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.