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
=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.
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