CHAPTER VI.. * * * * *

* * * * * =THE MOUNTAINS AND HILLS.= * * * * *

It has been already mentioned (p. 19) that the principal mountain masses are divisible into ten main groups as follows:—

i. The Migif — Hafafit — Nugrus — Hangalia — Zabara group;

ii. The Abu Hamamid — Hamata — Abu Gurdi group;

iii. The Um Gunud — Dahanib — Batoga group;

iv. The Abu Dahr — Orga — Um Tenebda group;

v. The Faraid group;

vi. The Awamtib — Abraq — Dif — Aqab el Negum — Mishbih group;

vii. The Gerf — Korabkansi — Abu Hodeid group;

viii. The Meisah — Adar Qaqa — Is group;

ix. The mountains of the Alaqi basin west of Gebel Adar Qaqa;

x. The Elba — Shendib group;

while there are numerous more or less isolated mountains and hills lying outside these principal masses. In the present chapter a more detailed account will be given of each of the main groups, taking them in order from north to south, the principal outlying hill-masses being considered along with the mountain group to which they are in greatest proximity. It may be remarked that the geographical positions of all the principal peaks are tabulated in Chapter III.

=The Migif — Hafafit — Nugrus — Hangalia — Zabara Group.=

The highest mountains of the group (see the detailed map on Plate VI) form a close cluster, round Gebel Nugrus (1,505 metres) as a centre, between latitudes 24° 40′ and 24° 55′, while other more or less detached masses are scattered to the north and west. A striking feature of the central cluster is the tendency to extension in a north-west and south-east direction, which is specially marked in the Hafafit and Hangalia ranges.

=Gebel Nugrus=, the central and highest mountain of this northerly group, is a great boss of red granite rising to a height of 1,505 metres among schists and gneisses. It is an almost isolated mass, for though the Hangalia and Hafafit ranges close in on it from either side, there are passes both east and west of it by which a circuit of the mountain can be made. In plan, it is a pear-shaped mass, about fourteen kilometres in length by six kilometres in width, having its long axis north-west and south-east. Gebel Nugrus is on the main watershed; its north parts are drained Nilewards by the Wadi Hangalia and other feeders of Wadi Gerf, while the drainage from its south portion passes by the Wadi Nugrus and Wadai el Nom to the Wadi Gemal and thence to the sea. The ascent of the mountain was made from a camp about four kilometres west of the summit, at the top of the pass leading into the stony head of Wadi Nugrus. The divide here is flat and sandy, at an altitude of 691 metres above sea-level, so that the ascent from camp to summit was 814 metres. Striking eastwards over the lower ridges which flank the main back-bone of the mountain, the summit was reached after a climb of nearly four hours. When ascended from this side, there appear to be two main peaks, of which the further one, marked by a beacon, is the triangulation point; the best way up is between the two peaks, as the passage from one to the other is very rough and steep. Though tiring, the climb is not very difficult. The top of the mountain (see Plate VII) is a mass of great rounded knobs of granite, on which a suitable place for setting up instruments was only found after some searching. The beacon, in latitude 24° 48′ 34″, longitude 34° 35′ 47″, is on a rounded eminence not large enough to receive an instrument, so that eccentric observations were necessary; the distance between the eccentric point of observation and the beacon had to be found by a subtense method, as the roughness of the mountain top rendered any process of chaining or taping impossible. The view from the summit is very fine. To the west, one sees the pinnacles of Migif and the nearer long range of Hafafit; to the north-east is the black cone of Atut; northward, seen over a sea of hills, is Igli; to the east is the high ridge of Hangalia, culminating to the south in Gebel Zabara.

The sea is visible to the north-east and east, but the sea horizon was obscured during the three days I spent on the summit by banks of clouds. These cloud banks simulated the sea horizon very closely, their upper surface appearing perfectly horizontal. They caused a peculiar phenomenon at sunrise, producing the optical effect of two suns rising one after the other owing to the refraction through the cloud. The first thing seen was a blood-red image of the sun rising over the true sea horizon, which was only thus discovered, the sun being seen through the cloud; about three minutes later, when a little more than half the blood-red disc had risen, the true sun rays flashed out from another and much brighter segment appearing over the top of the cloud, so that parts of two sun disks were seen at once, quite separately, one over the other.

Before descending from the mountain, I went along the ridge south-east and north-west of the highest point to get plane-table stations; in either direction progress along the top is extremely difficult. To the north-west it appeared as though the way would be easier by keeping on the east side of the ridge, but in reality this was not so, as the slope was so steep and smooth that some stretches could only be got over by wriggling along with as much as possible of one’s body in contact with the rock. The descent from the north-west end of the ridge to camp was difficult and rather dangerous in places. It is possible that a better way up the mountain could be found from the pass at the head of Wadi Hangalia, on the opposite side to where I started; that pass is 120 metres higher than the west one, so that the total climb would be lessened by that amount, and the horizontal distance is about the same.

=Gebel Hafafit= is a very long range, chiefly of gneiss, running in a nearly straight line south-eastward for over thirty kilometres. Its highest peaks are at its north end, where they are not very much lower than those of Gebel Nugrus; the heights decrease gradually further south. Half way down the range is a very conspicuous peak called =Um Moghar=, 860 metres above sea, while another well marked summit, the only one which I climbed, exists near the south end and rises to 744 metres. This last-named point is marked by a beacon, in latitude 24° 35′ 32″, longitude 34° 45′ 22″. On either side of the main back-bone of Hafafit are high flanking ridges. The drainage of Hafafit practically all flows seaward by the Wadi Gemal; the west faces are drained by Wadi Hafafit, and the east ones by Wadi Nugrus.

East of the south part of Gebel Hafafit are some remarkable bosses of granite, of which the chief, Gebel Abu Had, rises to 633 metres above sea, and is a landmark for Bir Abu Had. Another remarkable hill, closer in to Hafafit and the Wadi Gemal, is shaped like a bell with a handle on the top; this hill, which forms a good landmark, is called =Gebel Um Regeba=, and its summit is 571 metres above the sea.

PLATE VII.

=Gebel Migif= is a very spiky gneiss mass situated about thirteen kilometres west of Gebel Nugrus. It has several summits of about equal height, fairly close together, but separated by deep clefts. The triangulation beacon is on the western peak, in latitude 24° 47′ 23″, longitude 34° 27′ 30″, 1,199 metres above sea-level. The foliation planes of the rock dip to the north, and the only safe means of ascent is up the resulting north slopes. The south aspect is precipitous. When ascending the mountain, I pitched my camp 2·7 kilometres north of the beacon, in a gully draining into Wadi Shait, west of another gully containing the water holes called Galt Um Karaba, at an altitude of 607 metres above sea-level. The ascent, of 592 metres, took two hours steady climbing, and was not difficult. I kept on the west side of the gorge till near the top, and this is the best way up the mountain, for I found the gorge itself to be steep and abounding in impassable precipices. The view from Gebel Migif is shut in to the east by the high masses of Gebels Hafafit and Nugrus; Gebels Atut and Igli are conspicuous to the north; to the south-east, one overlooks the great sandy basin of Wadi Hafafit; while to the south-west is more open country in which the two remarkable cones of El Nahud, the sharp peak of Gebel Abu Khrug, the ridge of Gebel Hamrat Selma, and closer in the ranges called Gebel Dweig, are striking features. On a clear day, the huge mountains of Hamata and Abu Hamamid, eighty kilometres to the south-south-east, can be discerned. The photographs on Plate VIII will give an idea of the views looking towards Gebels Nugrus and Dweig respectively. In the upper view Gebel Nugrus is seen behind the Hafafit range; in the lower, the masses close in are Gebel Dweig, while in the distance, to the right of the centre, is Gebel Hamrat Selma, and behind it on the horizon the spike of Gebel Abu Khrug. The precipitous nature of the south side of Gebel Migif is evident in both views.

The north and west sides of Gebel Migif are drained by the Wadi Shait, which passes the foot of the mountain; the steep south face drains into Wadi Dweig, a tributary of Shait; while the eastern face, flanked by low hills, is drained by Wadi Hafafit.

Gebel Dweig is a small group of high hills close to the south of Gebel Migif, with which it combines to form a cul-de-sac round the head of Wadi Dweig. Gebel Dweig resembles Gebel Migif in character, except that it is lower; the hill on the south side of the narrow opening by which Wadi Dweig leaves the cul-de-sac is 864 metres above sea, and this is believed to be the highest of the group. The eastern part of the mass is a curiously curved range sweeping round nearly in a semicircle.

=Gebel Hamrat Selma= is a high ridge rising from the plain about fifteen kilometres south-west of Gebel Migif. I did not approach it closely, but fixed the position of its highest point, which is 761 metres above sea-level, by triangulation.

=El Nahud= (the breasts) is the name given to two very remarkable conical hills of volcanic rock rising from the plain on the north side of Wadi Natash to the south of Gebel Hamrat Selma. The two hills are about five kilometres apart, one being south-east of the other. The north-eastern cone is the sharper of the two, but they have both the same altitude of 662 metres above the sea and rise about 130 metres above the surrounding country.

=Gebel Abu Khrug= is a granite hill-mass with a remarkably sharp high peak, about twenty-five kilometres south-west of Gebel Migif. The summit, which is surmounted by a triangulation beacon, in latitude 24° 38′ 57″, longitude 34° 16′ 19″, has an altitude of 870 metres above sea-level. Abu Khrug, from its striking Matterhorn-like shape and its situation in fairly open country, is a conspicuous landmark for great distances. The Arabs who were sent to erect the beacon stated that the ascent was very difficult.

=Gebel Sufra= is a mass of rather flat-topped high hills, partly of volcanic origin, about eighteen kilometres west of Abu Khrug, on the north side of Wadi Shait. The triangulation beacon on the summit is in latitude 24° 38′ 42″, longitude 34° 4′ 13″, at a height of 690 metres above sea-level, and 340 metres above the well of Um Gubur, which is in the Wadi Shait about three kilometres to the south-east.

=Gebels Nazla= and =Um Serg= are moderately high hills lying to the south of Gebels Sufra and Abu Khrug, between the Wadis Shait and Natash.

=Gorf el Natash= is a syenite hill on the south side of Wadi Natash, about five kilometres south-west of Bir Masur, while =Gebels Muktil= (470 metres), =Derera=, and =Um Goraf=, are prominent hills lying still further south near Wadi Antar.

PLATE VIII.

=Gebel Ras Shait= is a group of high rugged-looking reddish hills, probably of granite, at the head of Wadi Shait, near Gebels Nugrus and Migif. Its highest peak rises to 1,019 metres above sea. The west face drains directly into Shait, while the eastern and northern slopes drain into Wadi Gerf, which joins Shait far to the south-west. Between Gebels Migif and Ras Shait is a small range of hills dividing Wadi Shait from the head of Wadi Hafafit; across the south end of this range, which is composed of dark schists with white granite at its western foot, there runs a zigzag pass, fairly easy for camels, to the head of Wadi Nugrus.

=Gebel Mudergeg= is a high range of reddish hills, which with Gebels Ras Shait and Migif encloses the heads of Wadi Shait. Its highest point is 1,086 metres above sea. To the east of it are several other lower ranges, some of white and others of black aspect, which have not been approached closely.

=Gebel Hangalia= is a great mountain ridge running south-south-east for about twelve kilometres, from Gebel Ghuel to Gebel Zabara, consisting chiefly of schists. Its highest peak is 1,241 metres above sea-level. Its western faces are drained partly to the Nile by the Wadi Hangalia (a tributary of Wadi Gerf) and partly to the sea by the Wadai el Nom (a tributary of Wadi Nugrus); its eastern faces, which are flanked by high ridges, drain into the various feeders of Wadi Ghadir.

=Gebel Zabara=, a mountain mass rising to 1,361 metres above sea-level, forms a southward extension of the Hangalia range. The cairn on its summit is in latitude 24° 45′ 21″, longitude 34° 41′ 53″. The mountain is drained on the north and east sides by feeders of the Wadi Ghadir, while its western flanks are partly drained by the Wadai el Nom. Gebel Zabara is chiefly composed of schists of various types. The ancient emerald mines of Zabara are in the north-east part of the mountain, about two and a half kilometres from its summit. A triangulation beacon marks the highest point of the mountain, but this was only used as an intersection point. I ascended some of the flanking ridges near the old mines; these consisted of splintery schists, and though the climbing is steep and rough (see Plate IX), the schists give a good foothold so that the ascent to the top is probably not very difficult. The ruins in the Wadi Zabara, near the old mines, are at 514 metres above sea-level; the climb from them to the summit is thus one of 857 metres. Due south of Gebel Zabara is a high ridge, the north-west end of which is 1,104 metres above sea-level; this ridge is the most conspicuous of a mass of high hills flanking Gebel Zabara to the south, which have not been seen except from a distance, but which are probably drained by the Wadi Nugrus.

=Gebel Ghuel=, which forms a northward extension of Gebel Hangalia, is likewise composed of schists. Its highest point, the south end of a conspicuous high ridge, is 1,104 metres above sea. Its eastern faces are drained by the Wadis Ghuel and Fegas, both tributaries of Wadi Ghadir, while its western flanks drain into the heads of Wadi Um Khariga. High hills flank the main ridge on both sides, especially the east, and through these the drainage channels form deep gloomy gorges. Wadi Ghuel contains important water holes.

