118 TRANSACTIONS OF THK [FEB. 24, 



500 feet higher. These vertical walls are split by vertical joints 

 into broad or narrow columns, making picturesque features. 



Before I entered this valley, an untrained observer had enthu- 

 siastically informed me that it was full of fossils and the lime- 

 stone stood in vertical strata ; the fossils prove to be concretions, 

 and the strata, joints. 



The valley throughout shows that water has at some time been 

 energetically at work ; the floor resembles a dried-up mountain 

 torrent; banks of gravel, sand, and boulders rise several feet above 

 the bridle-path on each side; and at the lowest part, small chan- 

 nels wind about the large rocks. The hillsides are furrowed 

 by ravines excavated by water. Here and there in low places, 

 usually at the foot of a large boulder, are unmistakable signs of 

 recently-formed mud. The scales and mud-cracks were quite 

 fresh and seemed to indicate that water had accumulated in 

 pools not more than two or three weeks before. On my return 

 to Luxor, I was informed that rain had fallen about three weeks 

 before (February 16th). 



A sharp peak rises high above the walls of the amphitheatre 

 referred to ; on the slopes of this peak several parallel bands of 

 horizontal limestone differ in compactness, the softer wears 

 away rapidly and the harder projects over the shaly inclines. 



Climbing up a steep path and crossing the narrow ridge 

 through a slight depression, I descended into the valley of the 

 Nile ; limestone passed into shale, and this into cultivated 

 ground. The numerous excavations of small tombs, the grand 

 ruins of the Ramesium and of Medinet Haboo, with the solitary 

 Colossi standing like sentinels on the plain, now drew off my 

 attention from the geological features of the region. 



Of the method of travel in the desert of Sinai, and of the 

 incidents in my journey, I have spoken on another occasion. 

 The physical geography of the region is rarely represented with 

 accuracy on published maps ; Sinai often appears as an isolated 

 peak, or at most as a detached group of mountains, whereas 

 the whole peninsula is covered with sterile hills and clusters of 

 mountains, except on the borders of the three seas by which it 

 is bounded. The best maps known to me are those published 

 by the Ordnance Survey, and by the Admiralty of Great Brit- 

 ain ; these seem to be topographically complete, but Jebel Na- 

 gous is not shown with accuracy. My own observations were 

 limited to the following route : — from Suez to Sinai by the usual 

 caravan route through Wadi Feiran, thence through Wadi Es- 

 Sleh to Tor on the Gulf, and back to Suez by the usual route 

 along the sea-coast, a distance of about 380 miles. The region, 

 which is about the size of New Hampshire, contains within its 

 boundaries three marked features : — comparatively level plains. 



