from which it lies five kilometres north-west, is a low granite hill, isolated on the plain and very conspicuous; its summit is seventy metres above sea-level, or thirty-eight metres above the plain at its foot.

The =Hills on the Peninsula of Ras Benas= are sharply marked off into two portions by differences of colour. The most striking are the dazzling white hills of gypseous limestone which form a narrow sinuous broken plateau nearly along the long axis of the peninsula. The highest points of these white hills are 188 metres above the sea. Deep ravines cut up the plateau and separate it into more or less detached hills. The surface of the gypseous rock is very rough, and frequently weathered into knife-like projections which cut one’s hands and boots badly in climbing. Near the tip of the peninsula the gypseous beds contain a little sulphur in places, and there are some shallow pits which seem to have been dug for exploiting that mineral. But the quantity appears far too small to be of any commercial value, and the pits were probably only exploratory trial holes.

The other hills on the peninsula are darker in colour, being chiefly diorite. They form two masses, one near to where the peninsula joins the main land, and the other on the south side of the peninsula twenty kilometres east of Berenice. The highest point of the first-named group is 276 metres, while that of the second is 197 metres, above sea-level. All the hills on the peninsula are quite separated from those of the main land by the broad sandy plain through which Wadi Mukhit courses south-eastwards to the sea.

=Gebel Batoga=, a granite mountain fifteen kilometres south-east of Berenice, is sharply marked off from the other mountains near it by its light colour. It is a great boss of acid granite seamed with dykes, having two main peaks. The highest (central) peak rises to 802 metres above sea-level; the southern peak, surmounted by a triangulation beacon in latitude 23° 49′ 37″, longitude 35° 21′ 9″, is seventeen metres lower. Gebel Batoga is drained from the north by feeders of the Wadi Kalalat, and from the south by the Wadi Kunserob. There is a good water source, Galt Batoga, at its north-east foot, consisting of a rock basin which holds a good supply of water for a long time after rain, situated in a small gully close to the Wadi Kalalat, the floor of which is here about 160 metres above sea-level.

=Gebel Kalalat=, situated about six kilometres west of Gebel Batoga, is a mass of ridges, higher and darker in colour than Batoga. Its highest point, marked by a beacon in latitude 23° 49′ 9″, longitude 35° 17′ 36″, is 1,125 metres above the sea, while another conspicuous peak one and a half kilometres north-east of the beacon, rises to 1,080 metres, and there is a third peak three and a half kilometres south-east of the beacon which attains 894 metres. In ascending Gebel Kalalat to occupy the triangulation station, I followed up the Wadi Kalalat to where the little winding Wadi Um Maiat enters it from the south, then turned up the latter wadi and pitched my camp as far up as the camels could go. The camp was three kilometres north-east of the beacon and 300 metres above sea, so that the climb to be made on foot was 825 metres. Though long and tiring, the ascent to the beacon was not dangerous. Further up the head of the wadi than my camp, I came on a line of galts (rock basins) containing rain water, but they were not easy of access to camels, being in a steep and stony gorge. Perched on the east flank of Kalalat is a very remarkable pinnacle rock, well seen in the illustration on Plate XIV. A very good view of the surrounding mountains is obtained from the summit in clear weather, but the top was wrapped in clouds for a great part of two out of the four days I remained on it. Gebel Kalalat is drained from the north by feeders of the Wadi Kalalat, and from the south by the Wadis Gumudlum and Kunserob. Wadi Kalalat curves round the north-west side of the mass, and it is possible that the ascent might be easier by following that wadi as far as possible and climbing up the north-west face of the mountain. A rough steep pass, impracticable for loaded camels, is said to lead from the head of Wadi Kalalat into Wadi Shut.

=Gebel Dibag= is a high dark ridge five kilometres south of Gebel Batoga, with a peak at each end. The north-west peak is 517 metres, and the south-east one 544 metres above sea-level. The Wadi Kunserob curves round its east and south flanks, while the Wadi Dibag lil Kunserob drains its eastern face into the same channel.

=Gebel Shenshef= is a mass of high dark hills between the Wadis Shenshef and Gumudlum, close to the Wadi Khoda. On one of its eastern peaks, situated in latitude 23° 44′ 5″, longitude 35° 22′ 40″, on the west side of Wadi Shenshef, and not so high as others further west, a beacon has been erected overlooking the ruins called Hitan Shenshef. There are wells in the wadi a short distance below this hill. The beacon is 290 metres above the sea and 115 metres above the wadi floor at its foot.