=Gebel Um Khariga= is the name given to several high hill ranges on either side of the Wadi Um Khariga. Two of these ranges, one on either side of the upper part of the wadi, form like Gebel Ghuel north extensions of the high ridge of Hangalia; the western range can be crossed at a gap by an easy pass, 773 metres above sea-level, which separates the heads of Wadi Gerf from those of Wadi Um Khariga. These two ranges shut in the wadi on either side for some ten kilometres of its northward course, beyond which the country becomes more open and the wadi curves round to the north-east, passing the north end of a third range of high hills which is likewise called Gebel Um Khariga. This third range extends northward for about ten kilometres from Gebel Ghuel, from which it is separated by a pass forming a good road over the head of Wadi Ghadir. Its most conspicuous feature is a twin peak at its north end, 674 metres above sea-level. The main ridge is flanked by high hills, especially on the east side. Only the north and west flanks of this range are drained by Wadi Um Khariga, the eastern side being cut up by feeders of Wadi Sukari. Besides the pass separating it from Gebel Ghuel, there are two other passes, one round its north end into Wadi Sukari, and another at its south end between Wadi Ghadir and Wadi Sukari, so that a complete circuit of this range can be made by camels. Some of the hills composing the mass consist of highly magnetic schists, and compass readings in the region may be disturbed by many degrees.

PLATE IX.

=Gebel Igli el Iswid= is a rather rugged mountain mass rising among a sea of lower hills, thirty kilometres north of Gebel Nugrus. Its highest point, marked by a triangulation beacon, in latitude 25° 4′ 6″, longitude 34° 36′ 16″, is 975 metres above sea-level. The mountain forms a tripartite watershed between the basins of Wadi Um Khariga (draining the south slopes), Wadi Dabur (draining the north and west slopes), and Wadi Igli (draining the eastern face), each of which three wadis courses separately to the sea. In occupying the triangulation station on the summit, I placed my camp in a gully draining to Wadi Um Khariga, about two kilometres south-south-west of the summit at an altitude of 605 metres above sea. The climb of 370 metres to the top from this camp was not difficult, and occupied only a little over an hour and a half. The mountain consists of very hard grey siliceous rocks, which ring under the hammer, and are probably crushed and devitrified felsites (see p. 281). There are galts in some of the gullies draining from this mountain, hence it is sometimes called Igli el Rayani. At the time of my visit (December 1905) there was said to be a little water in a galt on the west side of the mass; but the rock basins in the gully which I ascended were empty.

=Gebel Igli el Ahmar=, sometimes called El Atshani, is a lower hill mass of granite some ten kilometres north-east of Igli el Iswid.

=Gebel Atut= is a high black conical hill thirty kilometres north-west of Gebel Nugrus. Rising considerably above the hills which immediately surround it, Atut is visible from a great distance from the west, and its conical form renders it easy of recognition. Its summit, marked by a beacon, in latitude 25° 0′ 56″, longitude 34° 23′ 49″, is 908 metres above sea-level and 300 metres above the branches of the Rod el Atut which encircle its base. A camp can be placed close to the foot of the cone, and the ascent is easily made in about an hour. The rock of Gebel Atut is olivine gabbro (see p. 302), of great hardness, and the whole surface of the mountain is formed of great blocks, rounded and boulder-like below, but angular higher up. The blocks have rusty-looking surfaces, but are perfectly sound rock inside, and they ring like bells under the hammer. The upper illustration on Plate X shows a view of the summit of Gebel Atut, from which its blocky nature will be evident. The view from Gebel Atut is a very extensive one. To the west and north (see the lower illustration on Plate X) one can see the peaks of Gebels Muelih, Haggar Dungash, Iteima, Abu Diab, and Hamrat Wogud; to the south-east are the masses of Migif and Nugrus, while eastward one looks over a great expanse of hills towards Gebels Dabur and Um Khariga, with the sea beyond.

The hills of =Um el Huetat=, the highest of which rise over 200 metres above the wadis round them, are situated about eight kilometres due west of Gebel Atut; they are composed of schists of various types, and contain some old mines, mostly in talc schist. They are drained by the Rod el Farag, a tributary of Wadi Gerf.

On the other side of the Rod el Farag, i.e., further west of Gebel Atut, are numerous scattered hills, the higher of which bear the names of =Hamrat Mastura=, =El Hamra=, and =Um Himar=. These are of granite, gneiss, and schists, with some coarse gabbro and numerous quartz veins.

Still further west is the remarkable ridge called =Erf el Fahid=, a great quartz vein ten metres wide and two kilometres long, rising nearly one hundred metres above the Wadi Muelih. A beacon on its highest point, 579 metres above sea-level, marks the triangulation station, its position being latitude 25° 0′ 5″, longitude 34° 11′ 52″. South-east of Erf el Fahid is a line of similar but smaller ridges, also formed of great quartz veins rising through diorites and schists. Still further down the Wadi Muelih is a curious horse-shoe-shaped hill of aplite, called =Marwot Rod el Ligaia=, round which the hills of crushed diorite are penetrated with a network of quartz veins running in various directions.

=Gebel Muelih= is a great boss of white granite situated close to the north side of Wadi Muelih in longitude 34°. Its summit, marked by a beacon, in latitude 24° 52′ 44″, longitude 34° 0′ 37″, is 707 metres above sea and 350 metres above the wadi which courses round its south flank, and from which it is easily climbed. The upper view on Plate XI gives an idea of its appearance as seen from the base line camp in the wadi six kilometres east of it.

=Gebel Hagar Dungash= is a great mass of high hills situated north of Gebel Muelih. The beacon on its highest point, in latitude 24° 59′ 12″, longitude 34° 2′ 33″, is 815 metres above sea-level. In the hills which flank the main mass are numerous sharp peaks, one of the most conspicuous of which, eight and a half kilometres south-west of the beacon, is called =Gebel Um Dalalil=. A ridge five kilometres due east of the beacon bears the name of =Erf Rod Um Rashid=. The rocks of Haggar Dungash are chiefly dark schists.

PLATE X.

PLATE XI.

=Gebel Iteima= is a group of high granite hills rising from the plain fifteen kilometres north of Erf el Fahid. Its highest peak is 849 metres above the sea. It is drained southwards by the Wadi Muelih.

=Gebel Hamrat Wogud=, which is likewise of granite, is a higher mountain mass fifteen kilometres east of Iteima. Its highest point, marked by a beacon, is in latitude 25° 9′ 34″, longitude 34° 20′ 0″, and 1,103 metres above sea. It is drained southwards by the Rod Um el Farag, a tributary of Wadi Gerf.

Between Gebels Muelih and Mudergeg is a sandy plain with low hills, the more conspicuous of which bear special names; among them are =Marwot Rod el Ligah=, =Erf Sagur=, and =Khusa el Faraon=, the last-named being a group of small but very remarkable black hills eleven kilometres due south of Erf el Fahid. Marwot Rod el Ligah is a triangulation point; its beacon is 514 metres above sea-level.

=Gebel Sukari= is a very craggy high ridge of granitic rock twenty-two kilometres north of Gebel Zabara. Its highest point, which is at its north end, is 630 metres above sea-level, but the triangulation beacon was erected on a lower part of the ridge further south, in latitude 24° 56′ 50″, longitude 34° 42′ 50″, at an altitude of 476 metres, in order to be near to the extensive old mines and ruins which exist in the locality. Gebel Sukari is drained by various feeders of Wadi Sukari.

=Kurdeman= is the name of a low hilly district on the east side of Wadi Ghadir, thirteen kilometres north of Gebel Zabara. It is interesting as containing some ancient mines, doubtless worked for gold. A triangulation beacon has been erected on a hill just above the workings, in latitude 24° 52′ 35″, longitude 34° 41′ 35″, at an altitude of 526 metres above sea, or about fifty metres above the wadi.

=Gebel Sabahia= is a craggy felsite hill five kilometres south-east of Kurdeman, rising to 520 metres above sea, or about ninety metres above the wadi. It is drained by the Wadi Sabahia, a tributary of Wadi Ghadir. In the heads of the Wadi Sabahia, north-east of the hill, are some old gold mines.

=Gebel Um Tundeba= is a high granite hill near the head of Wadi Um Tundeba. Its summit is 550 metres above the sea. It forms a landmark for the water hole called Galt Um Tundeba, which is situated in a small gully, three kilometres west of the summit of the hill.

=Gebel Amba-ut=, seven kilometres south of the foregoing, is likewise believed to be of granite; the southern hill of this group is of a red colour and very conspicuous as one passes from Um Tundeba to Ghadir.

=Gebel Ghadir=, the summit of which, in latitude 24° 50′ 9″, longitude 34° 47′ 22″, and 636 metres above sea, is marked by a triangulation beacon, is thirteen kilometres north-east of Gebel Zabara. I ascended it from a camp 424 metres above sea-level in one of the gullies draining westward to Wadi Ghadir. The ascent is easy. The rocks are greenish serpentines and ophicalcites below, with a white quartz felsite above.

=Gebel Allawi=, situated on the south side of the Wadi Allawi, is a diorite hill rising to 515 metres above sea. It is best approached by ascending a small feeder of Wadi Allawi, in which a camp can be placed within a kilometre of the summit and 160 metres below it. There are some interesting old gold mines in the quartz veins just below the beacon on the summit of the hill, and a band of graphitic schist crops out near the north foot of the hill. The position of the beacon is latitude 24° 46′ 42″, longitude 34° 49′ 39″.

=Gebel Lewewi= is a dark craggy hill range eight kilometres east-south-east of Gebel Zabara, between Wadi Allawi and its tributary Wadi Lewewi. Its highest point, marked by a cairn, is 654 metres above sea-level. There are some old mines in the lower hills two and half kilometres south-east of Gebel Lewewi, and others a little further off in the same direction.

=Gebel Sikait= is a rugged ridge of schists and serpentine situated in the midst of hilly country fourteen kilometres south-east of Gebel Zabara. The triangulation beacon which marks its summit is in latitude 24° 39′ 55″, longitude 34° 48′ 5″, and 771 metres above sea-level, and 330 metres above the wadi which skirts its western foot. Gebel Sikait is of interest from the abundant ruins and old emerald mines which exist near it, as well as from the variety of minerals present in its rocks. It is the Sicily of the Eastern Desert. Beryl, tourmaline, actinolite, various micas, chlorite, talc and crystals of calcite are amongst the commoner minerals found. The serpentine which abounds in its upper parts is highly magnetic, and the compass was found to be disturbed by no less than 40° near the triangulation point. Gebel Sikait is drained from the west by the Wadi Sikait, a tributary of Wadi Nugrus, and from the east by the Wadi Um Gamil. The best place to climb it from is the Wadi Sikait, and the ascent, not a difficult one, is rendered interesting by the ruins and old mines encountered; part of the way one passes over an ancient made road, now broken in many places by the downwash from the hill.

=Gebel Ras Um Gamil= and =Gebel Um Gamil= are two high hill ranges south-east of Sikait, which have only been sketched from a distance.

=Madaret Um Gamil= is a conspicuous double-topped hill on the north side of the Wadi Gemal, seventeen kilometres south-east of Sikait. The beacon which marks its highest point is in latitude 24° 34′ 52″, longitude 34° 56′ 28″, and 454 metres above sea. It is best ascended by a very winding tributary of the Wadi Gemal; this gully, up which there is a road, leads past the south-west foot of the hill, and the climb is only one of some 200 metres. The rocks round Madaret Um Gamil are mostly schists, but the top of the hill is a hard gabbro like that of Gebel Atut, weathered into rusty looking blocks. A good view seawards is obtained from the summit, some very red granite forming a conspicuous feature in the low hills between it and the coast.

=The Abu Hamamid — Hamata — Abu Gurdi Group.=

This group of mountains is remarkable both for its extent and for the loftiness of many of its peaks, some of which are among the highest in Egypt. It is a mass of rugged ridges and peaks, covering about a quarter of a square degree of the earth’s surface between latitudes 24° 0′ and 24° 30′, in which the two dominant summits, Abu Hamamid (1,747 metres) and Hamata (1,978 metres) are the most conspicuous features in the west and east portions respectively, while Abu Gurdi (1,562 metres) forms the great terminal peak of a south-easterly extension of the mass. Plate XII shows two typical views in this rugged region.

