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 Habliai=, which heads in an easy pass about three kilometres
east of Bir Um Bishtit, and runs northwards for about ten kilometres
to join Wadi Ibib, is a broad sandy and rather barren wadi draining
gneiss hills; the hills on the east are much lower than those on
the west, and their feet are swathed in drift sand.
The last feeders of Wadi Ibib are those draining from the isolated
range of high granite hills called Gebel Hamra Dom. These feeders
are very numerous, some coming from the west side of the hills and
curving round its south end to join Wadi Ibib, while others from the
east side course east and north-east over the plain directly into Wadi
Ibib. They contain numerous small trees near their heads, and after
rain there springs up short grass in this locality, affording for
short periods grazing for great flocks of sheep. The most northerly
drainage channel from the east side heads in the hills a little north
of the highest peaks, and here, after rain has fallen recently,
shallow wells are dug in the sand and yield good water. The place
where the wells are is called =Ti Dabei Hamra Dom=. One cannot rely
on getting water there for long after rain has fallen, as the supplies
are soon exhausted. In January 1908, I heard that water and grass were
extremely abundant, and large numbers of Arabs were encamped there
with their flocks and herds. But when I reached the place at the end
of the next month, most of the grass had been eaten up; only a few
Arabs remained, and these were baling out the last drops of water
from the holes to fill their skins preparatory to forsaking the place.
=Wadi Meisah=, which drains the north and east slopes of Hadal
Aweib Meisah, the eastern slopes of Gebel Qidmib, and the mountains
of Meis-heit-ar, besides the lower hills of Titailibab, Tahaqayet,
and Eqrun, has a total length along its main channel (including Wadi
Awitla, the central one of its three main heads) of about seventy-five
kilometres, and enters the sea about latitude 22° 45′.
Wadi Meisah has three main heads, called by separate names. The most
northerly is the =Wadi Sarobaiya=, draining from between Gebels Qidmib
and Meis-heit-ar; one of the heads of this leads to a steep pass into
Wadi Qidmib. The central head, =Wadi Awitla=, drains the north slopes
of Hadal Aweib Meisah. The southern head, the =Wadi Lasewid=, drains
the eastern slopes of Hadal Aweib Meisah and the lower hills to the
east of it; by ascending its southern feeders, one can pass easily
into the heads of Wadi Baueiwai, while one of the gullies opening
into it from Hadal Aweib Meisah contains a series of rock basins and
a small spring called =Megwel Um Edwa=, rather difficult of access
for camels, which was yielding fair supplies of water in April 1908.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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