=Gebel Dahanib= is a mountain of dark coloured rocks (diorite and gabbro), situated twelve and half kilometres south-east of Gebel Kalalat and eleven kilometres north of the Wadi Khoda. Its summit, on which is a triangulation beacon, is in latitude 23° 45′ 44″, longitude 35″ 11′ 10″, and 1,270 metres above sea-level. Gebel Dahanib is surrounded by other mountains and hills, and access to it is not very easy. In order to reach it from Gebel Kalalat I had to make a journey down the Wadi Kalalat, along the coast-plain and up the Wadis Khoda and Allawi, a total distance of over eighty kilometres, although the direct distance between the two peaks is only twelve and a half kilometres. By ascending one of the heads of the Wadi Allawi until camels could get no further, I was able to pitch a camp 540 metres above sea-level and three kilometres south-west of the beacon, leaving 730 metres to be climbed on foot. The ascent, though tiring, was free from difficulties or dangers, and occupied two and a half hours. A galt, containing only a small supply of water at the time of my visit, exists a little further up the head of the wadi than where I fixed my camp. There is a good view from the summit, but in the winter months Dahanib, like all the mountains near the coast, is frequently wrapped in clouds for days together. Of seven days spent on the summit in February 1907, three were passed entirely in clouds, while only portions of the other four were free from fog or haze. It was on Gebel Dahanib that I first noticed the curious electric phenomena which may be observed at high stations when electrified clouds are passing close overhead, my attention being first drawn to them by a spark from the eye-piece of my theodolite striking me over the eye. At the same moment a rapid succession of sparks a centimetre or so long passed between my hand and the adjusting screws of the instrument, while both the theodolite and my hair hissed loudly. In this and all other cases of a like kind, I judged it best to suspend operations for a time and descend a little below the summit till the cloud had passed over.

Gebel Dahanib is drained by the Wadis Allawi, Um Tawil, and Shut, all tributaries of Wadi Khoda, which course for a considerable distance through the surrounding hills before reaching the main trunk wadi.

PLATE XIV.

Gebels Um Hegilig, Reyan, and Shut, are high hills situated between the Wadis Shut and Gumudlum, both tributaries of Khoda. =Gebel Um Hegilig=, a dark peak rising to 966 metres above sea-level, is almost exactly midway between Gebels Dahanib and Kalalat. =Gebel Reyan=, a little further south-east, is a group of peaks and ridges of which the highest point is 863 metres above sea. =Gebel Shut=, the most remarkable of the three, is a great cone rising to 930 metres above sea, about five kilometres north of the Wadi Khoda. A very large galt is said to exist among these hills, approachable from Wadi Shut; it is probably in one of the feeders draining westward from Gebel Reyan, which name signifies “the wet mountain.”

=Gebel Um Bisilla= is a dark mountain of gabbro rising conspicuously among lower hills twenty-two kilometres west of Gebel Dahanib. The triangulation beacon on its summit is in latitude 23° 45′ 34″, longitude 34° 57′ 39″, and 824 metres above sea-level. Gebel Um Bisilla is drained by Wadi Um Bisilla, the head of which encircles its southern half, while the northern flanks are drained by feeders of the Wadi el Khiua, which courses south-west to join Wadi Um Bisilla about ten kilometres west of the mountain. There is an easy passage for camels round the east side of the mountain from the head of Wadi Um Bisilla into a feeder of Wadi Abu Nilih, a tributary of Wadi El Khiua. In ascending the mountain I pitched my camp in one of the gullies draining from it to Wadi Um Bisilla, at an altitude of 513 metres above sea and 1,300 metres south-east of the beacon. The climb of 311 metres from this camp to the summit presented no difficulties, and occupied only an hour and a half.

=Erf el Gimal= is a high dark ridge surrounded by lower hills ten kilometres west-south-west of Gebel Um Bisilla. Its highest point, the west end of the ridge, is 673 metres above sea. About seven kilometres further west is a conspicuous conical hill called =Gebel Abu Shigelat=.