=Gebel Abu Hamamid= is a great ridge of hard greenish schists towering above the surrounding mountains to a height of 1,747 metres above sea. Its crest is broken into a number of separate summits, which appear from most aspects of almost a sugar loaf form; the beacon is on the most northerly and highest of these, its position being latitude 24° 14′ 41″, longitude 34° 47′ 38″. The mountain is best ascended from the Wadi Um Semiuki, a tributary of Huluz, which drains its north-east face. By ascending this wadi till camels could go no higher owing to its increasingly rough and stony floor, I was able to pitch a camp at 865 metres above sea-level and two and a quarter kilometres north-east of the summit, leaving an ascent of 882 metres to be made on foot. The ascent, which occupied four hours, was free from difficulty till within about one hundred metres of the top, but the last portion was extremely steep and was only negotiated with considerable trouble; it represents pretty nearly the limit of possibility in getting instruments up difficult places. Once the top was reached, however, the magnificence of the view obtainable, and the excellence of the point as a station for triangulating the principal peaks among the thousands visible, seemed an ample recompense for the trouble of reaching it. The top of the ridge (see Plate VII, p. 166) is very rough and narrow, only a little over a metre wide, and it is difficult to find a spot near the summit where one can spread one’s blankets for the night with even a slight approach to comfort. The eight nights of enforced bivouacking which I was obliged to spend on the top of Abu Hamamid in February 1906, before I could complete my observations, belong to the least pleasant of my experiences in the desert. A little work only was possible the first day, owing to haze obscuring the more distant peaks. On the second day clouds enveloped us in a wet drizzle, and a bitterly cold north wind blew with great violence; a rude rubble shelter which my men built on the summit, covered with a blanket, was a very poor protection, and I found it better to throw a rubble embankment across a steep gully on the lee side, forming a small level platform where we were sheltered from the biting wind. For the next five days, we were alternately wrapped in clouds or left free under a brilliant blue sky with clouds covering all the surrounding country. It was curious on these days to look over the surface of the clouds, as over a boundless level sea, with only the highest peaks projecting sharp and black above the white surface, and to see the sun rise and set exactly as though one were on the ocean. Then at last the clouds began to disappear, and on the first clear day a very large amount of triangulation was accomplished, all the more prominent peaks within a radius of about sixty kilometres being observed. Gebel Abu Hamamid forms a culminating point on the Nile — Red Sea watershed, its eastern parts draining to Wadi Huluz and its western ones to Wadi Abu Hamamid, a tributary of Wadi Kharit.

PLATE XII.

=Gebel Um Semiuki= is a sharp cone rising to 1,283 metres above the sea among a mass of lower hills three kilometres north-east of Gebel Abu Hamamid. It is of a reddish aspect, due to a film which covers the weathered surface of the green and grey hornfels of which it is composed. It is drained by the Wadi Um Semiuki.

=Gebel Abu Argub= is a very conspicuous mountain, almost conical in shape, seven and a half kilometres south-south-west of Gebel Abu Hamamid, from which it is separated by lower hills. To the south, Gebel Abu Argub overlooks the plain of Selaia. Its peak, 1,690 metres above sea-level, is a good landmark from the south and west.

=Gebel Kahfa= is a many-peaked mountain of granite rising abruptly to a height of 1,018 metres above sea from among lower hills of dark schists, nineteen kilometres south-west of Gebel Abu Hamamid. It is detached from the main mountain-mass, being separated from it by the heads of Wadi Um Retba. Its faces are in many places sheer precipices of several hundred metres (see Plate XIII), but the ascent of it from the north is not very difficult. In occupying Kahfa as a station I approached it from Bir Shadli by a well-marked track which skirts the western foot-hills and leads to the Wadi Helie. Leaving this track where it crosses Wadi Um Hargal some six kilometres from Bir Shadli, I ascended the Wadi Um Hargal and crossed the pass at its head into the head of Wadi Um Retba, where I pitched my camp at an altitude of 563 metres, at the foot of Gebel Kahfa 1·3 kilometres north-north-east of the beacon on its summit. The climb of 455 metres from this camp to the top occupied three hours. There is good bivouacking ground close east of the summit, between two ridges. The beacon which marks the triangulation point is in latitude 24° 8′ 18″, longitude 34° 38′ 55″. A walk round the top is full of interest; one can reach many points overlooking tremendous precipices, and the forms assumed by the granite peaks are very remarkable. On the west side of the mountain is a rather large open space forming the head of Wadi Helie, but elsewhere one is surrounded by low hills. The principal drainers of Kahfa are the Wadis Um Hargal and Um Retba (tributaries of Wadi el Sheikh) to the north, and Helie and Abu Hashim (tributaries of Wadi Kharit) to the south.

=Gebel Medsus= is a small group of high hills rising among lower ones between Gebel Abu Hamamid and Bir Shadli.

=Gebel Metawit= is a high granite hill rising conspicuously among much lower hills thirteen kilometres north-west of Bir Shadli. A track leading from Bir Shadli to Bir Metawit and other wells further north-west passes close east of the hill. Gebel Metawit is a good landmark for Bir Metawit, which is situated in the wadi of the same name about three kilometres north-west of it. The summit is 741 metres above sea-level or about 295 metres above the wadi floor at the well.

=Gebel Hamrat Mukbud= is a great red granite mass rising from the plain about twenty-five kilometres west of Bir Shadli. Its isolated character and great altitude (892 metres above the sea and about 450 metres above the surrounding country) render Hamrat Mukbud one of the finest and best known landmarks in this part of the desert. A cairn on its summit marks the triangulation point, in latitude 24° 9′ 53″, longitude 34° 23′ 17″. Its ascent is a matter of some difficulty, owing to its great steepness.

=El Hamra= is another red granite mass, much smaller than Hamrat Mukbud, lying about half-way between that mountain and Bir Shadli, and separating the Wadi Abu Hamamid from the Wadi el Sheikh.

=Gebel Homr Akarim= is a hill about thirty-three kilometres west of Gebel Hamrat Mukbud, close to the north of Wadi el Khashab. Its summit, 490 metres above sea, is marked by a triangulation cairn.

=Gebel Marasan= is a range of mountains north-west of Abu Hamamid. It is cut through by an important pass over the main watershed, 685 metres above sea-level, connecting the Wadis Huluz and Abu Hamamid by their respective tributaries Marasan and Marasani, which drain north-east and south-west from the pass. The highest peak of the mountains south of the pass is 1,261 metres above sea-level, while those to the north are lower. The name Gebel Marasan is, however, commonly given only to the peaks north of the pass, as they rise more abruptly from it, while those to the south are unnamed or regarded as part of Gebel Hamamid because the Wadi Abu Hamamid drains their southern flanks.

PLATE XIII.

=Gebel Khulla= is a range lying a few kilometres west of Gebel Marasan from which it is quite separated. Its highest point is 978 metres above sea. It is drained by Wadi Khulla, a tributary of Wadi Abu Hamamid.

=Gebel Um Sedri= is a remarkable pair of twin peaks on or near the main watershed seventeen kilometres north-west of Gebel Abu Hamamid, and a little to the south of the Wadi Huluz. These peaks, which are 970 metres above sea-level and about 460 metres above the floor of Wadi Huluz, are very conspicuous from the surrounding high country, but they cannot be seen from the Wadi Huluz itself as they lie a little way back from the scarps which bound the gorge. It is the drainage from the hills round Gebel Um Sedri which feeds the water holes of Um Gerifat, in a little gorge opening to Wadi Huluz about two kilometres north-west of the peaks.

=Gebel el Heda= is a conspicuous hill situated ten kilometres north-north-west of Gebel Metawit, between the Wadis Antar and Khashab. Its highest point is 862 metres above sea-level.

=Gebel Nukheira= is a group of high hills on or near the main watershed, close to the head of Wadi Antar and about ten kilometres north-north-west of Gebel el Heda. Its highest point is 876 metres above the sea.

=Gebel Ras Abu Etl= is a lower hill seven kilometres north-east of Gebel Nukheira. As seen from the upper part of the Wadi Gemal it appeared to have a flat top, which is 648 metres above the sea. It is probably drained by the short Wadi Abu Etl, which joins Wadi Huluz to form the Wadi Gemal.

=Gebel Um Suerab= is a great high ridge of dark looking rocks, surrounded by high flanking hills, rising conspicuously in the hilly country between the Wadis Huluz and Gemal, about twenty-four kilometres north-north-west of Gebel Abu Hamamid. The top of its ridge, which appears to be nearly level for about a kilometre of its length, is 1,024 metres above sea-level. From its neighbourhood drain two wadis in opposite directions; one, called the Wadi Um Suerab lil Gemal, goes northward to join Wadi Gemal, while the other, called Wadi Um Suerab lil Huluz, is the longer and courses southward to join Wadi Huluz.

=Gebel Durunkat= is another apparently flat-topped hill eight kilometres south-east of Gebel Um Suerab, on the west side of the Wadi Durunkat, about thirteen kilometres above its junction with Wadi Gemal. Its summit is 924 metres above sea-level.

=Gebel Abarun= is a mountain range situated a short distance north-east of Gebel Abu Argub, from which it is separated by the Wadi Abarun. Its highest peak, almost due east of that of Abu Argub, from which it is separated by the Wadi Abarun, is 1,602 metres above sea, and overlooks the great plain of Selaia to the south.

=Gebel Um el Tiur= is a range extending south-east from Gebel Abarun, forming a southward prolongation of the mountains. Its highest peak is 1,450 metres above the sea, while the terminal peak southward is 1,080 metres. It is drained on the west by the Wadis el Shel and el Anbat (tributaries of Wadi Kharit) and on the east by the Wadi Um el Tiur (a tributary of Wadi Hilgit lil Kharit).

=Gebel el Anbat= is a group of lower dark coloured hills forming the south foot hills of Gebel Um el Tiur. Its highest point is 788 metres above sea, while a detached black hill a little west of it on the plain rises to 680 metres above sea, or 175 metres above the plain at its base. These hills are drained by the Wadi el Anbat and other small feeders of Wadi Kharit.

=Gebel Um Usher= and =Um Hasidok= are conspicuous peaks on the main watershed ten kilometres east, and twelve and a half kilometres east-south-east respectively of Gebel Abu Hamamid, rising to 1,487 and 1,497 metres above sea-level. They are drained to the south by the Wadi Hilgit lil Kharit, and to the north by the Wadi el Mahali, a feeder of Wadi Huluz.

=Gebel el Mahali= is a rather high peak of grey porphyry which forms a northerly extension of Gebel Um Usher, close south of the Wadi Huluz. Its top is 1,112 metres above sea, or 330 metres above the adjacent wadi floor.

=Gebel Hamata=, with one exception the highest mountain in the Eastern Desert of Egypt, is situated on the meridian of 35°, in latitude 24° 12′, thirty-three kilometres from the nearest point of the coast and 213 kilometres from the nearest point of the Nile, and rises to an altitude of 1,978 metres above sea-level; the summit is marked by a triangulation beacon, the position of which is latitude 24° 12′ 17″, longitude 35° 0′ 16″. Gebel Hamata lies some five kilometres east of the main watershed, which curiously enough is not always formed by the highest peaks. It is drained principally by the Wadi Huluz, the heads of which almost encircle it. The Wadi Hamata heads in the eastern face of the high ridge which connects Gebels Hamata and Abu Ghusun, and thus only takes a small portion of the drainage of Gebel Hamata itself. Though surrounded by other high mountains, Hamata towers above them so as to be a very conspicuous feature on the sky line from great distances. Looked at from the north or south, it is like a great, rather flat, cone with a smaller cone east of it. The best way to ascend the mountain is from the head of the Wadi el Abiad, that feeder of Wadi Huluz which drains the north face of it. In proceeding up the Wadi el Abiad from Wadi Huluz, one is shut in by high hills on either side till about six kilometres from the mountain; then the wadi opens into a rough plain with low granite hills, and the imposing mass of Hamata springs suddenly into full view. My camels were coaxed on with their loads up this wadi, which becomes very steep and stony as its head is approached, to within two and a quarter kilometres of the summit, where they actually reached an altitude of 1,025 metres above the sea. The ascent of the remaining 953 metres on foot, though tiring, was fairly easy, and occupied less than four hours. The lower third of Hamata is a whitish granite; this gives place higher up to a hard quartz felsite, which rings under the hammer and weathers into rusty brown blocks. To the east of the main summit the rock changes to a green breccia, which seems to form a considerable portion of that part of the mountain. The view from the summit is a fine one in clear weather, including as it does an extensive prospect of the rugged mountains around, and a large extent of coast-line. But it was on this mountain that I had my first experience of the chronic haze which seems to hang almost perpetually over the coastal regions in the neighbourhood of the tropic, and which is the greatest enemy of the surveyor in these parts. On each of the three days which I spent on Hamata, the morning sun rose over cloud-banks to the east; clouds filled all the wadis and covered the lower country, while the highest peaks stood up clear and sharp above the sea of cloud. Towards 10 a.m., the clouds gradually melted away over the land under the increasing solar influence, but there remained a continuous haze, especially over the coast and out to sea. The explanation of the almost perpetual clouds and haze was soon seen, and is very simple. If the wind blows from the north-west, it is generally cool or even cold in winter. If this north wind is dry and persistent, the air is clear; but should it fail and warm moist breezes set in from seaward, these drop their moisture on reaching the cooler air of the mountains. If the air is still or nearly so, the moisture is evaporated in the sun’s rays during the day, only to precipitate itself again as the air cools by rapid radiation at night. As a consequence, dews on the mountains are extremely heavy, and one soon learns to seek the shelter of an overhanging rock or to improvise a rude tent from a blanket and a few sticks over one’s nightly resting-place.

