HUDLESTON : GEOLOGY OF PALESTINE. 181 
the Arabian desert. 
In order to g-ive some idea of distances, and by consequence of 
relative size, let us commence at the foot of Mount Hermon, which 
must be regarded as the parent of the Jordan, and the great con- 
denser of moisture in those reg-ions. 
MILES. 
Foot of Hermon to the Lake of Tiberias ... ... ... 2S 
Lake of Tiberias, length ... ... ... ... ... 12 
Jordan Valley .. ... ... .. ... ... ... fio 
Dead Sea, length ... ... ... ... ... ... 46 
Dead Sea to Gulf of Akabali ... ... ... ... 114 
Head of Gulf of Akabah to Jebel Mousa ... ... 105 
370 
Again, the width of lower Galilee, from Acre to the Lake of 
Tiberias is about thirty miles, whilst the width of Judaea from the 
Mediterranean to the Dead Sea is about fifty miles. 
Palestine, as we usually understand it, is an upland plateau, 
split longitudinally by the crevasse of the Dead Sea Basin, and it lies 
between the great limestone ranges of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon 
(including- Hermon) on the north, and the almost equally lofty 
granitic ranges of Sinai on the south. Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon 
roll over in a series of convolutions, but nowhere, according to 
recent survey, is there so hig-h a point as Hermon, which must be 
regarded as the monarch of the region, with an elevation of 
9,200ft. Hermon is the southern termination of the range of 
Anti-Lebanon, and looks down upon the mountains of upper Galilee, 
which barely attaiji to half its elevation. The volcanic mass of 
Jebel Kuleib, the hill of Bashan, attains an elevation of 5,600ft., 
but south of this, there are not many points over 3,000ft. on either 
side of the Jordan, till we come to Mount Hor, 4,360ft. Between 
this and the gulf of Akabah, are some lofty hills, one of which 
is the Sinai of Dr. Beke. There is one feature to which I would 
particularly draw attention, and that is to the very considerable 
watershed which exists between the Wady Arabah and the Wady 
Akabah. 
The country west of the Wady Arabah is usually known as the 
Negeb, or south country, and was part of the " Land of Promise ;" 
south of this again is a most terrible country known as the Desert 