=Gebel Zergat Naam=, sometimes called =Hagar el Fil=, is a mountain mass on the main watershed thirty kilometres west of Gebel Um Bisilla. It forms a curved range round the head of the Wadi el Kreim, a tributary of Garara. Its northern part is drained partly by the Wadi Abu Had, a feeder of the Rod el Kharuf, and partly by the heads of the Wadi el Fil, which is itself the head of Wadi Naam. The highest peak of the range is a conical one near its south end, 845 metres above sea-level, but the northern peaks are more conspicuous from some points of view, and it is on the highest of these, 823 metres above sea, in latitude 23° 45′ 28″, longitude 34° 40′ 34″, that the triangulation beacon has been erected. My camp at the base was in one of the heads of Wadi el Fil, 527 metres above the sea, and about 700 metres north-east of the beacon. The ascent from here on foot to the beacon was fairly easy. Zergat Naam is a mass of syenite rising through schists, but the northern summits are formed by east and west bands of a very hard quartz felsite. From the summit, looking northwards one sees long lines of north-and-south felsite dykes forming ridges on either side of the head of Rod el Kharuf, while close south of one is the enclosed sloping plain across which run the feeders of Wadi el Kreim. To the south-south-east, a range of lower hills runs north-westward from the end of the main range, and between the two there appears to be a remarkably sudden drop into the head of Wadi Abu Seyal. The Arabs state that there is a very large galt at this point, reached by ascending the Wadi Abu Seyal; the galt is said to hold water for five months after rain. But during my occupation of the station recent rains had filled other smaller rock basins in the gullies to the north, and it was unnecessary to send far from the camp to get supplies. It is interesting to observe from the summit of Zergat Naam the disposition of the rocks forming the lower hills to the south and west; these are of sandstones with marked dips, the area being one of much disturbance by faulting along the Wadi el Kreim.

On the great sandy plain to the north and north-east of Zergat Naam are two extensive groups of low hills, which stand out remarkably owing to their dark colour. One of these groups, twenty kilometres north of Zergat Naam, is called =Gebel Geneina Gharbi=; it is a mass of hills composed chiefly of dioritic and gabbroid rocks (through there are some schists and granites intermingled) and is drained northward by the Rod el Geneina, a feeder of Wadi Kharit. The other group, called =Gebel Geneina Sharqi=, is smaller and situated fifteen kilometres further east; I did not visit it, but from its dark colour it is probable that it consists of similar rocks to those above-mentioned. The hills of both groups rise to about 550 metres above the sea, or about eighty to one hundred metres above the plain.

In the low country to the west of Zergat Naam, between the Wadi Garara and the Rod el Kharuf, the most conspicuous hills are =Erf el Dubeis=, a ridge twenty-six kilometres due west of the beacon, =Gebel el Nikeiba=, a granite hill marked by a triangulation cairn, 570 metres above sea-level and thirty-four kilometres west-north-west of Zergat Naam; =Gebel Felieiti=, a sandstone hill, also marked by a triangulation cairn, 500 metres above sea and sixteen kilometres south-west of Gebel Nikeiba; =Erf Abu Homur=, a ridge at the head of Wadi Abu Homur (a tributary of Garara), about seven kilometres north of Gebel Felieiti; =Erf el Mohaib=, marked by a triangulation cairn 465 metres above sea-level, about nine kilometres north-west of the last-named hill; and =Gebel el Ghar=, a hill on the south side of Wadi el Kharit, close to the point where the Rod el Kharuf enters it.

=The Abu Dahr — Orga — Um Tenedba Group.=

The mountains of this group occupy the tract between the Wadi Naam and Gebel Faraid, and are limited on the south by the Wadi Hodein.

=Gebel Abu Dahr=, the highest mountain of the group, is a great mass of serpentine, situated in latitude 23° 35′ and about forty kilometres from the coast. Its summit, marked by a triangulation beacon in latitude 23° 36′ 8″, longitude 35° 5′ 46″, is 1,131 metres above sea-level. Its western face is drained by the heads of Wadi Betan, its north-east flanks by those of Wadi Khoda, and its south-east parts by feeders of Wadi Rahaba. Abu Dahr is surrounded by high hills except on the west, where there is low hilly country containing the wells of Betan and the old mining ruins of Um Eleiga (_see_ Plate IV, p. 30). The mountain can be most easily reached either by following up the Wadi Betan to its head, or by ascending the Wadi Salib el Azrak (a tributary of Wadi Khoda) and its feeder the Wadi Um Karaba. There is an easy pass 1,800 metres north of the beacon, between the central mass of Abu Dahr and the high hills north of it, connecting the heads of Wadi Betan and Wadi Um Karaba. A short distance to the south-west of this pass there is a galt in a spur of the mountain which holds water for some time after rain, and which furnished supplies during my stay at the place in 1907. In occupying the triangulation station, I fixed my camp in a small stony wadi draining from the north of the mountain, on the east side of the pass just referred to; the camp was 600 metres above sea-level and 1,200 metres north-north-east of the beacon. The ascent, which occupied three hours, was rather difficult and dangerous, the mountain being not only steep[110] but composed of rotten highly crushed rock which came away in tons at a mere touch. There is a very extensive view from the summit, the striking peaks of Faraid being a marked feature to the east and south-east, while to the south are the great masses of Mishbih, Niqrub and Gerf, with the sandstone plateaux of Dif, Hodein and Abraq limiting the view to the south-west. The rock of Gebel Abu Dahr is highly magnetic, and several pieces which I examined showed strong polarity. The compass needle points in all sorts of directions as one moves about the mountain.