=Gebel Abu Ghusun= is a mountain range north of Hamata, with which it is connected by a ridge of lower peaks so as to close in the small rough granite plain north-east of the latter mountain. Its highest peak, eight kilometres north-north-west of Gebel Hamata, is 1,389 metres above sea-level. It is drained on the south by the Wadi el Abiad, the same tributary of Wadi Huluz which drains the north face of Hamata, and on the north by the Wadi Abu Ghusun, which enters the sea separately.

=Gebel Um Laham= is a mass of lower hills a little west of Gebel Abu Ghusun, forming the side of Wadi Huluz opposite to Gebel el Mahali.

=Gebel Tarfawi= is a complex mountain range fourteen kilometres north-west of Gebel Hamata. Its highest point, at the north-west end of a ridge, is 1,363 metres above the sea. It is probably drained to the south by the Wadi Tarfawi, a tributary of Wadi Huluz, and to the north by feeders of Wadi Romit.

=Gebel Um Heshenib= is a great ridge situated twenty-two kilometres north-west of Gebel Hamata. The beacon on its highest point, in latitude 24° 20′ 49″, longitude 34° 50′ 53″, has an altitude of 1,135 metres above the sea. Its lower parts are granite, but the upper third is of dark schists, while the actual ridge on which the beacon stands is a grey porphyrite. Gebel Um Heshenib is drained to the north by the Wadi el Abiad, a tributary of Wadi Gemal, and to the south by tributaries of Wadi Huluz. I ascended it on two occasions from opposite sides. The north approach is the easier road for camels, as they can pass easily up the broad and sandy Wadi el Abiad, while to reach it from Wadi Huluz one has to journey over a rather stony pass and along narrow stony wadis. But the climb is longer from the north side, being one of 635 metres against 380 metres from the south, and the southern climb is easier as well as shorter. It is interesting to note that as the ground south of the mountain lies at an average level of 250 metres higher than that to the north, the plumb-line ought from theoretical considerations to be attracted to the south by several seconds, and this was found to be the case when the mountain was used as a latitude station (see p. 47) There is a very difficult pass east of the mountain from the head of Wadi el Abiad into a tributary of Wadi Huluz; I was told that loaded camels could not possibly get over the pass, and have reason to believe the statement true, as although I did not consent my men were desirous of going over it and volunteered to carry the baggage over themselves to relieve the camels.

=Gebel el Abiad= is the name given to two distinct ranges of high granite hills on either side of the Wadi el Abiad, north and east of Gebel Um Heshenib. The eastern of these two ranges extends in a north-westerly direction for about twelve kilometres from Gebel Tarfawi to near the place where Wadi el Abiad turns to the north-east. It has numerous peaks, of which the most conspicuous is at the south-east end of a high ridge six and a half kilometres north-east of Gebel Um Heshenib, and rises to 957 metres above sea. This eastern range is drained from the west by the Wadi el Abiad, and from the west by the Wadis Shoab and Romit. The western range is slightly lower and less extensive; one of its most conspicuous peaks, eleven kilometres north-north-east of Um Heshenib, is 892 metres above the sea, and there are numerous other peaks further south of almost equal altitude. This western range is almost entirely drained by the Wadi el Abiad, a feeder of which curves round the south end of the range, thus separating it from Gebel Um Heshenib; the drainage from the north end probably passes into the Wadi Mukhatatat, while a portion of the eastern slopes may be drained by feeders of Wadi Durunkat. It is the coarse white granitic sand resulting from the disintegration of the rocks of these hills which gives its name to the Wadi el Abiad, and the hills take their name from the wadi. The heads of the wadi near Gebel Um Heshenib are, however, blackened by hornblendic downwash from the schists which overlie the granite of that mountain.

=Gebel Shoab= is a very high white granite hill close to the head of Wadi Shoab, on its north side. It rises to 830 metres above the sea, or about 400 metres above the wadi floor.

=Gebel Hefeiri= is a very sharp granite peak a little west of the Wadi Abu Ghusun, about fifteen kilometres north of Hamata. Rising to 612 metres above the sea, or about 300 metres above the wadi near it, among lower granite hills, it is a good landmark. There is a smaller very sharp peak two and a half kilometres to the north-east, on the opposite side of the Wadi Abu Ghusun, while to the west are sugar loaf shaped hills.

=Gebel Um Sueh= is a conspicuous granite hill six and a half kilometres east of the Wadi el Abiad and four and a half kilometres north of the Wadi Shoab, rising to 781 metres above sea. It is probably drained from the north-east by the heads of Wadi Um el Abbas.

=Gebel Um el Abbas= is a very remarkable granite hill between Gebels Um Sueh and Abu Hegilig. From the north, it looks like a square block with precipitous sides, having a sheer drop of about 200 metres. Its summit is 697 metres above sea. It is drained by the Wadi Um el Abbas, which goes independently to the sea.

=Gebel Abu Hegilig= is another high granite hill, three and a half kilometres east of Gebel Um el Abbas and twenty-six kilometres north of Gebel Hamata. Its summit, 607 metres above sea, is marked by a beacon, the position being latitude 24° 26′ 16″, longitude 34° 58′ 32″. The hill is drained by feeders of Wadi Um el Abbas. The camp from which I ascended the hill was in one of these feeders 1,200 metres north-east of the beacon and 267 metres above sea-level; the climb of 340 metres was not difficult, and only occupied a little over an hour. The beacon is on a block not large enough to take an instrument, so that observations here were taken from an eccentric point a little way along the ridge and afterwards reduced to centre.

=Gebel Sarobi= is a small hill-range twenty-two kilometres north-east of Gebel Hamata and some eleven kilometres from the sea coast. The peak at its south end is 471 metres above sea-level. This range has not been closely approached nor well seen, but it must be very conspicuous to any one travelling in the low hill country near the sea.

=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= (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 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, 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 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.

=Gebel Niqrub el Foqani= is a mountain of granite and felsite rising to a height of 1,078 metres above the sea, from among the low hill country which separates Wadis Madi and Gemal, in latitude 23° 52′. Its great height and isolated position render it a conspicuous object in the landscape from great distances. It is drained by myriads of small wadis radiating in all directions, but which all eventually join Wadi Madi on the east or Wadi Gemal on the west. It is best ascended from the west side, where a camp can be got 1,500 metres due east of the beacon on the summit and 496 metres above sea-level, in one of the stony heads of the channels draining towards Wadi Gemal. The ascent from this camp occupied a little over two hours, and was not very difficult; but an attempt from any other direction would most likely have failed, as the slopes to the south and east are extremely steep and in places precipitous. The top of the mountain is a very rugged ridge, so broken that it is an hour’s hard work to get along its 700 metres of length. The main ridge is surrounded by lower flanking peaks on the north, east and south, while from the west there runs off a long ridge, curving round to the south and enclosing a small sandy plain south-west of the summit. This curved ridge is cut through from east to west by a rather steep pass, 490 metres above sea-level. The view from the summit of Gebel Niqrub el Foqani is very extensive, as will be seen from the panorama drawn to scale from theodolite measurements on Plate XVI, but in the winter months the mountain is frequently wrapped in clouds for days together; I had to remain eight days on the summit in December 1907, before I could complete my observations, most of the time being spent in a cold wet mist which blotted out the landscape. The beacon on Gebel Niqrub el Foqani, in latitude 22° 51′ 29″, longitude 34° 56′ 49″, marks a point on the administrative boundary between Egypt and the Sudan, the limit proceeding east-south-east to Bir Meneiga, and south-south-west to Gebel Um el Tiur el Foqani.

The low hill country between Gebel Niqrub and Wadi Madi consists chiefly of east and west ridges formed by dykes. A rather high granite hill about ten kilometres to the south-east, close to Wadi Madi, is marked by a beacon and overlooks the well called Bir Madi; the beacon is 556 metres above sea-level, or eighty metres above the well.

To the south-west of Gebel Hodein the sandstone runs off in a mass of very high hills called =Gebel Kala=, leaving a much lower area of schist hills in between, through which the Wadi Feqoh pursues its sandy barren course. Gebel Kala has not been closely approached, but its principal peaks have been fixed by triangulation, and the highest is 846 metres above sea-level. The scarps of these hills are very steep, and the mass appears to be much cut up by wadis draining to Feqoh. The sandstone ceases just beyond Gebel Kala, and its place is taken by granite, which forms the mountains of the watershed further south-west.

PLATE XVI.

Ball. Geography & Geology of South-Eastern Egypt.

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

=Gebel Um Reit= is a conspicuous granite mountain rising to 857 metres above sea, seventeen kilometres south-east of Gebel Awamtib, on the east side of the watershed. It can be approached either from the west by ascending the tributaries of Wadi Timsah and crossing the watershed (which is here flat and sandy) into Wadi el Dreb, or from the east by ascending the Wadi Um Reit. The best place from which to ascend the mountain is in one of the heads of Wadi Um Reit, which drains the west side of the mass. By following this up, a camp can be placed about a kilometre north-west of the beacon and 520 metres above sea-level. The climb of 337 metres from the camp is fairly easy, and only occupies about an hour. From the beacon (latitude 23° 15′ 4″, longitude 34° 34′ 17″), a good view is obtainable of the granite peaks to the south, which forms a complex mass with Aqab el Negum as the highest point; to the eastward the outlook is mostly over high broken sandstone plateaux.

Extending south-west from Um Reit is a complex of granite mountains, which has not been surveyed in detail. The principal peaks have, however, been fixed by triangulation, and their positions will be found tabulated in the list of points given in Chapter III. The chief peaks are =Gebels Etresia= (1,037 metres), =Um Markha=, =Shigigat= (1,023 metres), =Hamrat el Feg=, =Aqab el Negum= (1,148 metres), =Etus= (997 metres), and =Natetiai= (1,164 metres). An important pass is said to cross the watershed at Aqab el Negum, though quite practicable for camels, it is a very high pass, whence the name of the mountain, which signifies “Pass of the Stars.” To the north of Gebel Shigigat there is a sandy plain from which two conspicuous isolated hills rise to heights of 901 and 703 metres respectively above sea-level; these hills appear, however, not to bear any distinctive names.

Further south along the watershed, in latitude 22° 50′, are two conspicuous peaks of nearly equal height and not far apart, which from the east look like two hop-kilns. These are called =Gebel Sheyenit=. The southern one is the higher, rising to 887 metres above sea-level, while the northern one attains 853 metres.

=Gebel Mishbih= is a huge bristling mass of granite peaks a little east of the main watershed, rising from the plain west of Wadi Feqoh in latitude 22° 44′. Being much higher than any other mountain in the neighbourhood, it is a very remarkable feature for long distances. Though it has not been surveyed in detail, its chief peaks have been triangulated and the general shape of its eastern parts is tolerably known by observations from Niqrub and Korabkansi. The highest of its many peaks, near the south-west end of the mass, reaches 1,353 metres, while the north-east peak, marked by a beacon in latitude 22° 44′ 18″, longitude 34° 41′ 20″, is 1,316 metres above the sea. The mountain is believed to be almost entirely drained by feeders of the Wadi Feqoh.

=Gebel Shweib= is a smaller hill-mass a little to the south-east of Gebel Mishbih. Its highest peak, which is at the north-east end, is 914 metres above sea-level.

=Gebel Shabih= is a very remarkable granite mountain rising abruptly from the sandy plain traversed by Wadi Feqoh in latitude 22° 45′, about twelve kilometres east of Gebel Mishbih. From the north, it looks like a very perfect cone, but as one passes it going south it is seen to be slightly elongated meridionally, and to have two distinct peaks, of which the northern and higher one rises to 1,117 metres, or about 650 metres above the plain. Its sides are very steep, and an ascent would probably be a matter of some difficulty. The Wadi Feqoh passes close west of the mountain.

=Gebel Um el Kalala= is a small range of granite peaks close to the east side of Wadi Feqoh in latitude 22° 50′. The peaks at its north and south ends, nearly two kilometres apart, rise to 672 and 655 metres above sea respectively. In the low hilly country further north there are three conspicuous little peaks of dark aspect rising above the general level. =Gebel Mismih=, the highest of these, rises to 599 metres above the sea; it is a nearly perfect cone twelve kilometres north of Um el Kalala, and about six kilometres east of Wadi Feqoh. =Gebel Waqif=, nine kilometres west-north-west of Um el Kalala, is less sharp, and reaches 556 metres above the sea; while the third hill, which is unnamed, lies nearly between the last two, on the west side of Wadi Feqoh, and attains only 504 metres.

To the west of the Um Harba and Awamtib ranges there is open country, formed by a great sandy plain, over which the Wadis Ghadrib and Timsah pursue their northward courses to join Garara, and the monotony of which is broken at intervals by extensive masses of moderately high sandstone hills. The principal of these hill masses are Gebels Nuggur, Mulgata, Ziraga, and the Abu Hashim Hills. =Gebel Nuggur=, marked by a cairn, lies seventeen kilometres west of Um Harba, and a little east of the Wadi Timsah; it forms a detached north-westerly extension of Gebel Dagalai. =Gebel Mulgata= (545 metres) and =Gebel Ziraga= (553 metres), both marked by triangulation cairns, are the chief members of a long line of sandstone hills separating the Wadis Timsah and Ghadrib. The =Abu Hashim Hills= extend for great distances south and west of Bir Abu Hashim; the triangulation beacon on the hill west of the well in latitude 23° 41′ 44″, longitude 34° 3′ 33″, is 386 metres above sea, and sixty-six metres above the wadi floor, but other hills of the group further south attain higher levels.

