350 NOTES ON THE GEOLOGY 



session, relating chiefly to Western Asia, it will promote brevity, 

 to arrange the countries from whence they came into groups. 



The first group will embrace Egypt, Arabia, Palestine, Syria, 

 and the island of Malta. 



The second group will comprehend several districts in the 

 western part of Asia Minor, and a few islands in the Grecian 

 Archipelago. 



The third group will include Armenia and Persia. 



My specimens from Syria, amounting to more than one hun- 

 dred, were furnished by Mr. Hebard : those from Palestine, by 

 Messrs. Hebard and Homes : those from Egypt, and the Grecian 

 islands, chiefly by Dr. Robertson : and those from Malta, by Mr. 

 Hallock. The numbers by which the specimens will be indi- 

 cated generally in this paper, are those which they bear in my 

 cabinet, which is deposited in Amherst College. 



Before proceeding to details, I ought to remark, that I have 

 not had an opportunity of perusing, except in condensed notices, 

 several recent papers and volumes concerning the countries from 

 which my specimens came, and which doubtless contain many 

 statements respecting their geology : such as the papers of Botta, 

 Strickland, and Hamilton, upon Syria and Asia Minor ; and the 

 travels of Schubert, Hamilton, and Ainsworth. In some cases, 

 therefore, my remarks may have been anticipated. But it would 

 be strange, if some new facts should not be derived from a source 

 so entirely independent of the one just mentioned as that from 

 which my information comes, in countries whose geology is so 

 little known. And, besides, the tAvo sets of observations may 

 serve to correct or confirm each other. 



I begin with a few remarks upon the peninsula of Sinai and 

 Arabia Petrsea ; chiefly because we fmd there a gi-anite nucleus, 

 as striking as any on the globe. It has long been known that 

 the lofty and naked group of mountains that have received the 

 general name of Sinai, are mainly composed of granite, or rather 

 of syenitic granite. The highest peak, called St. Cathai-ine, is 

 eight thousand and sixty-three Paris feet above the ocean. A 

 specimen from this mountain, in the collection at the rooms of 

 the American Board of Foreign Missions in Boston, is a gray 