Gebel Abu Dahr and the high hills round it, especially to the south, form an important rain-collecting area, the drainage from which feeds, wholly or in part, the wells of Betan, Rahaba, Abu Reye, Abu Beid, and Gahlia, all of which are within a radius of about fifteen kilometres of the summit of the mountain. The relative abundance of water in this area is caused by two main factors. In the first place, the situation of the mountain on the eastward side of the watershed, only about forty kilometres from the coast, and its considerable height, condition the frequent accumulation of clouds about its summit, with relatively high rainfall as a consequence. And in the second place, the steepness of the slopes, and the fact that the serpentine rocks are not only of an impermeable nature, but are so crushed that the downwash into the gullies around is chiefly composed of smooth faced blocks rather than of absorbent sand, condition a higher ratio of run off to rainfall than exists in the case of most other localities in the Eastern Desert. A similar state of things is found in the case of Gebel Gerf, which, as will be mentioned further on, likewise consists of serpentine and is the centre of a district relatively rich in good wells; while in the case of the mountains of Faraid, which are much higher and closer to the sea, but consist of granite weathering into sand, though the rainfall is probably greater, the absorption by the sand is so rapid that there are no wells known to exist in their neighbourhood.

Between Gebel Abu Dahr and Gebel Um Bisilla there are three remarkable little groups of granite hills. =Gebel Abu Arta= is a small range of red peaks six kilometres south of Um Bisilla; =Gebel Hendusi=, five kilometres further south, is a very conspicuous sharp granite peak rising to 678 metres above the sea and forming a good landmark; while =Gebel Abu Husenat=, four kilometres east of Hendusi, has another well-marked peak rising to 725 metres above sea-level.

=Gebel Abu Sieiyil= is a many-peaked hill range running north and south for about four kilometres, situated eight kilometres west of the beacon on Gebel Abu Dahr. It has the appearance of being composed of a pink gneiss, but has not been visited. Its central peak, fixed by triangulation, is 833 metres above sea. The Wadi Abu Beid el Azrak runs south-westward past the south end of the range, through a gap between it and a smaller hill range to the east.

=Gebel Arais= is a considerable range of gneiss peaks situated on the east side of Wadi Naam in latitude 23° 34′. One of the most conspicuous of its many summits is a pair of twin peaks near the south end of the range, rising to 613 metres above the sea. The range is cut through from east to west by the narrow and winding Wadi Arais, a tributary of Wadi Naam. The drainage from the western faces of the range passes by many feeders over a sandy plain to join the Wadi Naam directly.

=Gebel Belamhandeit= or =Erf Um Araka= is a long range of granite or gneiss hills north of Gebel Arais. It extends for a length of nine kilometres in a north-and-south direction on the meridian of 34° 50′. It is drained on the north and west by the Wadi Erf Um Araka, a tributary of Wadi Naam, and on the east by the Wadi Belamhandeit, a tributary of Wadi Arais.

To the east of Gebel Belamhandeit are several granite bosses, of which the most conspicuous is called =Gebel Um Guruf=; it is drained by the Wadi Um Guruf, a tributary of Wadi Arais.

=Gebel Orga=, eighteen kilometres south by east from Gebel Abu Dahr, is a high dark-looking range which has not been closely approached. Its highest peak, surmounted by a beacon, the position of which has been fixed by triangulation, as latitude 23° 26′ 21″, longitude 35° 8′ 17″, is 682 metres above sea-level. It is drained by the Wadi Orga (a tributary of Wadi Hodein), which contains the well called Bir Orga.