=Gebel Mowisat=, seventeen kilometres south of Gebel Ziraga and a few kilometres west of the Wadi Timsah, is a granite hill capped by sandstone. It is drained by the Wadi Mowisat. A track from Aswân to Bir Um Reit passes a little north of this hill.

Round the heads of the Wadi Ghadrib, about the parallel of 23° north and the meridian of 34° east, are numerous higher hills, of which the principal are =Gebels Abu Rahia= (835 metres), =Romit=, =Baid el Khuruf=, =Reietit= (825 metres), =Um Rewat=, =Um Ghalqa=, and =Um Gotto=, while between these and Gebel Mowisat are the =Hamiskul Hills=. These hills are all composed of granite, gneiss, and schists, the higher ones, such as Abu Rahia and Reietit, having sandstone capping the igneous and metamorphic rocks which build up the main masses. Gebel Um Rewat forms the divide between the basins of Wadi Kharit and Wadi Alaqi, its northern parts being drained by the Wadi Reietit, a tributary of Ghadrib, while the south flanks drain into the Wadi Um Ghalqa, a feeder of Wadi Seiga.

To the west of Gebel Mishbih there is hilly country, in which many of the peaks reach considerable heights. The principal hill-masses in this part are =Gebel el Naga=, a range about four kilometres long running north-west and south-east, twenty-two kilometres west of Gebel Mishbih, with several peaks, of which the highest is 827 metres above sea; =Gebel Seiga=, a high hill (905 metres) about twenty kilometres further west, surmounted by a triangulation beacon and drained by the Wadi Seiga; =Gebel Nesheb Hasan= and =Gebel Abgeya=, two hills west and south-west of Gebel Seiga, between Wadis Seiga and Abu Had; =Gebel Um Krush=, between Wadis Abu Had and Um Ghalqa; =Gebels Ribdab=, =el Deheis=, and =Abu Brush= (810 metres), to the west of Wadi Um Ghalqa; and =Gebel Kulyeit=, a conspicuous cone about fifteen kilometres south of Gebel Seiga, rising to 724 metres above sea. Most of these hills are of schists, though Gebels Abu Brush and Ribdab are of granite.

=The Gerf — Korabkansi — Abu Hodeid Group.=

The central mountains of the Gerf — Korabkansi — Abu Hodeid group form a compact cluster to the east of the main watershed between the great eastward draining Wadis Hodein and Ibib. The most considerable mass in extent is Gebel Gerf, an extremely rugged mountain tract some twenty kilometres in diameter, having its highest point 1,419 metres above sea-level. The Abu Hodeid range, forming a southward extension of the Gerf mass, attains the somewhat higher level of 1,488 metres; while the detached mass of Korabkansi on the west rises to 1,230 metres. Besides these main masses, from which I have named the group, there are numerous outlying ranges of lesser height, the principal being the Beida range to the north, and the Hamra Dom range to the east. The main characteristics of the central group are its extreme ruggedness, the presence of great masses of serpentine among its constituent rocks, and a relative abundance of good water supplies. The wells and springs in the wadis draining from this group of mountains are among the best and most permanent of the water sources of the Eastern Desert of Egypt.

=Gebel Gerf= (see map on Plate XVII) is a mass of rugged mountains, roughly circular in plan, some twenty kilometres in diameter, extending between latitudes 22° 35′ and 22° 50′, and between longitudes 35° 8′ and 35° 20′. Its highest point, marked by a beacon 1,419 metres above sea-level, is somewhat north of the centre of the mass, being situated in latitude 22° 42′ 6″ N., longitude 35° 12′ 16″ E. Approached from any side, Gerf blocks out the entire view ahead. The central parts of the mass are entirely impassable for camels. There is no possible track across it from north to south, nor is there any east to west pass across it north of the Sherefa Pass (which skirts its south end) except by the heads of Wadi Shellal. The northern part of the mass, which is semi-detached by the passes in the heads of Wadi Shellal above-mentioned, is sometimes called =Gebel Meneiga= or =Gebel Korbiai= after the important water sources of the same name in the wadis draining from it; and the north-eastern peaks are sometimes called =Gebel Muqur= from the spring Bir Muqur. But these names are, I am told, quite local, and the entire mass is usually known to the Arabs as Gebel Gerf. This application of a single name to an entire group of mountains, with scores of separate peaks, extending over about 500 square kilometres, is very unusual, especially when, as in this case, it is drained by wadis containing good wells and plenty of vegetation. The explanation given to me by the guides was quite comprehensible; they stated that Gerf was the only mountain mass in that part of the desert which was so extensive in every direction as to prevent them getting a clear idea of its true shape in their wanderings over it. They can get all round it only by a rough journey of several days, and any endeavour to cross its main portion met with failure, so that they had perforce to regard it as a single great mass, of the true structure of which they could form no satisfactory notion. The immense interest which the guides took in the mapping of this particular mountain tract fully confirmed the explanation given. The mapping was accomplished by making an entire circuit of the mass, and ascending a few of the principal summits.

PLATE XVII.

Ball. Geography & Geology of South-Eastern Egypt.

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

The highest point of Gebel Gerf had been singled out as a triangulation station from far to the north, while approaching the mass from the Wadi Hodein. It was eventually reached from the west side after leaving Gebel Korabkansi, the approach being made by ascending the Wadi Eirahimib, and going over the pass at its head (830 metres) into one of the heads of Wadi Um Reddam, turning round a spur and ascending another of the heads of the same wadi. The camp, placed as high up the wadi as possible, lay about 1,500 metres west of the beacon, at an altitude of 820 metres. The climb of nearly 600 metres to the summit occupied three and a quarter hours, and was free from serious difficulty, though involving some tiresome traversing of connecting ridges. The summit of Gebel Gerf is often wrapped in clouds for weeks together in winter, and cold northerly gales are prevalent. I found it necessary to remain on the summit for no less than twenty-one days and nights in January 1907, in order to obtain the observations necessary, and the discomfort due to enforced inaction and piercingly cold winds was considerable. The top of the mountain is a narrow ridge on which there is barely standing room for an instrument, but about 100 metres southward along the ridge from the beacon there is a slight broadening where a small tent may be pitched by hitching the ropes round rocks instead of tent-pegs.

On a clear day, the view from the summit of Gerf is a magnificent one. The numberless rugged ridges and peaks of the Gerf mass itself stretch for miles around, and out beyond, in every direction except to the east, one can see the more distant mountains. In the north, the most striking features are the distant spikes of Gebel Faraid, and still further off one may discern the blunter forms of Gebels Abu Gurdi, Hamata, and Abu Hamamid, 180 kilometres away. To the east is the coast-plain, with the granite peaks of Gebel Hamra Dom breaking the monotony. To the south-east one may see the great peaks of the Elba and Shendib mountains, 130 kilometres away, though these are often hidden by mist when everything else is clear. To the south, one looks out, over the gneiss boss of Gebel Um Rasein, to the mountains, rising rank behind rank, of Medarai, Abu Hodeid, Adar Qaqa, and Is; while a little to the left of the last-named one may see the double-headed granite mass of Gebel Obkeik in the Sudan, more than 100 kilometres distant, towering above the intervening Egyptian mountains. The panorama visible to the south and south-east is shown drawn to scale from theodolite measurements in the lower figure on Plate XVI (p. 206). To the south-west, one can make out the principal mountains of the Alaqi basin, while to the west the mountains of Korabkansi, Shabih, and Mishbih are conspicuous features.

The north portion of the Gerf mass, sometimes called Gebel Meneiga, is drained by the Wadi Kreiga, which is a tributary of Wadi Hodein. One of the principal feeders of Wadi Kreiga is the stony Wadi Meneiga, important as containing perennial springs of good water, easily accessible to camels. The eastern and southern parts of the mass are drained by various feeders of Wadi Shab, the principal of these feeders being Wadi Shellal el Sharqi, Wadi Muqur, Wadi Baaneit, Wadi Diqdib, and Wadi Sherefa el Sharqi. The Wadis Muqur, Baaneit, and Diqdib, all contain wells or springs, that in Wadi Diqdib being right in the heart of the mountain mass, while the others are nearer to its periphery. The western flanks of the Gerf mass are drained by the feeders of Wadis Feqoh and Madi, the principal being the Wadis Sherefa el Gharbi, Eirahimib, Shellal el Gharbi, and Korbiai. The Wadi Sherefa el Gharbi is important as leading to the Sherefa Pass (907 metres) which forms a direct road from Bir Sararat Seyet to the well of Um Rasein, while Wadi Korbiai contains an excellent well at its head, easily reached by camels.

=Gebel Dreb= is a many-peaked mass of mountains covering some sixty square kilometres, situated south-west of the Gerf mass, from which it is separated by the Sherefa Pass. Its highest peak is 1,293 metres above sea, but there are numerous other peaks of but little inferior altitude. Its south-western portion looks on to the plain at the head of Wadi Feqoh, while to the south-east it is separated from Gebel Medarai by an easy pass leading from the head of Kwat Hewah westwards into the head of Wadi Kreim, a tributary of Wadi Feqoh. Another pass is said to exist leading from Wadi Sherefa el Sharqi into the head of Wadi Dreb, where there is a well called Bir Bint el Dreb.

=Gebel Medarai=, the next mountain mass to the south-east, is separated from Gebel Dreb by the pass into Wadi Kreim above referred to, while at its south faces it is separated from Gebel Abu Hireiq by another pass leading from one of the heads of Wadi Medarai westwards into the Wadi Kirwau, a tributary of Wadi Feqoh. The highest point of Gebel Medarai, marked by a large cairn, is in latitude 22° 30′ 58″, longitude 35° 12′ 5″, and rises to 1,299 metres above sea-level. The north faces of the mass are drained by Kwat Hewah, a tributary of Wadi Shab; the eastern flanks by Wadi Medarai, a tributary of Wadi Ibib, while the western faces drain by various feeders into Wadi Feqoh.

=Gebel Abu Hireiq=, the mountain-mass next south of Medarai, extends eastwards, as a broad tract of many high ridges, almost to the gneiss-boss of Um Rasein, while to the south it is united with Gebel Abu Hodeid. The highest point of Abu Hireiq is 1,319 metres above sea. Its eastern flanks are drained by tributaries of Wadi Ibib, while the western parts drain into Wadi Feqoh.

=Gebel Abu Hodeid=, which forms a higher southward extension of Gebel Abu Hireiq, is really two ranges with the Wadi Abu Hodeid draining between them. The western range is the higher, its summit, marked by a beacon in latitude 22° 23′ 18″, longitude 35° 14′ 9″, being 1,482 metres above sea. The highest point of the eastern range is 1,256 metres above sea. The south termination of this eastern range is a very conspicuous rounded peak of granite, 992 metres above sea, called =Abu Hodeid Ogla=, which forms a good landmark for travellers in making the wells of Abu Hodeid; the wells lie west of this peak. The south parts of the Abu Hodeid mountains are drained by the Wadis Shinai, Delawet, and Abu Hodeid, all feeders of Wadi Hasium, and all leading to important water sources. The eastern faces are drained by Wadis Abu Hireiq and Tikraneib, which are likewise feeders of Hasium, while the western flanks are drained by feeders of Wadi Feqoh. The broad opening where Wadi Hasium passes to the south of the range makes a natural division separating the mountains of Abu Hodeid from those of the Adar Qaqa group.

=Gebel Mansur Diab=, a dark mountain, 1,091 metres high, lying six kilometres west of Gebel Abu Hodeid, is not often visible from the east, being hidden by the higher ranges in front of it; but it forms a conspicuous landmark to any one approaching from the west.

To the south of Gebel Mansur Diab, between the heads of Wadi Feqoh and Wadi Hasium, are some other mountains of considerable height, the positions of whose summits were fixed by triangulation, but which were not closely approached. These are =Gebel Hadal Derqa= (1,108 metres), which as seen from the north appeared like a hog-backed dark ridge with a conical semi-detached hill at its south-east end; and =Gebel Hilwit Hasium=, which appeared to consist of two separate peaks some three and a half kilometres apart, the higher or north-east one rising to 1,037 metres, the south-west one to 952 metres above sea.

