The geography and geology of south-eastern EgyptBall, John
Science
The geography and geology of south-eastern Egypt
Ball, John
Geology -- Egypt; Physical geography -- Egypt
=Wadi Muqur= heads in the eastern mountains of the Gerf group, which
are sometimes called Gebel Muqur. Here the drainage from several
steeply falling rocky gullies collects into a single winding gorge
shut in by the mountains. The limit to which camels can go up the
gorge is marked by a well called =Bir Muqur=. At the time of my
visit to this, in February 1908, the well was filled up by debris,
through which, however, the water constantly rose and trickled
into pools in a series of rock basins at slightly lower levels. The
flow was at the rate of about five litres per minute, the overflow
from the basins running to waste at this rate in the sand of the
wadi. The water was of excellent quality. The Arabs state that
when the water ceases to flow as a spring they dig out the debris
and use the place as a well. Below the well, Wadi Muqur pursues a
winding course north-eastward for about two and a half kilometres;
then, receiving the short =Wadi Ti Ilak=, draining the mountains
to the west, it turns sharply eastward and emerges from the high
hills into lower country about three kilometres further on. In the
lower country the wadi changes its direction to east-north-east,
receiving many feeders from among the low hills west of Qrein Salama,
and its bed divides and anastomoses into a series of channels, which
eventually unite just before it enters Wadi Shab, five kilometres
north-east of Qrein Salama. From near its head at Bir Muqur to its
junction with Shab, Wadi Muqur has a length along its main channel of
about nineteen kilometres; it falls from 470 metres above sea-level
at the well to 200 metres at its junction with Shab, so that the
average gradient is about fourteen metres per kilometre.
A few kilometres before reaching Wadi Shab, Wadi Muqur is joined
by the =Wadi Tikosha=, draining the moderately high hills which lie
between Wadi Radad and Gebel Muqur, and winding among low hills over
the plain.
The =Wadis Qadiloi= and =Baaneit= drain from the east faces of Gebel
Muqur and the mountains and hills close south and east of it, into
Wadi Shab. There is an eastward extension of hills from Gebel Muqur,
partly drained by =Tilat Tihu Shana=, which flows into Wadi Qadiloi;
south of this extension there is a sort of bay, occupied by lower
hills separating Wadi Qadiloi from Wadi Baaneit, through which several
cross channels connect the two wadis. =Bir Baaneit= is a small well
in Wadi Baaneit, near its head; it is said to yield water always,
but refills slowly, so that only six to ten camels can be watered
at once. A little below the well, Wadi Baaneit leaves the hills
and courses north-east across a rapidly falling stony plain. On the
plain, south of the main channel, are the two ruins called =Darahib
Baaneit=. They are built of rubble stone set in plaster, with stucco
facing in places, and appear to be ancient Moslem tombs, the larger
one having evidently once supported a dome; there are about twenty
Arab graves near the ruins.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account