=Gebel Um Tenedba= is a mass of dark hills of crushed basic rocks situated thirty kilometres south by east from Gebel Abu Dahr and twelve kilometres north of the Wadi Hodein. Its highest point, marked by a triangulation beacon, is in latitude 23° 19′ 48″, longitude 35° 10′ 40″, and 654 metres above sea-level. It is drained by the Wadi Um Tenedba, a tributary of Wadi Hodein. The ascent of the hill is conveniently made in about an hour from a camp in one of the heads of Wadi Um Tenedba, about 1,200 metres south-east of the beacon and 320 metres above sea-level.

=Gebel Harhagit= is an isolated granite boss rising among schists ten kilometres south-south-east from Gebel Um Tenedba and five kilometres north of the Wadi Hodein. The beacon on its summit is in latitude 23° 14′ 35″, longitude 35° 12′ 52″, at an altitude of 542 metres above sea-level, or 326 metres above the wadi encircling its base. From its isolated character Gebel Harhagit is a conspicuous landmark for considerable distances round the Wadi Hodein.

=Gebel el Anbat= is conveniently considered here, though it lies on the south side of the Wadi Hodein. It presents a somewhat similar appearance to Gebel Harhagit, from which it lies nineteen kilometres south-east, and like it bears a beacon on its summit. The position of the beacon is latitude 23° 6′ 5″, longitude 35° 19′ 27″. El Anbat is lower than Harhagit, being only 390 metres above sea-level; it consists also of a different rock, being chiefly composed of curious brown and reddish calcareous schists. Gebel el Anbat is practically in the Wadi Hodein, the main channel of which is deviated by its foot-hills so as to pass round the east side of the hill. It is best ascended from the south, where a camp can be fixed about 600 metres south of the beacon and about 255 metres below it; the ascent is easy and occupies less than an hour.

Eastward of Gebel Abu Dahr there extends for some thirty kilometres along the south side of Wadi Khoda a mountainous tract of dark rocks, the principal masses of which, from west to east, bear the names of Gebel Hindia, Gebel Um Akra, and Gebel Um Etli. These mountains have only been seen from a distance, and little is known about them beyond the positions and altitudes of their principal peaks, which have been fixed by triangulation. =Gebel Hindia=, thirteen kilometres east of Abu Dahr, rises to 873 metres above sea-level, and is drained partly by the Wadi Hindia to the north, and partly by the Wadi Salib el Azrak. =Gebel Um Akra=, six kilometres further east, is higher, its highest peak, marked by a beacon, being 1,050 metres above the sea, while a ridge a little further south reaches 970 metres; it is drained to Wadi Khoda by the Wadi Um Akra. =Gebel Um Etli=, which forms the south side of the Wadi Khoda just before that wadi emerges on to the coast-plain, has three main summits, reaching respectively to 844, 795, and 764 metres above the sea. It is a rather extensive mass, drained on the north by the Wadis Buluk and Um Lassaf, tributaries of Wadi Khoda, and on the south by the Wadi Um Etli, which reaches the sea independently.

=The Faraid Group.=

The mountains of this group cover a tract about forty kilometres in length from north to south, between the Wadis Um Etli and Rahaba and lie closer to the sea than any other mountains in the area described, their peaks being only ten to twelve kilometres from the coast. They consist entirely of granite, weathered into a forest of peaks the forms of which render them in respect of shape the most remarkable mountains in Egypt. There are four main masses in the group, of which the three northern ones are called collectively Faraid, while the southern one, which is smaller than, and separated from, the rest, is called by the diminutive name Fereyid.

The most northern mass of =Gebel Faraid= is the highest, its principal peak, situated in latitude 23° 33′ 7″, longitude 35° 22′ 10″, being 1,366 metres above sea-level. As seen from the north, this mass appears somewhat like an outspread hand, its western peak seeming to overhang slightly like a thumb, while the higher eastern peaks resemble fingers. The name _Mons Pentadactylus_ given to the mountain in antiquity, and quoted by Ptolemy, would appear to have referred only to this northern mass, and not to the Faraid group as a whole.

