13G NORTH-EAST AFEIOA. 



lowest breach in the border chain of Eastern Abyssinia. But on this side, where 

 the regions are broken up into distinct fragments by the deep river gorges, many 

 mountains attain a height inferior only to those of the Simen and Go jam. Thus 

 east of Lake Ashangi, on the almost isolated upland province of Lasta, which is 

 almost surrounded by the Takkazeh and Tzellari rivers, Mounts Biala and 

 Gavzigivla exceed 12,600 feet ; while the heights of Abuna, Yosef, and Imaraha, 

 not far from the source of the Takkazeh, attain an elevation of over 13,000 feet. 

 South of the Takkazeh an irregular plateau stretches westwards, terminating in 

 Mount Guna, one of the highest Abyssinian summits (14,000 feet). Its western spur, 

 sloping towards Lake Tana, forms the famous Debra-Tabor, or " Mount Tabor," 

 site of the present military capital of Abyssinia. To the north rise the Beg- 

 hemeder Mountains, beyond which are the still little-known Belessa highlands, 

 connected with those of Wagara and Kwalla Wagara, the whole series forming 

 a successive series of terraces towards the Nilotic plains. 



Central and Western Highlands. 



"West of the Galla "Wollo plateau, supposed to be a vast lava field, the slopes 

 incline gradually towards the Blue Nile, interrupted, however, by secondary 

 chains. Abruptly intersected southwards by the deep semicircular gorge 

 containing the waters of the Abai, or Blue Nile, the plateau recommences more 

 to the west, rising in terraces up to the Go jam Mountains, which, jointly with 

 those of Simen and Lasta, form the culminating points of Abyssinia. The chief 

 range of this mountainous province extends in a semicircle, concentric to that 

 described by the Blue Nile ; its highest crest, the Talba Waha, probably exceeds 

 12,000 feet. But although one of the peaks takes the name of Semaj^ata, that is 

 " Heaven-kissing," it does not appear to be ever covered with snow ; nor do any 

 of the summits in this region, between 11° and 12° of latitude, seem to reach the 

 snow-line. 



Like most other Abyssinian ranges, the Talba Waha Mountains fall in steep 

 escarpments east and north, whilst on the west they slope gently towards the 

 territory of the Gumis and Bertas. The rest of the plateau is broken in the 

 north and north-west by watercourses into countless fragments, forming a suc- 

 cession of steps overlooked by a few pyramids of a relatively slight elevation. 

 The Waldebba height, in the north-west angle of Lake Tana, exceeds 7,000 feet. 

 The whole of this region is of volcanic origin, terminating towards the lowlands 

 in abrupt masses with vertical walls from 80 to 100 feet high, surmounted by 

 basaltic columns. Beyond the promontory of Ras-el-Fil, that is, " Elephant 

 Cape," skirted by the river Rahad on the south-west, the level steppe presents 

 an extraordinary appearance, from the fantastic crags, peaks and needles covering 

 it. The most advanced of these remarkable formations is the completely isolated 

 granite mass of Gana or Jebel Arang, whose sides and summit to a height of nearly 

 2,000 feet are clothed with large forest-trees, including the baobab, which here 

 reaches its northern limit. 



