The Ascent of AhrabbimC scar^nons'). — From the S. shore of the lake an extensive tract, composed partly of slitiie, partly of woods and postures, ext^Tids as far as the semicircular terrace which bounds the Ghor in that direction. This marsh is liable to floods, and its surface is strewn with trunks of trees brought down by the torrents. The terrace by which it is boundetl is 500 ft. high, and is foriiied of in.irls overlaid by liods of sand, gravel, and loam, which extend southw.irds into the Arabah. They are deposits formeil over the old bed of the lalie when its waters were 5iKMi00 ft. above their present level. The terrace seems X/e
676
DEAD SEA
DEAD SEA
ajiower to the ' Ascent of Akrabbim ' referred to in Jos 15* in connexion with the boundary of Judah. Robinson regards the edge of the terrace as marking the limits of the Ghor and the Arabah respectively : a view in which the present writer concurs.
Level of the Surface. — The Dead Sea was sounded in 1848 by Lieut. Lynch, who found that it de- scended to a depth of 1278 ft. at a point about 5 miles N. of Costigan. It is now known that the surface itself descends to a greater depth below that of the ocean than any sheet of water on the globe. Thb fact remained unrecognized until 1836-7, when H. von Schubert and Prof. Roth visited Palestine, and made barometric observations in the Jordanic basin. These were followed and confirmed by CoL Wilson (now Gen. Sir C. W. Wilson) and the officers of the Ordnance Survey of Palestine by actual levelling from the shore of the Mediterranean to that of the Dead Sea itself, and have established the fact that the surface of the latter falls to a depth of 1292 ft. below that of the former. Nor is it surprising that this result was not detected before the barometer and the level were brought to bear on its determination ; for there is nothing in the atmosphere around the lake which suggests to the traveller, by his sensations alone, that lie sustains a more than ordinary atmospheric pressure ; and the two seas being shut off from each other by a high table-land 50 mUes across, comparison of levels by means of the eye is impossible. With the increase of barometric pressure there is a corresponding increase of temperature. Hence, while in winter snow frequently lies on the plateaux of Jud«a and of Moab, it is unknown on the shores of the Dead Sea ; and the Arab tribes go down to the Ghor \vith their flocks of sheep and goats, and camp over the plain during the winter months. Thus when, in December 1893, the writer found himself standing on the edge of the terrace overlooking the Ghor, he beheld at his feet a wide plain stretching away northwards towards the margin of the Dead Sea, and to a large extent green with vegetation and thickets of small trees. To the rio:ht in an open space were seen several large Beda^^^n camps, from which the shouts of wild men, the barking of dogs, and the bellowing of camels ascended. Numerous flocks of black goats and white sheep were being tended by women in long blue cloaks ; and on the party of travellers being obsen'ed, groups of merry children came trippinc; up towards the path accom- panied by a few of the elders, and, ranging tliera- selves in a line, courteously returned salutations. Here the Arabs remain enjoyiu" the warmth of the plain lUl the increasing heat of the summer's sun calls them away to their high pasture grounds on the table-land of Edom and Moab. At a short distance farther towards the shore of the lake is the village of Es-Safieh, inhabited by a tribe of fellahin called the Ghawameh, who by means of irrigation from the Wady el-Hessi cultivate with success fields of wheat, maize, dhurah, indijjo, and cotton, while they rear herds of camels and flocks of sheep and goats. On the produce of these fields the Arabs largely depend for their supplies of food and raiment, which they obtain by a kind of rude, often compulsory, barter.
BounJarUs of the Ghor. — The Dead Sea basin *nd its ancient deposits are bounded along the E. by the high plateau of Moab, and on the W. by the nearly equally high table-land of Judaea. The fllain of El-Ammaya in Moab reaches a level of 3100 ft. above the Mediterranean, and, con- sequently, of about 4400 ft. above the Dead Sea. The slopes of the escarpment along which the plateau urcaks off are sometimes terraced, some- times precipitous, and are eroded by numerous streams with thermal springs, of which that of the Zerka Main (or Callirboe) is the most celebrated.
The W. slopes of the Ghor are equally seamed by river courses which cut deep into the limestone strata, and have their sources in springs near the summit of the table-land. The cliffs of K&s Mersed, Engedi, and Masada,* the latter crowned by th« ruined fortress, are prominent features of the W. shore; while the walled city of Kerak, the capital of Moab, crowns the heights on the E side.
Geology. — Investigations by geologists in recent times have dispelled some of the old ideas regarding the origin of this mysterious inland lake. It is now known not to be the crater of a volcano, and it is almost equally certain that Sodom and Gomorrah were not overwhelmed in its waters. These re- searches have also resulted in showing that the area of the Dead Sea waters is not very different from what it was in the days of Abraham and Lot. It is now known, through the observations of Tristram, Lartet, Hull, and others, that the Dead Sea occupies a part of the trough, or depression in the crust, produced by subsidence along the line of a 'fault' or system of 'faults' (fractures accom- panied by displacement of the strata) wliich has been traced from the G. of Akabah along the line of the Jordan-Arabah Valley to the base of Hermon (see Arabah). This fracture was produced owing to the terrestrial movements which resulted in the whole region being elevated out of the sea after the close of the Eocene period. In con- sequence of this faulting and displacement, the formations on the opposite sides of the Ghor do not correspond with each other; those on the E., or Moabite, side being more ancient than those on the W. side at similar levels. Thus, while the whole W. side of the Ghor is formed of Cretaceous limestones, the flanks of the Moabite escarpment are composed of very ancient volcanic rocks at the base ; overlain successively by Car- boniferous and older Cretaceous beds, ana only surmounted at a level of about 3000-4000 ft. above the lake by the Cretaceous limestones which come down to the water's edge along the W. shore.