=Gebel Korabkansi= is a rugged mass of dark serpentine peaks and ridges occupying a nearly isolated position some twenty kilometres west of Gebel Gerf. Its highest point, marked by a triangulation beacon, is situated in latitude 22° 39′ 16″, longitude 34° 59′ 55″, and rises to 1,230 metres above sea. The main mass is flanked by lower hills to the north and south, but is more open to the east and west. It is drained entirely by feeders of Wadi Feqoh, the most important of these being the Wadi Gemal. The upper portion of Wadi Gemal is called Wadi Seyet, and is important as containing a well, Bir Sararat Seyet; the well is about five kilometres north-east of the main peak, at a place where the wadi cuts through the flanking hill range. For the ascent of the mountain, it is best to turn westward from near the well, and follow up one of the tributaries of Wadi Seyet which leads right into the heart of the mountain; here a camp can be pitched at 765 metres above sea-level, and the ascent of 465 metres to the summit, from which there is a grand view, can be accomplished in less than two hours. The ascent and descent require some care, owing to the steepness of the slopes (the observed depression angle from summit to camp was 29¼°) and the rottenness of the rock, which comes away in lumps at a touch. The accumulated debris, consisting of small fragments of serpentine, sets at just the angle of repose, so that in coming down one can stick one’s feet firmly in the mass and slide down with it for a hundred metres or more without exertion, taking care only not to be shot over a sudden drop of the face. The rocks are highly magnetic, and the compass is much disturbed anywhere on or about the mountain. The mass of high hills which forms the southward extension of Korabkansi, with peaks and ridges rising to over 900 metres above sea-level, is called =Gebel Wadhait=. It is drained on the north by Wadi Wadhait, a tributary of Wadi Seyet, and on the west by the Wadi Kamoyib, a tributary of Wadi Feqoh.

=Gebel Um Rasein= is a triple-headed gneiss boss rising up boldly among schists to the east of Gebel Medarai. Its remarkable form and light colour render it a conspicuous feature to a traveller approaching it from the north-east, and it is an important landmark for the well, Bir Um Rasein, which exists in a small wadi at its north foot. The highest peak of the three, marked by a triangulation beacon in latitude 22° 28′ 12″, longitude 35° 20′ 19″, is 909 metres above sea-level. For ascending the mountain, it is best to follow up the Wadi Merdiyeb for a short distance on the west side of the range, and a camp can be placed at 386 metres above the sea in a small tributary gully which drains from the main mountain. The climb of 523 metres to the beacon is steep in places, but can be accomplished in two hours without difficulty by any one used to negotiating smooth steep rocks. The top of the mountain is more convenient for observation than most others in this region, and there is a good view from it. The beacon is on a smooth hard granite surface, with plenty of room to walk round an instrument, while a little to the west there is a good place to pitch a small tent, and a convenient cave for servants to sleep in.

=Kilia Arib=, another isolated granite mass about six kilometres further east, rises to 647 metres above sea, and is a landmark for the mouth of Wadi Diqdib, which contains a well.

To the east and south of Kilia Arib are some smaller granite hills called Tibashoi. Though rising only some fifty or sixty metres above the plain, these hills are conspicuous landmarks from their isolated position. The northern, central, and southern ones are called respectively =Tibashoi Dumat=, =Tibashoi Tumalhoi=, and =Tibashoi Tomakolat=. Another hill of similar size and character, five kilometres north-north-east of Kilia Arib, is called =Tuquqî=.

=Qrein Salama= is a little group of diorite hills rising from the coast-plain to the east of Gebel Gerf. The highest hill of the group, 354 metres above sea, forms a conspicuous landmark which is visible for long distances.

=Berget Abu Sarib= is a tract of low dark hills, with much drifted sand, lying a few kilometres north-east of Qrein Salama.

=Gimeida=, a small but conspicuous black conical hill, rising to sixty metres above the coast-plain, or 123 metres above sea-level, is important as a landmark for ships entering Mersa Shab. A triangulation beacon has been erected on the summit, the position of which is latitude 22° 46′ 29″, longitude 35° 37′ 49″. The azimuth from the beacon to the big tree at Mersa Shab is N. 62½° E. A much lower dolerite ridge, two kilometres east of Gimeida, is called =Umarawi=.

=Gebel Hamra Dom= is a range of remarkable red granite hills rising abruptly from the coast-plain near latitude 22° 40′ and longitude 35° 40′. The range has a total length from north to south of about eleven kilometres, the highest peak being near the centre of the range. A beacon on this highest peak has the position latitude 22° 39′ 6″, longitude 35° 38′ 42″, altitude 389 metres above sea. Care is necessary in sighting this peak, for there are two others near it of nearly equal height; the beacon is on the southernmost one of the three peaks near the centre of the range. A pass leads across the range a kilometre south of the beacon. Gebel Hamra Dom is a locality well known to the Arabs, in consequence of its being occasionally favoured with some rainfall. In January 1907 the district round the mountain was covered with grass after a recent fall of rain, but the hundreds of camels and other animals which the Arabs took to graze at the place had eaten it all up when I arrived there in February. At times of rainfall there is water to be got in the sandy bed of a little wadi to the north of the beacon, at a place called Ti Dabei Hamra Dom; but it does not last long after rain. Gebel Hamra Dom is drained almost entirely by feeders of Wadi Ibib.

There are numerous smaller hills to the west of Gebel Hamra Dom, but only the largest of them, =Tibansi Tikam Ankwei=, bears a special name. This is a granite hill rising to 345 metres above sea-level, situated eleven kilometres due west of the beacon on Gebel Hamra Dom.

=Gebel Khashab= and =Gebel Beidâ= together form a complex range of high hills mostly composed of schists to the north of Gebel Gerf. The range has its long axis north-west and south-east, with a length of some twenty-five kilometres and an average breadth of about eight kilometres. The highest point of the range is marked by a triangulation beacon on Gebel Beidâ, 715 metres above sea-level, in latitude 23° 0′ 14″, longitude 35° 16′ 54″. The north-west part of the range is drained by the heads of Wadi Khashab, a tributary of Wadi Hodein. The eastern faces are drained by the Wadi Beidâ and various other feeders of Wadi Hodein, while the south and south-west portions of the mass are drained by small tributaries of Wadi Kreiga, itself a tributary of Wadi Hodein. So far as I know, the range can only be crossed by camels at one place, near the centre of its length, where it is cut through by the Wadi Beidâ; coming from the west, one must make for the pass (395 metres above sea, stony but not steep) which separates the heads of Wadi Khashab and Wadi Beidâ; the road is well known as leading to the well called Bir Beidâ.

=Gebel Humariai= is an isolated hill, 563 metres above sea, a few kilometres to the west of Gebel Beidâ.

=Gebel Kolaiqo= is a small hill-mass lying off the south-eastern extremity of the Khashab — Beidâ range, from which it is separated by the Wadi Kreiga. Its highest point, marked by a triangulation beacon, is in latitude 22° 54′ 13″, longitude 35° 24′ 34″, at an altitude of 320 metres above sea-level. The drainage is mostly into Wadi Kreiga, but the south-eastern parts of the hills drain into Wadi Kolaiqo, a very shallow ill-defined drainage line coursing independently to sea across the sandy coast-plain. To the north of Gebel Kolaiqo there are two long lines of low hills forming low outliers of Nubian sandstone.

=Ti Qireira= is the name given to two low hills rising from the coast-plain about half-way between Gebel Kolaiqo and the black conical hill of Gemeida. These hills, four kilometres apart, rise only some fifty or sixty metres above the plain, but they are conspicuous landmarks, and hence bear a name.

=The Meisah — Adar Qaqa — Is Group.=

The Meisah — Adar Qaqa — Is group of mountains extends northwards from the Sudan frontier in longitude 35½°. It is separated from the Gerf — Abu Hodeid masses to the north by the Wadi Hasium; on the east, the great Wadi Di-ib divides it from the mountains of the Elba group; while to the west it is not sharply marked off from the rather lower mountainous tract of the upper Alaqi basin. Gebels Adar Qaqa (1,469 metres) and Is (1,736 metres) are on the main watershed, while Hadal Aweib Meisah (1,224 metres) forms the highest point of a huge rugged spur running northwards on the east side of the watershed. To the east of the main mountains of the group, between them and the Wadi Di-ib, are a number of detached mountain and hill-masses, of which the principal are Gebels O Shakafa, Um Ein, Qara Saba, Warabeit, Adar Aweib, and Shiab.

=Hadal Aweib Meisah= is a conspicuous double-topped mountain of a somewhat conical shape. Its summit, marked by a triangulation beacon, is 1,224 metres above sea-level, and has the position latitude 22° 16′ 39″, longitude 35° 31′ 55″. In plan it is almost circular, three-fourths of the circumference of its base being formed by the Wadis Awitla and Lasewid (feeders of Wadi Meisah), while the remaining fourth forms a connexion by which the mountain is joined to the long ridge of Gebel Qidmib. The ascent of the mountain was made from a camp one and three-quarter kilometres due east of the summit, in a small feeder of Wadi Lasewid, close to the spring called Megwel Um Edwa. Camels cannot get quite up to the spring, but a camp can be placed a little way further down the gully at an altitude of 596 metres above sea, and the climb of 628 metres to the top of the mountain is easily accomplished on foot in about two hours. The mountain is composed of dark gabbroid rock, the summit being composed of great blocks, weathered to a rusty brown on their surfaces; the rock is highly magnetic, and the compass points several degrees east of north at the beacon owing to local attraction.

PLATE XVIII.

Ball. Geography & Geology of South-Eastern Egypt.

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

=Iarih Meisah= is the name given to a tract of low granite hills with sandy interspaces, which lies to the south of Hadal Aweib Meisah. It forms the head of Wadi Baueiwai.

About three kilometres west of Hadal Aweib Meisah, a high ridge, over 1,000 metres in height, courses north and south for over fourteen kilometres. The north end of this ridge bifurcates to form =Gebel Qidmib=; the Wadi Qidmib, draining northwards to Wadi Ibib, has its head between the two branches of the ridge, where there is a well called Bir Qidmib.

=O Shakafa= is a very remarkable hill seven kilometres north-east of Hadal Aweib Meisah. O Shakafa derives its name, which signifies “the barrier,” from the fact that it appears to block the way to the traveller ascending the Wadi Meisah. Its crest, formed by a ridge of hard jaspery quartzite, rises precipitously from among a mass of softer rocks, some of which show remarkably brilliant colours due to iron staining. The cairn on the summit is in latitude 22° 19′ 44″, longitude 35° 34′ 42″, and 751 metres above sea-level. There is barely standing room on the top of the ridge, which needs careful climbing owing to its precipitous nature. O Shakafa is a good landmark for Bir Meisah, which lies in the wadi about three kilometres north-east of the summit; and for the easy pass of Sarob Kwan, which lies four kilometres to the south-east.

To the north of O Shakafa there extends a great tract of high hills, divided into two portions by the northward-coursing Wadi Orgem. The western portion of this hill-tract culminates in =Gebel Orgem=, the two peaks of which rise respectively to 779 and 775 metres above the sea, while its northern end forms the high sand-swathed hill called =Baqari Daba=. The eastern portion of the tract, containing the important wells Bir Um Bishtit and Bir Meisah, as well as the galts of Meis-heit-ar, is rather more complex, and is cut into two parts by the Wadi Um Bishtit. Its northern part ends in a conspicuous gneiss hill called =Adar Aweib Um Bishtit=, while the hills immediately north of O Shakafa are called =Gebel Meis-heit-ar=.

=Gebel Adar Qaqa= is a very conspicuous granite mountain about twenty-three kilometres west of Hadal Aweib Meisah. Its highest peak is in latitude 22° 13′ 47″, longitude 35° 19′ 0″, and rises rather precipitously to 1,606 metres above sea-level. Adar Qaqa is drained principally by the Wadi Hasium, which courses northward past the western side of the mountain.

=Gebel Soaorib= is a rather long mountain range which adjoins the south part of Adar Qaqa and sweeps round to the south-east, forming the main watershed. Its highest point is 1,469 metres above sea-level. Its north-western face is drained by Wadi Mantil Hasium, which forms one of the heads of Wadi Hasium. The north-eastern flanks are drained by the Wadi Haiyo and other feeders of Wadi Soaorib, while the south-west faces drain into the Wadi Kirir and the Miti-Kwan, tributaries of Wadi Alaqi.

=Gebel Leqaq= (1,192 metres) and =Gebel Um Seleim= (1,098 metres) are two mountains, both with long northward spurs, lying north-east of Adar Qaqa, between that mountain and the Wadi Soaorib. They are drained by various feeders of the Wadis Hasium and Soaorib, the principal being the Rod Anut Berer, which runs northward from between two mountains to join Wadi Hasium, and the Wadi Hankuk, which rises to the south of Gebel Leqaq and courses round the south-east flanks to join Wadi Soaorib.

To the north of Gebels Leqaq and Um Seleim there stretches a sandy plain, over which the Wadis Hasium, Ibib, and Soaorib pursue their northward course. Low hills rise here and there from this plain, the most conspicuous being =Gebel Hamra Tit=, a double-peaked granite hill, rising to 642 metres above the sea; =Kulet Meigrum= and =Kulet Tinasal= are two somewhat smaller hills situated respectively six kilometres north-north-east and six kilometres east-north-east from Gebel Hamra Tit.

=Gebel Is=, the next great mountain to the south, forms the main watershed just north of the Sudan frontier, the triangulation cairn on its summit having the position latitude 22° 2′ 36″, longitude 35° 28′ 4″, altitude 1,736 metres above sea. As seen from the north, Gebel Is is a somewhat flat-topped mountain of dark aspect; but judging by analogy the apparent flat top is probably only a narrow ridge seen broadside on. From the main mass a long spur of flanking mountains runs westward, and a high ridge, more or less detached, rises to 1,474 metres six kilometres south-east of the main summit. The northern and western faces of Gebel Is are drained by feeders of Wadi Alaqi, while its eastern and southern parts are drained by various heads of Wadi Is.