The second mass presents from most aspects the form of a nearly flat-topped mountain with a little peak on it and very steep sides. Its highest point, situated in latitude 23° 30′ 53″, longitude 35° 20′ 25″, is 1,259 metres above sea, and forms a main triangulation point; it is too sharp to support an instrument or even a beacon, and observations had to be taken from an auxiliary station a little distance away from the summit and reduced to centre. In ascending this peak as a survey station I approached it from the west by the Wadi el Abiad and Wadi Abu Ribian, placing my camp close under the mountain, on a sandy plain 450 metres above sea-level and one and a half kilometres north-west of the summit. The climb of 800 metres was steep, but not dangerous, and occupied about three hours. The lower illustration on Plate XIV (p. 192) shows the top of the mountain; the lower of the two peaks is the one occupied for triangulation.

The third mass of Faraid is a great expanse of peaks extending over eighteen kilometres north and south and some twelve kilometres east and west. Its highest peak, called “The Bodkin” by the Admiralty surveyors, has the position latitude 23° 28′ 58″, longitude 35° 20′ 35″, and rises to 1,232 metres above sea-level, dominating the rest of the mass both by its height and its singular form; it is a great sharp pinnacle, apparently unclimbable, visible from distances of over 100 kilometres in nearly all directions, and a very conspicuous landmark. South and west of “The Bodkin” are numerous other peaks, some of which have been fixed by triangulation; several of them rise to over 900 metres above the sea, and the whole forms a compact mass across which there appears to be no passage for camels.

=Gebel Fereyid=, the fourth and most southerly of the masses constituting the Faraid group, is a small spiky range quite detached from the rest, about seven kilometres north of the Wadi Rahaba. It has two main peaks, close together, of which the north-western one is slightly the higher and is surmounted by a beacon, 612 metres above sea-level, in latitude 23° 17′ 29″, longitude 35° 22′ 48″. In occupying this peak as a triangulation station, the camp was fixed in one of the heads of a nameless wadi draining past the north face of the mountain to the sea, at an altitude of 200 metres above sea-level and 850 metres north-north-east of the beacon. The ascent was easy till within about fifty metres of the summit, when it became difficult and rather dangerous, and there is very little room on the top. I had to remain six days on this mountain owing to almost continuous haze and clouds blocking the view.

The drainage from the western faces of the entire Faraid group is taken by the Wadi Rahaba. That from the peaks north of “The Bodkin” is collected by the Wadi el Abiad and its feeders the Rod Elbel and Wadi Abu Ribian, while the more southern parts are drained by various other tributaries of Wadi Rahaba, of which the principal are the Wadis Dagalai lil Rahaba, Abu Had, and el Marafai. The heads of Wadi el Abiad and its feeders cross a sloping sandy plain which flanks the main peaks on the west. Of the eastern drainage, less has been seen; the two principal drainers of the eastern face appear to be the Wadis el Sorubiab and Bint el Kurdum, which unite together in a small lagoon close to the coast in latitude 23° 30′. The head of the Wadi Bint el Kurdum is between “The Bodkin” and the flat-topped mountain to the north of it, and from the summit of the latter it appeared as though there might be a possible pass by it across the range into the heads of Wadi Abu Ribian; but I did not have an opportunity of testing this. The foot-hills are only some five or six kilometres from the coast near the north parts of the range, but as one goes south the width of the coast-plain increases somewhat, and is about twelve kilometres near Gebel Fereyid. Notwithstanding the height of the Faraid mountains, their proximity to the coast, and the clouds they frequently attract, there appear to be no wells in the wadis draining from them; the explanation is probably to be sought in the fact that the weathering of the granite of which they are composed produces large expanses of coarse sand round their feet, in which the rainfall is rapidly absorbed.

=The Awamtib — Abraq — Dif — Aqab el Negum — Mishbih Group.=

The mountains of this large and irregular group occupy the western parts of the great drainage basin of Wadi Hodein, some of the chief of them forming the main watershed separating that basin from those of the Wadis Kharit and Alaqi. The northern mountains of the group are high broken sandstone plateaux, while the southern ones consist largely of granite. The sandstone ranges of Abraq, Hodein, and Dif are remarkable for the numerous springs at their bases, which render this district (_see_ the large scale map on Plate XV) one of great importance to travellers.

