Geology of Mount Sinai and adjacent Countries. 43 



which bounds the desei*t in its western and southern extre- 

 mities — Gebel-el-Bahah and Oebel-el-Tyh — divide their wa- 

 ters, and so supply, in part, the Gulf of Suez^ and in part the 

 Gulf of Akaba. Of the former Wadis, two are the principal ; 

 namely, Wadi-el-Agaba, which rises somewhat to the east of 

 the line of34°E. long. ; and Wadi-el-Arish, which Russegger 

 and later authors affirm as springing to the west of it, and 

 of Gebels Heiyalah, Yelak, and Mishea, and of which Wadi 

 Nesil seems to me to be only a tributary. 



The chain called Gebel-el-Egmeli^ or El Odjme by Burck- 

 hardt, appears, as he says, chalky ; and such, also, is the soil 

 of the plain, and frequently covered with black pebbles 

 (^flints); it unites with the higher chain'of the Gebel-el-Tyh, 

 about the centre of the Peninsula, — that is to say, of the 

 Peninsular Triangle, and where the branches North-el-Tyh 

 and South-el-Tyh separate. There the height of the sum- 

 mit of El Tyh is given by Russegger as 4322 Paris feet, or 

 4615 English feet, above the sea ; descending thence by the 

 pass of Mureikhi, into the sandy plain of Bebbet-el-Ramleh, 

 the elevation of that plateau, just about the middle of it, and 

 about half way to the head of Wadi-el- Sheikh, is near 4000 

 feet above the sea level ; Alahadar being a little to the east. 



In the Wadi El Sheikh, meaning the " Valley of the Elder," 

 or " Chief," which is one of the principal valleys in the Pen- 

 insula, before coming to " Moses' seat" (Mokad Seidna Mousa), 

 occurs a range of low hills of a substance called Taffal, chiefly 

 a detritus of i\\Q felspar oi granite, like pipe clay. The easiest 

 approach to the present Sinaic district is by the east side of 

 this Wadi, which leads into the wider Wadi, or plain El 

 Baha, i. e., a " plain surrounded by hills." The view of 

 Gebels El Deir (" The Convent"), the now-termed Horeh, 

 Humer (red), and others, from thence is very striking. The 

 lower granitic mountains of the present Sinai are more re- 

 gularly shaped than the upper ; being less rugged, they have 

 no insulated peaks; and their summits terminate in smooth 

 curves. Whilst in the ascent to the higher mountains, peaks 

 on peaks arise, of the form of sharp cones, and of various 

 altitudes. Gebel Mousa, or " Moses' Mount," is of red granite 

 for about half-way up ; all the rest being a yellorvish granite, 