Between Hadal Aweib Meisah and Gebel Is there stretches a mass of mountains with many peaks over 1,200 metres high; these appear to bear no special names. My guides stated that there are two passes over the main watershed in this region. The first, called =Adar Ameit=, is a high pass practicable for camels; it lies about four kilometres to the north of the beacon on Gebel Is, and connects the two Wadis Adar Ameit el Sharqi and Adar Ameit el Gharbi which lie on opposite sides of the watershed. The second pass, said to be a difficult one, crosses the watershed some five kilometres further north, forming a connexion between the heads of Miti Kwan and Wadi Soaorib.

=Gebel Miatit= (1,257 metres) and =Gebel Suruk= (1,377 metres), are mountain masses a little east of, and semi-detached from, the main Is group. Gebel Miatit sends out a long spur north-eastward, ending in a rather conspicuous hill at the foot of which there is said to be a water source called Megwel Aqwem.

=Gebel Shiab= is a collection of peaks rising from a rugged country of lower hills about twenty-eight kilometres east of Gebel Is. Its highest point is 987 metres above sea-level. Gebel Shiab appears to form the main head of Wadi el Qurat, an important feeder of Wadi Di-ib.

=Eqrun= (the horns) is a conspicuous group of schist hills lying between the Wadis Meisah and Ibib. It has two principal peaks; the higher one, surmounted by a triangulation beacon, has the position latitude 22° 30′ 10″, longitude 35° 37′ 9″, and is 473 metres above sea-level; the other is about 400 metres south-east of the beacon, and is only five metres lower. Eqrun itself is an isolated hill group, but close to the north-east of it there is another hill-mass of greater extent and of but little inferior height.

The country south of Eqrun forms an extensive tract of low hills with much blown sand. Two conspicuous hills in this tract rise above the rest and bear special names; these are =Tahaqayet= (432 metres) and =Titailibab= (593 metres).

=Kolmanab= and =Einiwai= are two small but very conspicuous black hills eleven kilometres apart, rising from the sandy coast-plain between the Wadis Meisah and Di-ib. Both are surmounted by triangulation beacons, that on Kolmanab being in latitude 22° 32′ 26″, longitude 35° 53′ 36″, 137 metres above sea, and that on Einiwai being in latitude 22° 27′ 50″, longitude 35° 57′ 59″, 138 metres above sea. North-west of Kolmanab are some low banks called =Tinadei=, while about mid-way between Kolmanab and Einiwai is an isolated low hill called =Ankalidot=.

=Osnei= is a small but conspicuous red granite hill, rising to 251 metres above sea, thirteen kilometres west-south-west from Einiwai. It contains a galt, which yields water for some little time after rain has fallen locally.

=Ti Keferiai= is a conspicuous little isolated group of dark hills of no very great height, situated in the fork where the Wadis Didaut and Baueiwai join to form the Wad el Qireira. There are heavy accumulations of blown sand round the north-east flanks of the mass. The triangulation beacon on the summit has the position latitude 22° 21′ 0″, longitude 35° 49′ 47″, and is 494 metres above sea-level. Ti Keferiai forms a good landmark for the old mines of Romit, which are situated in some lower hills five kilometres south-west of the beacon. There are numerous excavations here in veins of smoky quartz with calcite and chalybite, which penetrate the country rock of highly crushed and decomposed diorite; a number of ancient grinding mills of diorite lie scattered about the place.

Four kilometres north of Ti Keferiai, on the opposite side of Wadi Didaut, is a conspicuous hill of very red granite called =Adatalob Adara=, 385 metres above sea-level. Four kilometres further north-west is another hill, of nearly equal height, but of black aspect, called =Adatalob Hadal=. West of Ti Keferiai, at distances of five and a half and nine and a half kilometres respectively, are two conspicuous little hills rising from the plain, one on either side of the Wadi Didaut; these are called =Kikeiyet Sharqi= and =Kikeiyet Gharbi=.

East of Ti Keferiai is a great sandy tract stretching to the Wadi Di-ib, from which low hills rise half swathed in blown sand; the principal hill groups bear the names of =Gebels Tishushi= and =Tishushi Tiboki=.

=Qara Saba= is a high and steep hill mass of dark aspect, rising conspicuously to 788 metres above sea, between the Wadis Didaut and Baueiwai, some sixteen kilometres south-west of Ti Keferiai. The tract between Qara Saba and Ti Keferiai is a waste of blown sand through which low hills protrude in places.

=Adar Aqdeib=, a granite hill 736 metres high on the north side of the Wadi Didaut, about half-way between Qara Saba and O Shakafa, is a landmark for two small water sources and a pass. The first of these water sources, Megwel Adar Aqdeib, is on the east side of the hill, in a little tributary of Wadi Didaut. The second, Megwel Didaut, is at the head of Wadi Didaut itself, in a separate rugged hill tract south of Adar Aqdeib. The west faces of Adar Aqdeib are drained by the Sarob Kwan, half of which courses south-east to Wadi Didaut, and half north-west to Wadi Meisah, and the divide forms a well known easy pass.

=Gebel Um Ein= is a huge hill-mass of dark rocks, rising to 901 metres above sea-level, nine kilometres south-south-west of Qara Saba. The beacon which marks the summit is in latitude 22° 11′ 52″, longitude 35° 39′ 4″. Gebel Um Ein is mainly drained by the Wadi Baueiwai, which curves round the south half of its circumference. A small water source, Megwel Um Ein, is said to exist on the north-east side of the hill, in a small wadi which forms a tributary of Wadi Baueiwai.

A great tract of high hills lies between the Wadis Baueiwai and Di-ib. The northern part of the tract, which is cut off from the rest by the Wadi Warabeit, and is called =Gebel Geror=, has several peaks rising to over 500 metres; on the north it is flanked by huge accumulations of blown sand, while its southern faces are drained by fairly well-wooded wadis, tributaries of Wadi Warabeit. The part of the hill tract south of the Wadi Baueiwai is much cut up by wadis into masses which bear separate names. =Gebel Hamida=, which with =Gebel Nubitra= forms the westernmost hill-mass of the group, is a series of high steep schist ridges rising in places over 700 metres above sea-level. The highest point, 754 metres above sea, is best reached by following up the Wadi Hamida till one comes due west of the hill, and then striking up eastwards on foot; it can also be reached from the east side via the tiny trickling salt spring of Megwel Hamida, but I found this a long and wearisome climb. To the north-east of Gebel Hamida is the pass called Bani Sana, which is important both as a pass and as being the boundary between the territories of the Kurbeilab and Hamedorab Arabs. =Gebel Warabeit=, the part of the tract which forms the head of the Wadi Warabeit, lies south-east of Gebel Hamida, being connected with Gebel Hamida on the one side and Gebel Mashushenai on the other; its highest point is 794 metres above sea-level. =Gebel Mashushenai= (634 metres) lies a little to the east of Gebel Warabeit; its north parts are drained by the Wadi Hashimaiyib, while the south portions are drained by Wadi Mashushenai, in the head of which is a well, Bir Mashushenai. All the drainage from hereabouts ultimately reaches Wadi Di-ib by way of Wadi el Qurat. =Adar Aweib=, a conspicuous and extensive granite hill-mass lying east of the foregoing, from which it is entirely separated by wadis, rises to 620 metres above sea; its summit is marked by a triangulation beacon in latitude 22° 10′ 50″, longitude 35° 54′ 0″. In occupying Adar Aweib as a station, it was approached from the Bani Sana pass by following down the Wadi Warabeit and then turning up the Wadi Wieqwer, which leads to the eastern foot of the mountain. The camp was placed about a kilometre north-west of the beacon, at an altitude of 284 metres above sea, and the climb of 336 metres to the top took only an hour and a half. A great variety of flowers could be gathered in the lower part of the ascent; the upper portion was slippery, the slopes consisting of debris of decomposed granite resting just at the angle of repose. In descending from the mountain, I went northwards on foot, whence a steep pass led down to Bir Meheriqa, in the Wadi Di-ib; but the camels had to go round the south end of the mountain by Wadi el Qurat, as the pass was too steep for them.

To the south of the group of hills just described, there is a rugged tract of low hills stretching away south to Gebel Shiab. Eastwards this tract becomes lower and more sandy, terminating in a sandy plain with low rocky ridges, over which the Wadi Di-ib pursues its northward course, becoming closed in again by hills abreast of Adar Aweib.

=The Mountains of the Alaqi Basin West of Adar Qaqa.=

The mountains of this group, which are scattered over an area of some 5,000 square kilometres between latitudes 22° 0′ and 22° 22′, and longitudes 34° 0′ and 35° 20′, are comparatively little known. The positions and heights of all the principal peaks have been fixed by triangulation from considerable distances; but with the single exception of Gebel Muqsim, which was occupied by Mr. Villiers Stuart as his terminal point, none of the area has yet been officially surveyed.

The positions determined for the principal peaks will be found included in the list on pp. 51 to 64, and a general idea of the relative positions of the mountains and drainage lines will be obtained from the orographical map on Plate I. A brief reference only to the principal mountains is possible here.

=Gebel Anweiyib= (921 metres) and =Eir Arib= (1,112 metres) are on the main watershed. As seen from the north, the former appeared as a long dark range, the latter as a light-coloured high short ridge with a peak at its western end.

=Gebels Duag= (1,328 metres) and =Himeitra= (1,231 metres) are connected with the watershed range of Adar Qaqa and Is by westward-running spurs. Gebel Himeitra is a landmark for a well, Bir Himeitra, which is situated a little south of the mountain, and also for the ruins of Darahib, which lie in the Wadi Alaqi some twelve kilometres south-south-west of it.

=Gebel Heianai= (1,256 metres) is a long range of mountains between the Wadis Bint el Feqoh and Defeit.

=Gebel Heleikonti= (1,151 metres) appeared from the north as a short high steep ridge with a little peak at its western end.

=Gebel Egat=, one of the best known and most remarkable of the mountains of the group, is a high steep cone rising to 1,145 metres above sea on the north side of the Wadi Alaqi in latitude 22° 5′ 39″, longitude 34° 52′ 15″. It is a landmark for Bir Egat, which lies about five kilometres to the east, and for the mines of Alfawi, which lie some ten kilometres south-east of the peak.

=Gebel Shanaiyet= (907 metres) and =Gebel Hamida= lie south of the Wadi Defeit, between that wadi and the Wadi Egat.

=Gebel Hateib= or =Suhin= (854 metres) forms the main collecting ground for the Wadis Hateib and Suhin, which are tributaries of Alaqi.

=Gebel Um el Tiur el Foqani= is a group of very high steep hills on the south side of Wadi Defeit. It has a well-marked peak as its summit, in latitude 22° 17′ 56″, longitude 34° 41′ 14″, 946 metres above sea-level. This peak forms a point on the administrative boundary between Egypt and the Sudan.

=Gebel Um el Tiur el Tahtani=, situated some twelve kilometres west-north-west of the foregoing, and on the opposite side of the Wadi Defeit, is a somewhat similar but lower group of hills, its highest point rising to 783 metres above sea.

=Gebel el Adraq= (770 metres) and =Gebel Guqub= are two other hill-groups south of Gebel Um el Tiur el Tahtani, lying between the Wadis Defeit and Alaqi. Gebel el Adraq is a landmark for some old mines called Betan, while Gebel Guqub is the collecting ground, the drainage of which supplies the important well of Bir Guqub.

=Gebel Muqsim= is a conspicuous mountain on the south side of the Wadi Alaqi near the meridian of 34°. The triangulation cairn on its summit is in latitude 22° 10′ 11″, longitude 34° 1′ 12″, at an altitude of 825 metres above sea-level. Gebel Muqsim forms a point on the administrative boundary between Egypt and the Sudan.

=The Elba-Shendib Group.=

This group of granite mountains is situated near the sea in the extreme south-east corner of Egypt, between longitudes 36° and 37°, on and about the parallel of 22° of north latitude. Part of the group, including the highest peak (Asotriba, 2,216 metres) is in the Sudan, and we shall here consider only the northern parts, which fall within Egypt proper. The principal mountains of the group are Gebels Elba (1,428 metres), Shendib (1,912 metres), Hanquf (1,465 metres), Shendodai (1,529 metres), and Shellal (1,409 metres). Besides these, which form a cluster of high rugged ridges and bristling peaks, there are some outlying hills to the east and west, and it is convenient to consider all the hills east of Wadi Di-ib as belonging to the group. The principal of these outlying hills are Gebels Balatitda, Sul Hamid (572 metres), Qash Amir (724 metres), and Sela (560 metres) on the west, and Karam Elba (586 metres) and Gebel Hadarba (217 metres) on the east of the main masses. The general relations of the Elba district will be seen from the orographical map on Plate I, while the large scale map on Plate XIX shows the detailed features on a larger scale.

