can bo no doubt that the range of Lebanon, viewed in its physical formation, extends from the entrance of Ha- math to the plain of Acre ; but between the parallels of Tyre and Sidon it is cut through by the chasm of the Litany, which drains the valley of Coele-Syria. That river enters the range obliquely on the eastern side, turns gradually westward, and at length divides the main ridge at right angles. Here, therefore, it maj' be said, in one sense, that the chain terminates ; and though on the south bank of the Litany another chain rises, and runs in the line of the former, it is not so lofty, its great- est height scarcely exceeding 8000 feet. Ancient geog- raphers thought Lebanon terminated on the north bank of the Litany; and as that river drains the valley of Cocle-Syria, which lies between Lebanon and Anti-Leb- anon, they naturally supposed that the chain on the south bank of the Litany was the commencement of the latter range. Here lies the error, which Dr. Porter was among the first to detect, by an examination of the gen- eral conformation of the mountain ranges from the sum- mit of Hermon (see Bihliotheca Sacra, xi, 52 ; Porter, Ikimascus, i, 296).
Anti-Lebanon is completely separated from this west- ern range by a broad and deep valley. The great val- ley of the Jordan extends northward to the -ivestern base of Hermon, in the parallel of the chasm of the Lit- any. From this point a narrower valley, called wady el-Teim, runs northward, till it meets an eastern branch of Cffile-Syria. These three valleys, forming a continu- ous line, constitute the western boundary of Anti-Leba- non. No part of that chain crosses them (Robinson, ii, 438). The southern end of the plain of Coele-Syria is divided by a low ridge into two branches. Down the eastern branch runs wady cl-Teim, conveying a tribu- tary' to the Jordan (Bib. Sac. 1. c. ; liobinson, iii, 428- 430) ; down the western runs the Litany. The latter branch soon contracts into a wild chasm, whose banks arc in some places above a thousand feet high, of naked rock, and almost jierpendicular. At one spot the ravine is only 60 feet wide, and is spanned by a natural bridge, at the height of about 100 feet above the stream. Over it rise jagged walls of naked limestone, pierced with numerous caves. The scenery is here magnificent; as one stands on this arch of nature's own building, he can scarcely repress feelings of alarm. The cliffs al- most meet overhead ; rugged masses of rock shoot out from dizzy heights, and appear as if about to plunge into the chasm; the mad river far below dashes along from rapid to rapid in sheets of foam. In wild grandeur this chasm has no equal in Syria, and few in the world. Yet, from a short distance on either side, it is not visible. The mountain chain appears to run on in its course, de- clining gradually, but without any interruption. The ridge, in fact, has been cleft asunder by some terrible convulsion, and through the cleft the waters of Coele-
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Svria have forced their way to the Mediterranean in- stead of the Jordan, which is the natural outlet. It will thus be seen that the ridge on the south bank of the Litany is the prolongation of that on the north, and is a part of Lebanon (Robinson, ii, 438) ; and that the chasm of the Litany, though the draiu of Ccele-SjTia, is no part of that vallc}'. Neither Coele-Syria, there- fore, nor Anti-Lebanon, at any point, approaches within many miles of the Mediterranean {Handbook for S. and P. \). 571 ; Kobinson, iii, 420 sq. ; Van de Velde, Travels, i, 145 sq.).
(2.) Western Aspect. — The view of Lebanon from the Mediterranean is exceedingly grand. On approaching, it appears to rise from the bosom of the deep like a vast wall, the wavy top densely covered with snow during winter and spring, and the two highest peaks capped v.'ith crowns of ice on the sultriest days of summer. The ivestern slopes are long and gradual, furrowed from top to bottom with deep rugged ravines, and broken ev- erywhere by lofty cliffs of white rock, and ragged banks, and tens of thousands of terrace walls, rising like steps of stairs from the sea to the snow-wreaths. " The whole mass of the mountain consists of whitish limestone, or at least the rocky surface, as it reflects the light, exhib- its everywhere a whitish aspect. The mountain teems with villages, and is cidtivated more or less almost to the top; yet so steep and rocky is the surface, that the tillage is carried on chieflj^ by means of terraces, built np with great labor, and covered above with soil. When one looks upward from below, the vegetation on these terraces is not seen, so that the whole mountain side ap- pears as if composed of immense rugged masses of naked whitish rock, severed by deep ■wild ravines, running down precipitously to the plain. No one would suspect among these rocks the existence of a vast multitude of thrifty villages, and a numerous population of moun- taineers, hardy, industrious, and brave" (Robinson, ii, 493; comp. Volney, Travels, i, 272 sq.).
On looking down the western slopes from the brow of one of the projecting bluffs, or through the vista of one of the glens, the scenery is totally different ; it is now rich and picturesque. The tops of the little stair- like terraces are seen, all green with corn, or straggling vinos, or the dark foliage of the mulberrj'. The steeper banks and ridge-tops have their forests of pine and oak, while far away down in the bottom of the glens, and round the villages and castellated convents, are large groves of gray olives. The aspect of the various sec- tions of the mountains is, however, very different, the rocks and strata often assuming strange, fantastic shapes. At the head of the ^•alley of the Dog river are some of the most remarkable rock formations in Lebanon. Here numbers of little ravines fall into the main glen, and their sides, with the intervening ridges, are thickly cov- ered with high peaks of naked limestone, sometimes rising in solitary grandeur like obelisks, but generally grouped together, and connected by narrow ledges like arched viaducts. In one place the horizontal strata in the side of a lofty cliff are worn away at the edges, giv- ing the whole the appearance of a large pile of cushions. In other jjlaces there are tall stalks, with broad tops like tables. In many places the cliffs are ribbed, resembling the pipes of an organ, or columnar basalt. A single perch of clear soil can scarcely be found in one spot throughout the whole region, but every minute patch is cultivated, even in grottoes and under natural arches (Porter's Bamascvs, ii, 2H'.)). The highest peaks of the range are naked, white, and barren. A line drawn at the altitude of about 6000 feet would mark the limits of cultivation. Above that line the shelving sides and rounded tops are covered with loose limestone debris, and are almost entirely destitute of vegetable life.