=Gebel Awamtib= is the highest peak of a great mass of high sandstone hills forming the main watershed between latitudes 23° 20′ and 23° 30′ and extending for some eight or ten kilometres on either side of the meridian of 34° 30′. The highest peaks of the mass are mostly well to the west of the actual watershed, and the principal drainage channels run westward, those to the east, the feeders of Wadi Muegil, being shorter. Gebel Awamtib is near to the south-east corner of this mass, and is itself situated about six kilometres west of the watershed. It is nearly separated from the surrounding hills by wadis, and forms a conspicuous peak from the west; but the neighbouring hills approach it so nearly in height that it is not so easily distinguished from the east. It may, however, be picked out by the triangulation beacon which marks its summit, 793 metres above sea-level, in latitude 23° 20′ 59″, longitude 34° 26′ 39″. Gebel Awamtib is drained westward by the Wadi Awamtib (a tributary of Wadi Timsah), the heads of which nearly surround it. In occupying the station I pitched my camp in a small feeder of the Wadi Awamtib, two and a quarter kilometres south-west of the summit and 456 metres above sea-level. The climb from this place was easy enough, but rather long, and on reaching the top I found it would have been better to have approached the mountain by another feeder almost due west of the beacon, as by this means a camp could have been placed much closer and the ascent would not have been more difficult. It is inadvisable to ascend from the east face of the mountain, for although one of the wadi heads passes close east of the beacon, the slope on that side is extremely steep and probably unscalable. The top of the mountain is formed of large sandstone blocks under which one can get good shelter from dews, though with little head-room. The view from it is shut in to the east by the peaks of Gebel Shebakhit, only two kilometres distant; but the peaks of Gebels Um Harba and Zergat Naam can be seen to the north, while to the south and south-east one looks out over high sandstone hills in the foreground to the granite peaks of Gebels Shigigat, Aqab el Negum, Etresia, Um Reit and Saalek. The most striking thing round Awamtib itself is the strong westward dip of the sandstone beds of which it is composed, which has conditioned the drainage and the steep eastern face.

=Gebel Shebakhit= is a group of high sandstone hills a few kilometres north of Awamtib. It is drained north-westward by the broad Wadi Shebakhit, a tributary of Wadi Timsah.

=Gebel Dagalai=, the next member of the sandstone hill-mass to the north, has numerous peaks ranging from 670 to 712 metres above sea. It is drained north-westward by the Wadi Dagalai, in which it is said that water can sometimes be obtained.

PLATE XV.

Ball. Geography & Geology of South-Eastern Egypt.

Photo-Metal-Process. Survey Dept. Cairo 1910. (60-190)]

=Gebel Um Khafur= is a group of high sandstone ridges overlooking the sandy plain of Um Harba to the north. One of its higher ridges, 560 metres above sea-level, bears a triangulation station, marked by a beacon, in latitude 23° 29′ 54″, longitude 34° 29′ 19″. A remarkable feature of Gebel Um Khafur is the north-north-easterly dip of its sandstone beds at an angle of about 13°, almost constant over a large area, with probably step-faulting parallel to the strike of the beds; owing to these features there are developed a series of long ridges, with a flat dip slope northward and a steeper drop to the south, while the drainage channels run along the lines of strike and only break across the ridges at a few points. The drainage from these channels, the chief of which is called the Wadi Um Khafur, meanders northward over the plain to join a feeder of Wadi Garara.

=Gebel Um Harba= is a conspicuous sandstone peak marked by a triangulation beacon in latitude 23° 36′ 56″, longitude 34° 30′ 38″. Rising to a height of 688 metres above sea-level, it forms the highest and central point of a long range running north-north-west and south-south-east from the Wadi el Garara past the Galt el Aguz. The north end of this range is forked, the east and west arms being separated by a broad high valley, filled with blown sand, draining from near the peak of Gebel Um Harba northwards to Garara. A marked feature of the range is the almost constant north-easterly dip of the sandstone beds of which it is composed; the ridges follow the strike of the beds, and present gentle dip slopes to the east with steep basset edges to the west. Gebel Um Harba overlooks to the west a great sandy plain, so that it is a good landmark for travellers coming from that direction. In occupying it as a station, I approached it by the broad sandy valley above-mentioned, and fixed the camp at 487 metres above sea-level and 800 metres north of the summit; the hill can also be reached from the west, though the climb from the plain is about one hundred metres more. The ascent becomes rather steep near the top of the hill, but presents no great difficulty. For a short time after rain, water can be found in pools in the gullies close to the east of the hill, but owing to the porosity of the rock these never last long. The Galt el Aguz, nine and a half kilometres south-south-east of Gebel Um Harba, in a gully on the east side of the road to Bir Abu Saafa, lasts longer than other pools in the neighbourhood, but even it only yields supplies within a few months at most after rain, for the same reason.

