JABAL HAMRIN AND JABAL MAKHUL. 5 



accustomed it is not harmful but Las the effect of minute doses of 

 Epsom Salts. 



If it is not desired to penetrate completely the Alluvium, visible 

 stream-courses are sites preferable usually for such shallow wells, 

 since there is a considerable amount of underground drainage in 

 the plains, and this would naturally tend to follow established lines. 



5th December, 1918. 



REPORT No. 2.— THE PROSPECTS OF OBTAINING OIL IN THE 

 JABAL HAMRIN AND JABAL MAKHUL IN THE VICINITY OF 

 THE RIVER TIGRIS. 



Maps.— 1 inch=l mile, PI. 1, with sections A-A, B-B and C-C. 

 — -$ inch=l mile, PI. 2. 



Introduction. 



On my way up from Tikrit to Qaiyarah the oil indications at 

 Fathah seemed of such importance as to warrant an extended 

 examination before passing on. 



The Jabal Hamrin is a long narrow range projecting from the 

 alluvial plain, and extending from Fathah on the Tigris south- 

 eastwards for over 100 miles to the latitude of Shahraban, and across 

 the river north-westwards for another 37 miles under the name 

 of the Jabal Makhul. The portion under report is that between 

 Ain Nukhailah, 26 miles E.S.E. of Fathah, and Khan Sultaniyah, 

 23 miles N.W. of the same ancient city and 10 miles S. of Sharqat.' 

 The portion of the range delimited is extraordinarily simple and 

 regular, varying from 2 to 2| miles in width ; the highest point of the 

 Hamrin is some 600 feet above the river, while that of the Makhul 

 is probably nearer 800 feet. With the exception of the Tigris 

 gap, this section of the range is not only unbroken, but its crest follows 

 very closely the rise and fall of the anticline of which it consists, 

 producing an unbroken gently undulating sky-line. The Ticnris 

 evidently cuts through the range in a weak spot caused by a con- 

 siderable local sag in the anticlinal crest combined with a change 

 in the direction of the axis from E.S.E.— W.N.W. (more accurately 

 62° W. of N.— 62° E. of S.) on the left bank, to N.W.— S.E. on the 



