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 Korabkansi= is a rugged mass of dark serpentine peaks and
ridges occupying a nearly isolated position some twenty kilometres
west of Gebel Gerf. Its highest point, marked by a triangulation
beacon, is situated in latitude 22° 39′ 16″, longitude 34° 59′
55″, and rises to 1,230 metres above sea. The main mass is flanked
by lower hills to the north and south, but is more open to the east
and west. It is drained entirely by feeders of Wadi Feqoh, the most
important of these being the Wadi Gemal. The upper portion of Wadi
Gemal is called Wadi Seyet, and is important as containing a well,
Bir Sararat Seyet; the well is about five kilometres north-east of the
main peak, at a place where the wadi cuts through the flanking hill
range. For the ascent of the mountain, it is best to turn westward
from near the well, and follow up one of the tributaries of Wadi Seyet
which leads right into the heart of the mountain; here a camp can be
pitched at 765 metres above sea-level, and the ascent of 465 metres
to the summit, from which there is a grand view, can be accomplished
in less than two hours. The ascent and descent require some care,
owing to the steepness of the slopes (the observed depression angle
from summit to camp was 29¼°) and the rottenness of the rock, which
comes away in lumps at a touch. The accumulated debris, consisting
of small fragments of serpentine, sets at just the angle of repose,
so that in coming down one can stick one’s feet firmly in the mass
and slide down with it for a hundred metres or more without exertion,
taking care only not to be shot over a sudden drop of the face. The
rocks are highly magnetic, and the compass is much disturbed anywhere
on or about the mountain. The mass of high hills which forms the
southward extension of Korabkansi, with peaks and ridges rising to
over 900 metres above sea-level, is called =Gebel Wadhait=. It is
drained on the north by Wadi Wadhait, a tributary of Wadi Seyet,
and on the west by the Wadi Kamoyib, a tributary of Wadi Feqoh.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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