=Gebel Um Sididad= is a mass of high sandstone hills on the north side of Wadi Silsila, thirty kilometres east-south-east of Gebel Um Harba and overlooking the broad and sandy Wadi Naam to the east. The hill I ascended, one of the highest, was 623 metres above sea-level and nearly 300 metres above the plain at its foot. High sandstone hills extend north-westwards from Gebel Um Sididad to Gebel Zergat Naam, forming the western side of Wadi Naam.

=Gebel Abraq= is a great high sandstone plateau cut up by gullies into more or less separate hills, outlined by the Wadis Silsila on the north, Hodein on the south, Arned on the west, and Abraq on the east. The highest hills of the mass are probably two peaks close together on its east side, midway between Bir Abraq and the Wadi Hodein, which rise to 705 and 699 metres above the sea. The principal interest of Gebel Abraq lies in its forming a collecting ground for the important springs of Abraq and Abu Saafa, which occur along its eastern and southern feet. These springs yield constant supplies of excellent water, due to slow percolation through almost pure siliceous rocks, and are of great value both to the local Arabs and to the passing travellers. There are two beacons on Gebel Abraq, one near Bir Abraq and the other near Abu Saafa springs. The former, a main triangulation point, is 667 metres above sea-level on a conspicuous ridge in latitude 23° 25′ 19″, longitude 34° 46′ 48″; while the latter is on the eastern edge of the plateau, in latitude 23° 18′ 40″, longitude 34° 48′ 30″, and 639 metres above the sea. The eastern and southern slopes of the plateau are very steep, becoming almost precipices at many points, and are the home of many conies and rock partridges, but one can ascend by taking advantage of the frequent gullies which cut up the mass. The climb to either beacon from the plain is about 330 metres, and free from serious difficulty.

=Gebel Hodein= is a high sandstone plateau forming the south-east continuation of the Abraq mass, from which it is separated by the ravine of Wadi Hodein. To the south it is cut off by Wadi Dif. A triangulation beacon near the north-east point of the plateau in latitude 23° 16′ 20″, longitude 34° 53′ 25″, is 695 metres above sea-level, but further west the summits are rather higher. An extremely steep pass, practicable only on foot, exists to the south of the mass, leading from the Wadi Gihab into Wadi Dif, and forming a short cut from Abu Saafa Springs to Bir Dif, but camels have to go round the east spurs of the mountain.

=Gebel Dif= and =Gebel Anfeib= together form a still further continuation south-eastward of the same great sandstone plateau, being separated from Gebel Hodein by the deep winding gorge of Wadi Dif. The sandstone beds here dip to the north-east, and the highest points are near the west edge of the mass, where they are flanked by lines of lower hills, formed of schists cropping out from under the sandstone. A triangulation beacon in latitude 23° 8′ 24″, longitude 34° 59′ 19″, marks the south end of the high plateau of Gebel Anfeib; it is 705 metres above sea-level, and very conspicuous from the east, but it is generally invisible from the west side of the mass, owing to the ridges north-west of it being slightly higher. In occupying the point as a station, I approached it from Bir Dif, following up the Wadi Abu Hashim to its head, then down the Rod Mukrayib round Gebel Lilowit, the south tip of the schist range, and turning north across various small wadis to a camp in one of the heads of Wadi Edunqul, at 315 metres above sea-level and 1,200 metres south-east of the beacon. This camp could also have been reached from Bir Abu Saafa via the Wadis Hodein and Anfeib. The climb to the beacon, of 400 metres, is steep, but not difficult, and occupies less than two hours.

=Gebel Tibatib= is a conspicuous dark conical peak among the low dark hills which extend from Gebel Anfeib to Wadi Hodein. Its summit is 396 metres above sea-level.

=Gebel Butitelib= is a steep-sided little hill mass of grey felsite close west of the easy pass which leads from the head of Wadi Abu Hashim into the Rod Mukrayib, near the south end of Gebel Anfeib. It rises to 485 metres above sea, or eighty metres above the sandy pass.

=Gebel Lilowit=, the south end of the schist range which flanks Gebel Anfeib on the west, is 485 metres above the sea.

=Gebel Niqrub el Tahtani= is a conspicuous isolated jagged mountain south of the Rod Mukrayib (which drains its northern face), and west of Wadi Madi. The beacon on it is in latitude 23° 0′ 39″, longitude 35° 0′ 53″, 829 metres above sea-level and about 500 metres above the Rod Mukrayib. A conspicuous pinnacle close north-east of the beacon has practically the same altitude.