Towering to great heights from the coast-plain, the mountains of the Elba group are very conspicuous from long distances either on sea or on land when the air is clear. But often for weeks together they are so shrouded in mist as to be invisible even when one is fairly near to them. These very mists, which so often hinder the view being obtained, are the cause of much added beauty to the scene when the air is clear; for the moisture produces a rich vegetation, not only in the wadis, but along all clefts right up to the tops of the mountains, and furnishes in addition the largest and most important water sources in the Eastern Desert. So abundant is the vegetation in all the wadis draining from Elba, that it is impossible to approach the mountains very closely with loaded camels, owing to the closeness of the trees. Richest in water supply and in vegetation of all tracts in the Eastern Desert of Egypt, it is natural that the Elba district should also be the greatest centre of desert population, and there are considerable settlements of Bisharin Arabs round the feet of the mountains.

PLATE XIX.

Ball. Geography & Geology of South-Eastern Egypt.

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

=Gebel Elba=, the most northerly mountain of the main group, is cut off from the mountains to the south by the Wadis O Sir Hadal and Serimtai; there is a pass between the heads of these wadis, so that a complete circuit of the mountain can be made, although from almost any aspect Elba appears to be joined on to the other mountains of the group. In plan, Gebel Elba is nearly a square of about fifteen kilometres sides, with its diagonal in the meridian. It is a bristling mass of light-coloured granite peaks, flanked on the south and west by rugged hills of darker rocks. The highest point, the “high peak” of the Admiralty Chart, is in latitude 22° 10′ 3″, longitude 36° 21′ 52″, and 1,435 metres above sea; another peak, slightly lower, but more conspicuous and nearer the centre of the mass, was chosen for the site of the triangulation station. The beacon on this latter peak is 1,428 metres above sea, and has the position latitude 22° 11′ 27″, longitude 36° 20′ 52″. The peak which bears the triangulation station forms a centre from which drainage lines radiate in all directions. The principal of these drainage lines, which are all well wooded, are the Wadi Yahameib, which with its feeders Wadis Akau and Kansisrob drains the north faces of the mountain, and unites with Wadi Aideib, which drains the north-east flanks; Wadi Serimtai, which by its feeder the Wadi O Sir Eirab drains the south part of the mass and then curves round north-eastwards to the sea; and the Wadi Yoider, which drains the western parts of the mountain by its three main heads called respectively Wadi Akwamtra, Wadi Qeirat, and Wadi O Sir Hadal, and then courses northward to reach the sea.

The approach to Gebel Elba by the coast-plain from the north-west is said to be difficult, on account of having to cross an extensive tract of sand dunes, called I Hubal, which lies to the north and north-east of Gebel Sul Hamid. The survey expedition reached the mountain by marching eastward from Bir Meheriqa in the Wadi Di-ib. On this road the sand was not found a serious hindrance, though progress was rather slow through O Harbub, a sand-choked wadi which was entered on turning eastwards just after leaving Bir Meheriqa. Skirting the south side of Gebel Sul Hamid over a sandy plain, we continued eastward with a slight northerly bend till the jagged mass of Qash Amir came into view; then striking due east again we entered some low hills and dropped by an easy pass into Wadi Siamtit, a little feeder of Wadi Yoider; crossing the main channel of Yoider, we continued our course eastward across very sandy minor wadis, and turning a little southward we reached Bir Akwamtra, where we found a fairly large Bisharin camp, in a stony wadi full of trees.

I had hoped to ascend the mountain by way of Wadi Akwamtra, which heads right under the peak selected for the triangulation station. But on arriving at the well we were still more than six kilometres from the head of the wadi, and further progress for camels was very difficult owing to the closeness of the trees, and the bouldery nature of the wadi floor. Guides sent out to reconnoitre having reported that the ascent could be made with less difficulty from the Wadi Yahameib, we followed a very winding track leading over the Asut Duk pass into Yahameib, and then made our way southward over the sloping bouldery plain, thick with trees and scrub, until the camels could get no farther. The camp was pitched in a slight clearing at the foot of the mountain, three and a quarter kilometres north-west of the beacon, at an altitude of 343 metres above sea, or 1,085 metres below the beacon.

The climb to the summit was a long and tiring one, but very interesting. Starting at 6.30 a.m. on April 25, 1908, we first followed up the Wadi Yahameib to its head in a sort of neck between two peaks; this neck, which we reached at 10 a.m., is 1,093 metres above sea. About half way up to the neck, among some large granite blocks, there is a small spring of very pure water; it forms a pool holding about a gallon and a half, which fills as fast as it is emptied. Passing over the neck, we dropped down to a level of 984 metres in crossing the head of Wadi Akwamtra, and then, climbing up the opposite side, we reached the beacon (1,428 metres) at noon. Except the last 150 metres to the summit, which was bare steep granite, the whole climb was through a thick growth of trees, very green and fresh, with a tangled undergrowth of flowering shrubs and some mosses and lichens. The trees grow very near to the summit and give plenty of shady resting-places. Acacia (sellim) trees cease about 350 metres above sea, and new forms take their place. The most remarkable is a large tree called Hohait by my Arabs; this tree, which I have not seen elsewhere in Egypt, grows in fair abundance to ten metres or more high, with thick woody looking trunk and branches, the foliage being great bunches of aloe-like leaves on the ends of the branches; according to my Arabs, it bears an edible fruit, of which they showed me the stone—a nearly spherical red one, about as big as a pea, very hard.

The top of the mountain is narrow and very rough, but narrow sleeping places can be found on ledges. The view from the summit in clear weather is very fine and extensive; the subjoined figure is from a careful sketch which I made of the outlook southwards from the beacon. But, as already remarked, the mountain is frequently shrouded in cloud, and of the ten days I remained on the summit in April and May 1908 only three were clear.

The phenomenon of “glories,” or rainbow-coloured rings round the shadow of one’s head cast on to clouds below when the summit was clear, was well observed in the mornings. Three rings were specially distinct and vividly coloured on April 26, and I was able to measure the diameters with an improvised subtense apparatus; measuring to the middle of the yellow in each case, I found the diameters of the rings to be 4½°, 8¾°, and 13°, so that the diameters increase in arithmetical progression. The shadow cast by one’s head and body was most distinct when the cloud-bank was most opaque; the rings, on the other hand, were most brilliant when there was only a thin film of cloud.

The temperatures experienced on the summit were remarkable for their range. On April 25, 26, and 27, 1908, the air was still and full of wet mist, and the days were oppressively hot, while the nights were also warm and damp. On April 28, a cold north-west wind set in, which soon cleared the air; but with the clearness came such a chilling of the air that it was impossible to stand up to the instruments for observations for more than a few minutes at a time; one was glad to take shelter behind rocks from the biting blast, and though we were well within the tropics and the spring was far advanced, we sat shivering with blankets round us even in the sunniest and most sheltered spots we could find. The cold lasted till May 4, when we descended the mountain to be half roasted in the plains below.

As already remarked, Gebel Elba is well supplied with water sources. The two chief are Bir Akwamtra and Bir Kansisrob, both situated on the north side of the mountain. Between them is a small spring called Megwel Akau. On the south side of the mountain are two other wells called Bir Salalat O Sir, and Bir Sararat Serimtai. In times of rainfall there must be scores of rock pools along every drainage line.

=Karam Elba= is a granite hill rising to 586 metres above sea, close to the north-east foot of Gebel Elba, from which it is separated by a narrow wadi. Close north of Karam Elba are some low granite hills called =Takrat Riba=, while on the south side is another small granite hill called =Mikeriba=.

To the east of Karam Elba are some granite hills which, though of no great height, are conspicuous owing to their position on the coast-plain, and being used as landmarks by the local Arabs they bear special names. These are: =Alafot=, =Taar Ara=, =Kreishim=, =Abai Sis=, and =O Wota=, the last-named being the largest of them all. Some low banks north of Alafot are called =Alafot Onqwab=.

=Qash Amir= (“Scragged Hill” of the Admiralty Charts) is an isolated hill rising abruptly from a sandy plain at the head of Wadi Eikwan, about fifteen kilometres west-north-west of Gebel Elba. Qash Amir well deserves the title given to it by the Admiralty surveyors, for it is a mass of sharp granite spikes which my best guides, skilled climbers though they were, could only ascend with the greatest difficulty. Its top, marked by a beacon, is 724 metres above sea-level and has the position latitude 22° 14′ 31″, longitude 36° 12′ 20″. I had intended to occupy the summit as a main station, but the guides who were sent to erect the beacon reported that the summit was so sharp a spike that there was barely room for a beacon to be built, and that it would be impossible to set up a theodolite tripod on it, while there was not even a narrow ledge where one could sleep within several hundred metres of the summit.

=Gebel el Sela= is a straggling group of high rugged granite hills rising from the sandy plain to the north-east of Qash Amir. The highest of its peaks reaches to 560 metres above sea-level.

=Gebel Sul Hamid= is an extensive tract of low dark hills, covering some hundred square kilometres or so to the west of Qash Amir. Its highest peak is 572 metres above sea. The north part of the tract is drained by the Wadi Di-it, the eastern part by the Wadi Eikwan, while the southern drainages pass into a very shallow channel which courses westward over a sandy plain towards Wadi Di-ib, but becomes choked with sand at O Harbub before reaching that great trunk wadi.

=Gebel Balatitda= is a group of high hills lying between Gebel Sul Hamid and the Wadi Di-ib. Its highest point is 592 metres above sea-level. Bir Meheriqa is situated at the south-west of the mass, on the east side of Wadi Di-ib. The north flanks of Gebel Balatitda are swathed in blown sand.

=Gebel O Sir Eirab= is really the south part of Gebel Elba; its highest point is 842 metres above sea. Though its name Eirab means “white,” the mountain is composed of dark-coloured rocks. The explanation is that the Arabs always give the names to the wadis first, and the adjacent Wadi O Sir Eirab has a white sandy floor because it drains from the granite mass of Elba; the mountain is called after the wadi near it.

=Gebel Hanquf= is a range of mountains some twenty kilometres in length, stretching in a south-easterly direction to the south of Gebel Elba and separating that mountain from Gebel Shendib. Its south-eastern portion, containing the highest peaks, is of granite, while the north-western portion consists of dark rocks. Its highest point is the northerly one of two remarkable peaks near the south end of the range, and rises to 1,465 metres, while another summit near the middle of the range reaches 1,397 metres. The northern part of Gebel Hanquf is drained by the Wadi O Sir Hadal, a tributary of Wadi Yoider; its eastern flanks by the Wadi Serimtai; while the western drainage is to the Wadi Hareitra, which courses from between Gebel Hanquf and Gebel Shendib westwards to join the Wadi Di-ib.

=Gebel Shendib=, which lies close south-west of Gebel Hanquf, is a great mass of very high light-coloured peaks flanked on the west by a tract of moderately high hills of dark colour. The beacon which marks the highest point, 1,912 metres above sea, is in latitude 22° 0′ 48″, longitude 36° 16′ 30″. Shendib is the third highest mountain in Egypt proper, being surpassed in altitude only by El Shayeb and Hamata. Besides the main peak, there are numerous others exceeding 1,600 metres in height; one of these, some two kilometres south-east of the principal summit, reaches to 1,863 metres and marks very nearly the Sudan frontier; its latitude is 21° 59′ 56″, so that it is only some 120 metres south of the 22nd parallel.

The north portion of Shendib is drained by the Wadi Hareitra, the south part by Wadi Shendib, both these being tributaries of Wadi Di-ib.

=Gebel Shendodai= (“Castle Hill” of the Admiralty Charts) is a high mountain mass lying east of Gebel Hanquf, from which it is separated by the Wadi Serimtai. Its highest point, a well-marked peak, is in latitude 22° 3′ 1″, longitude 36° 25′ 31″, and rises to 1,529 metres above sea-level. Gebel Shendodai is drained by the Wadis Um Seyal (a tributary of Wadi Serimtai), Mera Kwan, and Shellal.

=Gebel Shellal=, situated close south-east of Gebel Shendodai on the Sudan frontier, is a group of mountains of slightly lower altitude than the foregoing, its highest peak being 1,409 metres above sea-level. Gebel Shellal is drained by the Wadis Shellal and Aqilhoq, the latter containing a good well, called Bir Frukit. A tract of low foot-hills, some twelve kilometres broad, fronts Gebels Shendodai and Shellal seawards, leaving a breadth of some twelve kilometres of gently sloping coast-plain between them and the shore. One of the foot-hills of Gebel Shellal, a conspicuous high dark-coloured ridge near Bir Frukit, bears the name of =Gebel Balatitda=. (It will be noticed that another hill group west of Gebel Elba bears the same name).

=Gebel Hadarba= is a little range of felsite hills with many peaks rising from the coast-plain close to Ras Hadarba (Cape Elba of the Admiralty Charts). A triangulation beacon on one of the highest points is in latitude 22° 2′ 53″, longitude 36° 47′ 23″, at an altitude of 217 metres above sea. Gebel Hadarba is drained by a number of small wadis, most of which empty themselves into the quicksands of Kuatianai which cover the projection of Cape Elba. A high hill at the south-west end of the Hadarba range bears the special name of =Wiekorei=, while a tract of low red hills on the Sudan frontier a few kilometres south of the Hadarba range, is called =Timaiakwaia=; this latter tract is chiefly drained by the Wadi Qabatit.

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