A comparison of the two sides of the Nile Valley between Cairo and Assiut shows that the tectonic movements, which largely determined the existence of the valley itself, resulted in a considerable lowering of the rocks forming the western side. This was brought about by differential movements along the north and south line or lines of fault, and by the presence of an east to west monoclinal fold which is especially well marked in the neighbourhood of Heluan. The depressions of the Fayûm would doubtless have existed irrespective of this general lowering of the western desert relative to the east, but denudation would have required an additional period of many thousands of years before the floor of the depression was low enough to allow of its actual connection with the Nile river. As it has been maintained that the Fayûm is an area let down and enclosed by faults, it may be mentioned here that all available evidence points in an opposite direction; this question of faults will however be dealt with in detail later. The influence of the Nile Valley fault has been explained above and it must be remembered it is one affecting not the Fayûm alone but the northern part of the western desert as a whole. For purposes of description it will be convenient to divide the whole region into three parts: first, the southern portion, including the wadis Muêla and Rayan; secondly, the central area, comprising the extensive plain forming the floor of the depression as a whole, and including the areas under cultivation and the Birket el Qurûn, as well as the desert separating the Fayûm from the Nile Valley. Thirdly, the northern portion, embracing all the rising ground between the floor and the northern rim of the region. These areas will now be taken in order. SECTION IV.—WADI RAYAN AND NEIGHBOURHOOD. This part of the Fayûm is of special interest in consequence of its possible future as a reservoir. Although the area has not yet been examined in detail by the Geological Survey it will be useful to bring together all the information that is at present available. [Sidenote: Colonel Western’s Survey.]