The soutliem portion of this tableland within the limits here imposed is made of very ancient formations, consisting of granite, schist, porphyry, and other igneous rocks which pass, in a northerly direction towards Petra, below great masses of red and variegated sandstone of, perhaps, two
Geological ages, the Carboniferous and Cretaceous, hese sandstones often rise in courses of cyclopian masonry above the granitic base ; sometimes form- ing terraces, sometimes truncated pyramids, or rampart-like breastworks, of which Mount Hor otters a striking example. These sandstone strata line the flanks of the escarpment to some, not well- ietermined, point in the Jordan Valley north of the Dead Sea ; but they are everywhere superimposed by the white calcareous strata of Cretaceous age which gradually descend northwards from the Edomite plateau to the bed of the Jordan itself, and constitute the sides of the Jordanic Valley to the margin of the Sea of Galilee.
The region of the Jaulan and Haur.ln, which in some sense forms a continuation of the Moabite plateau, is an elevated plain formed altogether of sheets of basaltic lava, from the surface of which rise the truncated cones of extinct volcanoes, generally clothed with forests of oak. It is altogether uncertain at what period the volcanic lires became extinct, but it seems probable that it was not later than the close of the Pleistocene, or Glacial period, and was therefore synchronous with the gradual recession of the waters of the great Jordan Valley lake ; the proximity of water being necessary to volcanic activity. On the other hand, the relations of the lava streams, both in this region and in the vicinity of the Dead Sea, to
the Cretaceous strata, m.ike it clear that the period of greatest volcanic action was long posterior to the age of these rocks themselves, and may be referi ed to that of the Pliocene. There is, moreover, n» evidence that these volcanoes were in active eruption during the period of the early occupation of the country by man.
(.'5) The aiiiaitie Peninsula. — In marked contrast, both as regards forra and colour, to the [dateaux and terraces of Western Palestine and the Badiet et-Tlh, characterized by greyish and yellowish tints, is the mountainous region of Sinai lyin« between the two arms of the Red Sea, and bounded along the northern margin by the escarpment of the Cretaceous and Nummulite limestones of Jebel Ejmeh above described. Here we lind ourselves in presence of a group of noble mountains, crowned by peaks and serrated ridges, traversed by broad sinuous valleys which form the higlnva3's by which the traveller must lind his way, and which are now generally dry, though once the channels of rivers and streams. The Smaitic mountains are formed of rocks amongst the most ancient in the world, and referable to the ArcliEean age ; and, as they are bare and destitute of verdure, they rise above the valleys in naked walls rich in their natural colour- ing of red, purple, and blue. It is only along the valleys that the green of verdure is seen, owing to the growth of small scrub and desert flowers, with groups of palms and tamarisks around the springs of water. These rescue the region from the reproach of utter barrenness, and allow the Arab to pitch his camp, and even to pasture his flocks of sheep and goats. The mountain sunmiits rise to higli eleva- tions. At the head of the group stands the twin- peaked Jebel Katharina, reaching a height of 8551 ft. above the sea ; next, Jebel Umm Shomer, 8449 ft. ; then Jebel Mfisa (the traditional Mount Sinai), 7373 ft. ; and Jebel Serbftl, which though not the higliest is certainly the most striking of the series, because of its isolated position and serried outline ; its summit reaches an elevation of 6734 ft. above the Gulf of Suez.* Standing on the summit of Sinai, the scene is most striking and impressive. The tumultuous assemblage of peaks and serrated ridges formed of rocks of granite and porphyry, whose natural reddish tints have been deepened and intensified by the powerful rays of the sun ; the profound gorges and valleys walled in by lofty cliff's of naked rock ; the absence of trees and verdure, except along the floors of the vallcjs, — all tend to impress the beholder with the convic- tion that he is nere gazing on the face of nature under one of her most savage forms, in which the ideas of solitude, waste, and desolation contend with those of awe and admiration. This assem- blage of peaks and ridges is bounded towards the east and west by the deep depressions of the Gulfs of Suez and 'Akabah ; towards the north, distant glimpses of the tableland of the Tih are obtained ; wliile the mountains of Edom, rising beyond the Gulf of 'Akabah and the valley of the Arabah, bound the view in the direction of the great Desert of Arabia.
II. Geological Formations. — The formations of which the above tracts of country are composed range from the most ancient to the most recent ; — but with wide gaps in the general succession as determined in other regions. For example, we have no representatives of the Cambrian, Silurian, Devonian, Permian, Triassic, or Jurassic forma- tions, all of which are well developed in the British Islands ; and we are therefore driven to the con-