Not far from Wadi Ghadyan,[8] towards the west side, a great marsh-like tract, apparently impregnated with _nitre_, exhibits an incrustation on its surface. And the water in the spring itself is, according to _M. De Bertou_, strong of _sulphur_. Footnote 8: How Robinson could suppose that this might afford a _trace_ of Eziongaber, I cannot imagine. See Bib. Res., vol. i., pp. 251, 268. Passing the opening of Wadi Beianeh, and still ascending, the most elevated table-land or small plateau of the Wadi-El-Araba is reached at about the line of 30° north latitude, and 35° 15' east longitude nearly, which is very near 500 feet higher than the level of the Gulf of Akaba, according to _Herr Schubert_. About that point the _water-shed_ occurs; some of the waters of the Araba flow south into the sea of Akaba, but most are carried off north by the tributaries of the Wadi-el-Jeib into the Dead Sea. The same traveller (_Schubert_) found the depression of the bed of that deep Wadi at about 4 miles south of El Weibeh ("hole with water,") to be 91 Paris feet, or 97 English feet _below_ the level of the Red Sea; the commencement, or most southern limit of that depression taking place at about 15 miles northward of Gebel Harun in Wadi-el-Araba. Consequently, the Dead Sea, Asphaltic Lake (_Bahr Lut_)--the "Sea of Lot"--must lie considerably _lower_ than the level of the Gulf of Akaba; indeed, _Herr Schubert_ gives the level of the _Dead Sea_ as being 598 Paris feet, and M. Russegger even more than 1300 English feet _below_ that of the Mediterranean. These geographical facts then afford, as some authors have supposed, sufficient evidence that the River Jordan, although taking its source at an elevation of 1800 feet in the north Syrian mountains--_has not_ flowed through the entire valley _El Araba_ into the Gulf of Akaba; or rather, into the Red Sea, beyond what is now the Strait of Tiran. And certainly these facts are _decisive_ that it _never has done so_--if the natural conformation of this region has _always_ been the _same_, as it now exists with regard to _depth_ and _height_. But against its having continued the _same_, _ab initio_, up to the present time, much reasonable hypothesis, and several remarkable appearances may be fairly advanced.